Re: ghostscript 9.56.1 in lilypond 2.23.14 no longer finds font Helvetica-Bold, but gs in 2.22.1 did

[Jeff Olson]

On 11/6/2022 1:05 AM, Jean Abou Samra wrote:

Can someone explain (a) why Helvetical is no longer in 2.23.14's gs and (b) the syntax for specifying Nimbus Sans L properly in my MWE?

Thanks for wading through all this with me.  I've been on a very big lilypond project for 6 years now, and it is so big I have to use the 64-bit version in 2.23 due to memory usage.  But the project also contains 2500+ lines of postscript code for essential diagrams (like guitar fretboards and piano keyboards) so right now I'm still stuck.  Really need Helvetica-Bold or its metrical equivalent to work in 2.23

This was discussed a few times, last time here: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2022-10/msg00065.html

Jean, please help me understand what this implies.  The above lilypond-devel thread basically ends with Harm's statement that

> It is no longer possible to specify fonts like above.
> https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2022-04/msg00018.html
>

The font specification he says is "no longer possible" is exactly like my case: \postscript "/Arial-Bold findfont", so he suggests not using \postscript.   And the thread he references ends with Jonas' reply about how lilypond's ghostscript is different than others:

> Not quite, our Ghostscript is stripped down to not include unnecessary
> stuff and that is not prepared for users doing stuff with \postscript.
>

Do the above responses mean there's no way to use fonts within lilypond's \postscript feature anymore? 

That would be a drastic change affecting users who have developed an embedded base of postscript code within lilypond.  I've been searching the v2.23 changes (https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.23/Documentation/changes-big-page.html) and there's no mention at all of "postscript" or "Ghostscript" or the need to migrate from using \postscript to \markup the way that Harm suggested. 

There's only this oblique mention of fonts in the section that aimed at enthusiasts compiling LilyPond from source and packagers preparing LilyPond for distribution ("If you are not part of either group, you can skip over this section").  It says:

Starting with this stable release, LilyPond’s build system does not install text fonts anymore. Please provide them as separate packages while paying attention to the fonts’ license and notice files.

I'm hoping the lack of a specific change notice means there's still a way to use fonts within \postscript, but the replies from Harm and Jonas suggest otherwise.

Please clarify.  For example,

• Is \postscript inside lilypond deprecated or no longer supported?
• Is the use of "findfont" within \postscript no longer supported?
• Or are there some fonts on which findfont is still usable?
• E.g., should findfont still work on the font families listed in https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.23/Documentation/notation/fonts#font-families?
• Or is there a way a font-name override declared outside of \postscript can be referenced by findfont inside a \postscript block?

In other words, perhaps, what's the verdict on \postscript in lilypond?

Jeff