Missing texware and mfware programs

[J%ORG KNAPPEN]

Concerning ...

> gftodvi gftopk gftype mft pktogf pktype pltotf pooltype tangle tftopl 
> vftovp vptovf weave

you wrote

> My judgement was that none of these programs (except gftopk, which is
> level 1) are ever used by `normal' users. I do not count "installing
> fonts as" `normal'.  

>From my monitoring the tex newsgroups, creating one-symbol fonts for special 
purposes is done by "normal" users not to seldom.

> By the way, I do not use "written by Knuth" as a criterion for
> inclusion in "recommended".

Indeed it isn't. But texware and mfware are part of the TeX system. A TeX
system without them (at least as options) is just incomplete.

The weekest case is mft which is nowhere documented except in its own source
code and noone except Knuth and Boguslaw uses it. Several TeX implementations
lived well without it.

My personal ratings are:

1 Basic: tftopl/pltotf (it is referenced in one of TeX's error messages and can 
       help fix corrupted tfm files)
       vptovf/vftovp (one popular way to make virtual fonts)
       gftodvi and gftype (proofing tools for METAFONT)

2 Recommended: weave, tangle, pooltype,
       pktype and pktogf

3 Optional
       mft and mft support files (Note: The CD still contains the mft 
       support files like plain.mft, cm.mft and e.mft. Boguslaw's polish
       fonts hide another mft 'style file')

--J"org Knappen