Arch Linux

sanjaychak01

Member

Registered: 2018-01-25

Posts: 37

Fonts and system memory usage

I am considering adding 50 new fonts to my newly installed Arch Linux. Does mere installation of fonts increase system memory usage? So if I have 100 fonts in my system, are they all instantly loaded by the kernel for use in different applications?

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Running Gnome on Archlinux - great combo!

dockland

Member

From: Sweden

Registered: 2015-06-06

Posts: 861

Re: Fonts and system memory usage

No. But why?

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I use it to look at funny pictures of cats and to argue with strangers.

sanjaychak01

Member

Registered: 2018-01-25

Posts: 37

Re: Fonts and system memory usage

I do not know how fonts are handled in linux, what is loaded in memory, when and in what format, etc. So I have a layman perception of what the impact could be. I merely presume the font management system will find it taxing to employ a specific font required in case it has to handle hundreds of fonts in memory. Also if each font loading means blocking significant chunks of memory, then the overall memory availability suffers.

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Running Gnome on Archlinux - great combo!

x33a

Forum Fellow

Registered: 2009-08-15

Posts: 4,587

Re: Fonts and system memory usage

I suggest you read this wiki page: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Font_configuration

You might want to look into fc-match specifically.

sanjaychak01

Member

Registered: 2018-01-25

Posts: 37

Re: Fonts and system memory usage

I suggest you read this wiki page: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Font_configuration

You might want to look into fc-match specifically.

Thanks for the pointer. I will look into it.

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Running Gnome on Archlinux - great combo!