Comparison of GFONTS with the new BASIC 7.0


BASIC 7.0                               GFONTS 3.0
ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДВДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД
Font sizes: 6                       і   Font sizes: unlimited
   8, 12, 14, 18, & 24 point        і     8 to 480+ points
                                    і
Total font calls (as supplied):15   і   Total font calls (as supplied):60+
                                    і   (more than 1/3 allow BLOADing custom
                                    і   font files)
                                    і
Font file size and type:            і   Font file size and type:
   14k to 65k in size, holding      і      Either 4k or 12k, one for each
   3 to 6 sizes for 1 typeface.     і      typeface.
                                    і
Support multiple colored fonts: No  і   Support multiple colored fonts: Yes
                                    і
Print fonts vertically: Yes         і   Print fonts vertically: Yes
Print fonts diagonally: No          і   Print fonts diagonally: Yes
                                    і
Create your own fonts: No           і   Create your own fonts: Yes
                                    і
Size of required QuickLibrary: 30k  і   Size of required QuickLibrary: 10k
                                    і
Setup and use:                      і   Setup and use:
   Up to 15 calls using a           і      1 call (if using ROM assembly)
   10-element type array,           і      2 calls (if BASIC font)
   15 declared constants,           і      3 calls (if loading a file)
   and/or a common block,           і
   (plus a separate include         і
   file)                            і
                                    і
Price: $300+                        і   Price: $40
(you get more than fonts)           і
                                    і
ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДБДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД

I prepared two equivalent BASIC files which displayed a screen full of
graphic font text; one with the BASIC 7.0 Font Toolbox using a 24 point font
and the other using the GFONTS 24 point ROM assembly call, both with the
minimum possible code.  They were then compiled identically (except for the
linked libraries.)  Here are the results of that test:

BASIC 7.0                               GFONTS
ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДВДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД
Size of BASIC code: 1725 bytes      і   Size of BASIC code: 542 bytes
                                    і
Size of quicklibrary: 30k           і   Size of quicklibrary: 10k
                                    і
Size of .EXE file: 22k              і   Size of .EXE file: 9k
        (compiled using the BRUN run-time support library)
                                    і
Size of font file: 65k              і   Size of font file: 12k
(a font file is always required)    і   (font files are optional)
                                    і
Total disk space: 87k               і   Total disk space: 21k
                                    і
Time to execute: 6.84 seconds       і   Time to execute: 0.27 seconds!!!
(at 12 mhz)                         і   (12 mhz)
ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДБДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД

The Microsoft fonts are nicer than the standard ROM character sets, but no
nicer than you can create yourself with BIGFONT.EXE.