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Points are used as a measurement to simplify designing for high resolution displays. A standard resolution display has a 1:1 pixel density, 1 pixel is equal to

Points are used as a measurement to simplify designing for high resolution displays. A standard resolution display has a 1:1 pixel density, 1 pixel is equal to 1 point. High resolution displays have a higher pixel density where a scale factor of 2.0 or 3.0 is used (iPhones in this case).

ss3000 7y ago
Not entirely sure if the article is aimed at a web audience, but if it is, this would be an awkward justification because the unit "pixel" in CSS is normalized w.r.t DPI.
- httpsterio 7y ago
  In browsers yes for the most parts but not with images (like high dpi images needs to be specifically named and sized) but for example in android development the standard unit is dp aka. density-independent points and for ios development the unit is also points which is relative to the dpi used.
  - amelius 7y ago
    Ok, but what does 16pt (in the article) mean? I can't tell if it refers to an amount of pixels or an amount of mm. In the first case the amount of mm would be different for each display. In the second case the amount of pixels would be different for each display. Perhaps this quote from the article provides a hint: > Ok, I get the even number thing, but seriously, why not 6, or 10? The majority of popular screen sizes are divisible by 8 which makes for an easy fit. From this I'd say it is about pixels. But why call it "pt" then? And yes, how does this give useful results on high resolution displays? I think the article is really confusing.
    - twic 7y ago
      16 pt = 16 * ~0.353 mm = 5.644 mm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography)
      - amelius 7y ago
        You missed the point/pt ;) The point is that the author says that the screen size in pixels should be an integer multiple of 8pt, which doesn't make sense.
twic 7y ago
A point is a classical typographic unit [1]: In typography, the point is the smallest unit of measure. It is used for measuring font size, leading, and other items on a printed page. The size of the point has varied throughout the history of printing. Since the 18th century, the point's size has varied from 0.18 to 0.4 millimeters. Following the advent of desktop publishing in the 1980s and 1990s, digital printing has largely supplanted the letterpress printing and has established the DTP point (DeskTop Publishing point) as the de facto standard. The DTP point is defined as 1⁄72 of an international inch (about 0.353 mm) So if you have a 72 dpi monitor, then as it happens, a point is a pixel. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography)

ss3000 7y ago

Not entirely sure if the article is aimed at a web audience, but if it is, this would be an awkward justification because the unit "pixel" in CSS is normalized w.r.t DPI.

httpsterio 7y ago
In browsers yes for the most parts but not with images (like high dpi images needs to be specifically named and sized) but for example in android development the standard unit is dp aka. density-independent points and for ios development the unit is also points which is relative to the dpi used.
- amelius 7y ago
  Ok, but what does 16pt (in the article) mean? I can't tell if it refers to an amount of pixels or an amount of mm. In the first case the amount of mm would be different for each display. In the second case the amount of pixels would be different for each display. Perhaps this quote from the article provides a hint: > Ok, I get the even number thing, but seriously, why not 6, or 10? The majority of popular screen sizes are divisible by 8 which makes for an easy fit. From this I'd say it is about pixels. But why call it "pt" then? And yes, how does this give useful results on high resolution displays? I think the article is really confusing.
  - twic 7y ago
    16 pt = 16 * ~0.353 mm = 5.644 mm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography)
    - amelius 7y ago
      You missed the point/pt ;) The point is that the author says that the screen size in pixels should be an integer multiple of 8pt, which doesn't make sense.

twic 7y ago

A point is a classical typographic unit [1]: In typography, the point is the smallest unit of measure. It is used for measuring font size, leading, and other items on a printed page. The size of the point has varied throughout the history of printing. Since the 18th century, the point's size has varied from 0.18 to 0.4 millimeters. Following the advent of desktop publishing in the 1980s and 1990s, digital printing has largely supplanted the letterpress printing and has established the DTP point (DeskTop Publishing point) as the de facto standard. The DTP point is defined as 1⁄72 of an international inch (about 0.353 mm) So if you have a 72 dpi monitor, then as it happens, a point is a pixel. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography)