> For example, instead of trying to do advanced font rendering for almost every single language and writing style known to man, why not just limit yourself to A

> For example, instead of trying to do advanced font rendering for almost every single language and writing style known to man, why not just limit yourself to ASCII, left to right typing and monospaced bitmap fonts in certain devices? I'd argue that in many cases, such as embedded devices, that's all that's actually worth doing I'm a firmware dev, so I'll tell you how this goes. Over the next 5-15 years project requirements will change, feature creep will set in, and you'll eventually end up with a full blown font renderer. Except it will be utter garbage, impossible to maintain, and it will infest the entire codebase making it incredibly difficult to replace. You shouldn't go for the most general solution rather you should select the solution that fits the current and near-term requirements. You had best know what the general solution is though, otherwise you're doomed to reinvent the wheel poorly.