4 ms·

I tried a couple Mono Fonts and found them all kinda samey. I ended up seeing a post here for Berkeley Mono, a paid font, and I noticed in particular that it w

I tried a couple Mono Fonts and found them all kinda samey. I ended up seeing a post here for Berkeley Mono, a paid font, and I noticed in particular that it was incredibly readable compared to other mono fonts I was using, so much so that I've zoomed out one level on VS Code and iTerm and have similar readability as before. It was the first font I paid for, and I was quite happy with it. https://berkeleygraphics.com/typefaces/berkeley-mono/ https://berkeleygraphics.com/typefaces/berkeley-mono/

replwoacause 4y ago
I too have been following the Berkeley Mono font, and I think their website and promo materials are all very well designed. However, I tried the trial version of the font and found the kerning odd and unnatural seeming.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- systemvoltage 4y ago
  Concept of kerning doesn't make sense in monospaced fonts. You can't adjust side bearings and create kerning pairs.
  - jamesbvaughan 4y ago
    I can relate to GP's feeling here. When I first installed Berkeley Mono and looked at some code in it, I had the same reaction: the spacing between characters looked inconsistent in some words. I think that some other monospace fonts do a better job of making the narrow characters ("i", "l", etc.) match the width of wider characters. That said, I've been using it for a couple weeks now, and have stopped noticing that. My main issue with it now is that some italic glyphs get cut off in my terminal, but I'm not sure if that's the font's fault or my terminal's fault.
    - systemvoltage 4y ago
      Berkeley Mono has probably the widest "i" and "l" of any mono font. It appears to be wider than SF Mono. If anything, they are too wide.
      - jamesbvaughan 4y ago
        You're correct. I had assumed it was the "i" and "l" that were giving the "something is off about this text" feeling, but I just opened up some sample text to try to figure out exactly which characters are doing it and can see that the "i" and "l" actually look fine to me. It seems like the "r" is actually the main culprit. The spacing before and after "r" tends to feel too big to my eye.
        replwoacause 4y ago
        I used the wrong term but you nailed it. The 'r' is definitely a problem for me too. EDIT: Ok, I feel like this demonstrates the issue pretty well. The 'r' is a problem for sure, but notice how off balance the rest of the word looks? Evidently, there is no kerning (as I've learned) with monospace fonts, but then why does the spacing between these letters appear to variable to my eyes? The spacing between the 'om' looks weird too. This is just a screen shot from Font Book. https://i.ibb.co/9bTNCYt/Y4q-VIvqa20230213.png https://i.ibb.co/9bTNCYt/Y4q-VIvqa20230213.png
        systemvoltage 4y ago
        This is actually a problem with any font that has an 'r' without a base. For example, Andale Mono: https://i.imgur.com/PeLZrj4.png https://i.imgur.com/PeLZrj4.png Fira Code and others do an ugly thing with 'r' that is a huge point of contention. There is a thread on Github that describes the frustration well: https://github.com/tonsky/FiraCode/issues/601 https://github.com/tonsky/FiraCode/issues/601 This is a fundamental trade off between aesthetics of the char itself vs. the aesthetics of spacing between chars. It comes down to personal preference and fits the "boring" description from Berkeley Mono marketing page. Perhaps there should be an option for two types of 'r', one with a base and one without. That'd be great!
steve_adams_86 4y ago
I felt weird buying Berkeley but I’m very happy with it as well. I knew I liked it when I got the trial and yet I felt this aversion to paying for a font for several weeks. Then it dawned on me: I was depriving myself of enjoying someone’s hard work because I didn’t want to spend a fairly small amount of money for a thing I’d use for my work every day. Sort of an everyone loses situation. I can be bizarrely cheap, and it’s kind of embarrassing when I break it down. I lose time and money to my irrational cheapness. Berkeley’s sharpness and legibility has been unmatched for me and I think that’s what draws me to it so much. I know others will say it’s not sharp or legible, and it’s a totally personal thing. We get good at reading on different screens with different characters, and we’re gradually trained to see in different ways. For me, Berkeley absolutely nails it.
zvr 4y ago
Unfortunately, it does not have Greek characters.
zem 4y ago
i've tried a ton of fonts but always end up going back to bitstream vera sans mono.
WorldMaker 4y ago
I keep glancing at Berkeley Mono's site since it popped up on HN recently when they added ligatures. As a Fira Code user for some time now the ligatures are a "must have" for me, so that helps a lot. Something about the overtly 70s Mainframe aesthetic doesn't quite hit for me (though very well crafted and almost), though I have to say what little is currently teased for their next font Houston Mono has me intrigued enough to sign up for their mailing list.
- junon 4y ago
  For what it's worth, you can add ligatures to any font you want. They just won't be the same exact style of the font.
  - WorldMaker 4y ago
    Why? This whole article and almost are all the comments are on how many existing choices there are and "designer supports ligatures" is an easy enough filter to find a good, strong subset. I don't need it to be anything more than a filter of current options.
    - junon 4y ago
      Because the whole ligatures for programming thing is relatively new. It was rarely the case that designers built them into the font.
gaws 4y ago
Berkeley Mono is the best mono font out right now.

replwoacause 4y ago

I too have been following the Berkeley Mono font, and I think their website and promo materials are all very well designed. However, I tried the trial version of the font and found the kerning odd and unnatural seeming.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
systemvoltage 4y ago
Concept of kerning doesn't make sense in monospaced fonts. You can't adjust side bearings and create kerning pairs.
- jamesbvaughan 4y ago
  I can relate to GP's feeling here. When I first installed Berkeley Mono and looked at some code in it, I had the same reaction: the spacing between characters looked inconsistent in some words. I think that some other monospace fonts do a better job of making the narrow characters ("i", "l", etc.) match the width of wider characters. That said, I've been using it for a couple weeks now, and have stopped noticing that. My main issue with it now is that some italic glyphs get cut off in my terminal, but I'm not sure if that's the font's fault or my terminal's fault.
  - systemvoltage 4y ago
    Berkeley Mono has probably the widest "i" and "l" of any mono font. It appears to be wider than SF Mono. If anything, they are too wide.
    - jamesbvaughan 4y ago
      You're correct. I had assumed it was the "i" and "l" that were giving the "something is off about this text" feeling, but I just opened up some sample text to try to figure out exactly which characters are doing it and can see that the "i" and "l" actually look fine to me. It seems like the "r" is actually the main culprit. The spacing before and after "r" tends to feel too big to my eye.
      - replwoacause 4y ago
        I used the wrong term but you nailed it. The 'r' is definitely a problem for me too. EDIT: Ok, I feel like this demonstrates the issue pretty well. The 'r' is a problem for sure, but notice how off balance the rest of the word looks? Evidently, there is no kerning (as I've learned) with monospace fonts, but then why does the spacing between these letters appear to variable to my eyes? The spacing between the 'om' looks weird too. This is just a screen shot from Font Book. https://i.ibb.co/9bTNCYt/Y4q-VIvqa20230213.png https://i.ibb.co/9bTNCYt/Y4q-VIvqa20230213.png
        systemvoltage 4y ago
        This is actually a problem with any font that has an 'r' without a base. For example, Andale Mono: https://i.imgur.com/PeLZrj4.png https://i.imgur.com/PeLZrj4.png Fira Code and others do an ugly thing with 'r' that is a huge point of contention. There is a thread on Github that describes the frustration well: https://github.com/tonsky/FiraCode/issues/601 https://github.com/tonsky/FiraCode/issues/601 This is a fundamental trade off between aesthetics of the char itself vs. the aesthetics of spacing between chars. It comes down to personal preference and fits the "boring" description from Berkeley Mono marketing page. Perhaps there should be an option for two types of 'r', one with a base and one without. That'd be great!

steve_adams_86 4y ago

I felt weird buying Berkeley but I’m very happy with it as well. I knew I liked it when I got the trial and yet I felt this aversion to paying for a font for several weeks. Then it dawned on me: I was depriving myself of enjoying someone’s hard work because I didn’t want to spend a fairly small amount of money for a thing I’d use for my work every day. Sort of an everyone loses situation. I can be bizarrely cheap, and it’s kind of embarrassing when I break it down. I lose time and money to my irrational cheapness. Berkeley’s sharpness and legibility has been unmatched for me and I think that’s what draws me to it so much. I know others will say it’s not sharp or legible, and it’s a totally personal thing. We get good at reading on different screens with different characters, and we’re gradually trained to see in different ways. For me, Berkeley absolutely nails it.

zvr 4y ago

Unfortunately, it does not have Greek characters.

zem 4y ago

i've tried a ton of fonts but always end up going back to bitstream vera sans mono.

WorldMaker 4y ago

I keep glancing at Berkeley Mono's site since it popped up on HN recently when they added ligatures. As a Fira Code user for some time now the ligatures are a "must have" for me, so that helps a lot. Something about the overtly 70s Mainframe aesthetic doesn't quite hit for me (though very well crafted and almost), though I have to say what little is currently teased for their next font Houston Mono has me intrigued enough to sign up for their mailing list.

junon 4y ago
For what it's worth, you can add ligatures to any font you want. They just won't be the same exact style of the font.
- WorldMaker 4y ago
  Why? This whole article and almost are all the comments are on how many existing choices there are and "designer supports ligatures" is an easy enough filter to find a good, strong subset. I don't need it to be anything more than a filter of current options.
  - junon 4y ago
    Because the whole ligatures for programming thing is relatively new. It was rarely the case that designers built them into the font.

gaws 4y ago

Berkeley Mono is the best mono font out right now.