Birbla

Discussion summary

Jim's TrueType QR Code Font is a project that generates QR codes using OpenType fonts, but faces compatibility issues on Safari and iOS 27. The project is detailed on GitHub, though some users find the explanation lacking.

What the discussion says

  • Some users report Safari and WebKit (including iOS 27) have trouble rendering the font.
  • The project leverages OpenType's advanced features like hinting and glyph substitution.
  • There is a limitation to support only Basic Latin (English-only).
  • Users appreciate the technical innovation but note browser compatibility issues.
“OpenType specification is Turing complete, its hinting engine does math during rasterization.”
— zb3
“Some details of how it works are in https://github.com/jimparis/qr-font/blob/master/design.md”
— foodevl

Join the discussion

Write your take first — we'll ask for email only when you're ready to publish.

Sign in
  • Hacker News
  • This ... means the page could render a QR code for humans while letting bots see the actual URL. That is incredibly cool.
    by maguay
  • Unfortunately the most important thing here is missing - the whole explanation, like how did we get there, what those fonts can do and so on..
    by zb3
  • Impressive, but on iOS 27 even one of the examples don't work. Seems like it has an issue with spaces. https://imgur.com/a/tZGqtjR
    by andix
  • It doesn’t seem to like spaces that much, the code for [QR coded] is broken for me on safari ios. When the space is removed it’s a working qrcode again
    by shreddit
  • Font rendering should scare you
    by trillic
  • A fun benefit seems to be that you can select the QR code as text and copy it, which puts the original text in your clipboard.
    by jhogervorst
  • [dupe] a recent Show HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48703200
    by ChrisArchitect
  • Maybe it's not practical for day-to-day use but the way this hacks the font to produce something completely different is amazing!
    by athenot

Explore Birbla archives