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Wherein we contemplate moving shaping, rasterization, font compilation, and general font inspection and manipulation from Python & C++ to Rust.

We currently rely C++ for anything high performance, e.g. shaping or subsetting, and Python for general purpose manipulation. The results are exactly what you'd expect:

Some logic ends up implemented in both languages. For example, when it became apparent the Python subsetter was too slow for both runtime serving and future projects like progressive font enrichment the hb-subset project was born.

Rust appears to offer us the ability to implement fast, safer code with development velocity in between Python and C++. This is a very appealing offer.

For read-only users we may need to support readonly mmap access. Crates like zerocopy and the like suggest this is possible. Establishing a clean pattern here should be tackled early. #3 proposes a path forward.

A safe text stack is desirable for Chrome, Android, and more. At time of writing we observe a semi-steady stream of fuzzer issues. It seems plausible a Rust rewrite can stop the bleeding. This is promising enough it's well worth giving it a try!

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