ats like TrueType or Type&nbsp;1 use vectorial shapes,
      named <em>outlines</em> to describe each glyph.  Some formats may have
      even more exotic ways of representing glyphs (e.g., MetaFont &mdash;
      but this format is not supported).  Fortunately, FreeType&nbsp;2 is
      flexible enough to support any kind of glyph format through a simple
      API.</p>

      <p>The glyph image is always stored in a special object called a
      <em>glyph slot</em>.  As its name suggests, a glyph slot is sim