tcpdf has grown enormously since the version that is included in 1.2.x, from 1.2 MB to 9.3MB!
I would like to split tcpdf from the core, but we will be able to do that once we have the online installation of modules in place. Until then, what can we do to reduce the size?

Most of the bytes are taken up by a large number of fonts, so it would be a good idea to have a look at what fonts to include.

It's tricky though, as some fonts are required for some language groups. As you can see in this forum thread, japanese sites need another font to be available, but if we use that on non-japanese sites, everybody suddenly has to install a 93-MB Asian Character update package for Adobe reader.

So my question : what tcpdf fonts do we need to include for a basic core install so that we cover all languages?

are the fonts contained in the 1.2.x packages sufficient, or do we need to add one or two more?

thanks for your input!

I've been wondering if we really need it at all. You can get free PDF generation capability for the major browsers these days, either natively (in Chrome) or through various free addons.

The output of such is also signficantly better than what tcpdf generates out of the box, and it can be used to print any page, not just restricted to enabled modules.

The only advantage of tcpdf that I can think of is for printing articles that are broken up with multiple page breaks, but that's another trend that might have had its day.

When we get the cool apps library going, tcpdf could be handled as a dependency for modules that see a need to have it. The core download would certainly be a lot lighter without it.

Could include some fonts with some language packs perhaps?

Good point - the availability of other means to create a PDF is much higher now. The main advantage to having it included is to be able to create a PDF of just the content, without all the extra stuff from the page (blocks, menus, header/ads, footer). Properly defining a print css could accomplish that, though.

Very good points, both on the need for the library, and also on the possibility of bundling some fonts with some language libraries only.

Work on the addons site is progressing slowly, but it is progressing. That won't give us control panel-installable modules yet, but it will be the first step.