Feature: Install Sangam Tamil Fonts via apt Overview Provide an apt-based feature to install the Sangam Tamil fonts package on Debian/Ubuntu systems, making Tamil text display correctly system-wide. Goals
Easy installation with a single apt command. Proper packaging and metadata so fonts are discoverable and used by fontconfig. Post-install steps to update caches and locale fallback behavior. Minimal system permissions and clean uninstall.
Package contents
/usr/share/fonts/truetype/sangam/ — TrueType/OpenType font files (e.g., SangamMN.ttf, SangamLipi.ttf) /usr/share/doc/sangam-fonts/ — README, license (SIL Open Font License or appropriate) /usr/share/fonts/sangam-fonts.conf — optional fontconfig configuration to prefer Sangam for Tamil script debian/control, postinst, prerm scripts for packaging apt sangam tamil fonts install
apt package metadata (debian/control) — key fields
Package: sangam-fonts Version: 1.0-1 Section: fonts Priority: optional Architecture: all Depends: fontconfig, fonts-dejavu-core (optional) Maintainer: Your Name you@example.com Description: Sangam Tamil fonts — high-quality Tamil script fonts for UI and documents.
Installation steps (user-facing)
Update apt: sudo apt update
Install package: sudo apt install sangam-fonts
Force fontconfig update (if needed): sudo fc-cache -fv Feature: Install Sangam Tamil Fonts via apt Overview
Post-install script (postinst)
Run fc-cache to refresh font caches. Create/update a fontconfig file at /etc/fonts/conf.d/60-sangam.conf to set Sangam as preferred for Tamil: <?xml version="1.0"?> <!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd"> <fontconfig> <alias> <family>sans-serif</family> <prefer> <family>Sangam</family> </prefer> </alias> <match target="pattern"> <test name="lang" compare="contains"> <string>ta</string> </test> <edit name="family" mode="prepend" binding="strong"> <string>Sangam</string> </edit> </match> </fontconfig>