iText : Unable to print mathematical characters like ∈, ∩, ∑, ∫, ∆ √, ∠ - itext

Question

I am using iText 4.0.2 version for pdf generation. I have some characters/symbols to print like ∈, ∩, ∑, ∫, ∆ (Mathematical symbols) and many others.
My code :
Document document = new Document(PageSize.A4, 60, 60, 60, 60);
try
{
PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.getInstance(document, new FileOutputStream("/home/adeel/experiment.pdf"));
document.open();
String str = "this string will contains special character like this ∈, ∩, ∑, ∫, ∆";
BaseFont bfTimes = null;
try {
bfTimes = BaseFont.createFont(BaseFont.TIMES_ROMAN, BaseFont.CP1252, BaseFont.EMBEDDED);
} catch (IOException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
Font fontnormal = new Font(bfTimes, 12, Font.NORMAL, Color.BLACK);
Paragraph para = new Paragraph(str, fontnormal);
document.add(para);
document.close();
writer.close();
System.out.println("Done!");
} catch (DocumentException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
In the above code I am putting all the symbols in str and generating the pdf file. In place of symbols I tried putting unicode characters in str for the symbols but It didn't worked as well.

Answer 1

Please take a look at the MathSymbols example.
First you need a font that supports the symbols you need. Incidentally, FreeSans.ttf is such a font. Then you need to use the right encoding.
You're using UNICODE, so you need Identity-H as the encoding.
You should also use notations such as \u2208, \u2229, \u2211, \u222b, \u2206. That's not a must, but it's good practice.
This is how it's done:
public static final String DEST = "results/fonts/math_symbols.pdf";
public static final String FONT = "resources/fonts/FreeSans.ttf";
public static final String TEXT = "this string contains special characters like this \u2208, \u2229, \u2211, \u222b, \u2206";
public void createPdf(String dest) throws IOException, DocumentException {
Document document = new Document();
PdfWriter.getInstance(document, new FileOutputStream(dest));
document.open();
BaseFont bf = BaseFont.createFont(FONT, BaseFont.IDENTITY_H, BaseFont.EMBEDDED);
Font f = new Font(bf, 12);
Paragraph p = new Paragraph(TEXT, f);
document.add(p);
document.close();
}
The result looks like this: math_symbols.pdf
Important: you should always use the most recent, official version of iText. iText 4.0.2 is not an official version.