How to convert a true type font into a bitmap font?

I need to convert a true type font (more specifically, the Arial.ttf font) into a bitmap font (XML + PNG). How can I do that easily?

There are a couple of programs that are good at this:

• Font Builder is open source and is/should be cross-platform.
• AngelCode's bitmap font generator is a simpler program in case Font Builder is too complicated or doesn't do what you need it to do.
• FontForge is a powerful editor that lets you edit, create, and convert fonts to bitmap (and, perhaps, vice versa).

Do note, however, that these programs don't output any XML metadata like you wanted. There isn't any program that can do this at the moment.

I made this one a while back. It can build compact font bitmaps, optionally including kerning, and includes source code to load and display the fonts

https://github.com/SudoMike/SudoFont