Imaging a set of font disks, I came across this script for, apparently, converting existing fonts from how they were stored in NextStep 1 to how they will be stored in NextStep 2:
DESCRIPTION:
font_update_2.0 is a C shell script used to reorganize NextStep
font directories under NextStep release 2.0. Fonts in NextStep
exist in three subdirectories:
/NextLibrary/Fonts
/LocalLibrary/Fonts
~/Library/Fonts
Previously, each PostScript font had its component files split into
three subdirectories (outline, bitmap, and afm). Now, all of the
information for a given font is stored in a single subdirectory
call <fontname>.font. For example, in the new scheme, an ls of
/NextLibrary/Fonts will give:
Courier-Bold.font
Courier-BoldOblique.font
Courier-Oblique.font
Courier.font
Helvetica-Bold.font
<etc>
This new structure allows fonts to be simply maintained using the
Workspace.
This shell script builds this new structure for whatever fonts
exist in <dir>/Fonts/outline directory. If no argument is
passed, ~/Library is used. It also leaves behind symbolic links
for the old style allowing older appkits, and applications who rely
on the old font organization to work. The WindowServer itself supports
both organizations.
EXAMPLES:
root should do the following during a 2.0 update.
>font_update_2.0 /NextLibrary /LocalLibrary
users with fonts in ~/Library should do the following to update their
personal fonts (most people don't have any).
>font_update_2.0
>
The disk appears to have been connected to BaNG, the Bay Area Next User Group, but it's also possible the script shipped as part of the NextStep 2.0 upgrade? Attaching here in case anyone is curious.
Looks like it's not lost at all...
$ find . -name 'font_update_2.0' -print
./ns20/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns20beta/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns21/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns22/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns30/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns31/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns32/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns33/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns33j/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./ns40/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./os40/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./os41/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
./os42/usr/bin/font_update_2.0
...but rather stayed around in NS 2.0 and later! It's also referenced in the fontloader(1) man page.
The real mystery is why it was on a floppy. :o