Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr!tektronix!psueea!parsely!sopwith!snoopy
From: snoopy@sopwith.UUCP (Snoopy)
Newsgroups: gnu.ghostscript.bug
Subject: Re: Ghostscript 1.3: scanner patch; .exe file
Message-ID: <257@sopwith.UUCP>
Date: 19 Jul 89 20:13:55 GMT
References: <8907170530.0.UUL1.3#5127@aladdin.com> <1910@leah.Albany.Edu>
Reply-To: snoopy@sopwith.UUCP (Snoopy)
Distribution: gnu
Organization: The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm
Lines: 45

In article <1910@leah.Albany.Edu> rds95@leah.Albany.Edu (Robert Seals) writes:

| There MUST be a cleaner way to get gs compiled on a DOS system.

So think of one and either post it or mail it to Peter.  Building gs under
UTek is great fun also, as Peter used some Sun extensions which aren't exactly
universal.

|And a suggestion: is there a way to isolate the physical device output
|routines so that I can use my nifty Whizzo graphics board and monitor?

They *are* isolated.  There is a set for IBMPC-EGA and a set for X-windows.
I have sets for Tek61vp02 and dot-matrix in Beta test, and a couple of
others in progress.  Someone did a set for SunView.

|If I could just plug in my own "draw a dot" routine, then we wouldn't
|necessarliy be limited to 640x350x1. I seem to recall a fair amount of
|device dependence in the code, but I haven't scrutinized it since early
|versions.

Any program that creates graphics output is going to be device dependent.
Remember what Ghostscript *is*.  Its mission is to take device independent
(more or less) PostScript code and display it on a particular device.
The trick is to isolate it so that new "device-drivers" or "back-ends"
or whatever you want to call them can be added.  Peter has done a pretty
good job of this.  You should be able to hack things for your Whizzo
graphics board and monitor without too much grief, especially now that
Peter has written some documentation for the interface.

|And more stuph: I see that ghostscript fonts are on the official gnu
|"things to make and do" list. I wish I knew more about fonts, cuz this
|is really a must. I do know a good amount about writing (reasonably
|portable) C code, so if you'd like my help, I'd be happy to assist.
|I am, after all, one of those leftist gnu-adherents.

Len is starting up a small mailing list for people working on fonts.  If
you would like to be on it, send mail to wheaties.ai.mit.edu!tower.

    _____     						  .-----.
   /_____\    Snoopy					./  RIP	 \.
  /_______\   qiclab!sopwith!snoopy			|  	  |
    |___|     parsely!sopwith!snoopy			| tekecs  |
    |___|     sun!nosun!illian!sopwith!snoopy		|_________|

	    "But we're only up to the fourth inning."