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From: jerry@oliveb.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.bugs.4bsd
Subject: Re: 4.3 multiple printers on same port
Message-ID: <599@oliveb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 4-Mar-87 17:10:44 EST
Article-I.D.: oliveb.599
Posted: Wed Mar  4 17:10:44 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 6-Mar-87 23:37:07 EST
References: <8300001@bradley>
Reply-To: jerry@oliveb.UUCP (Jerry F Aguirre)
Organization: Olivetti ATC; Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 22

In article <8300001@bradley> brad@bradley.UUCP writes:
>on the same printer.  I have 4 different filters to do the print
>pitch change, and for different printers listed in the /etc/printcap,
>each with its own spool directory.  the problem is that if the printer
>is printing 10 pitch and you send something at 15pitch either 2 things
>happen. 1. the job 15 pitch doesn come off or 2. it goes to the bit
>bucket and I never see (not even on the printer).

I have the same problem, wanting to access the same printer device with
two entirely different filters.  This results in nothing but problems if
jobs are placed in both queues at the same time.

My solution is to make the "lock" file in each additional spool
directory a symbolic link to the lock file of the first spool directory
for that device.  This eliminates the problem of multiple daemons
attempting simultainious access to the same device.  I suspect that
there are problems with this as the daemon may finish the first queue
and leave files in the other queue unprocessed until something starts
the daemon for that queue.

There really needs to be some more flexable software that allows
multiple printers for one queue and multiple queues for one printer.