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From: roberts@cognos.uucp (Robert Stanley)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics,comp.windows.misc
Subject: Re: PostScript standard?
Message-ID: <1621@cognos.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 20-Oct-87 11:45:36 EST
Article-I.D.: cognos.1621
Posted: Tue Oct 20 11:45:36 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Oct-87 10:48:35 EST
References: <535@micas.UUCP> <15085@topaz.rutgers.edu> <532@gssc.UUCP> <482@tnosel.UUCP> <1628@unc.cs.unc.edu>
Reply-To: roberts@cognos.UUCP (Robert Stanley)
Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada
Lines: 39
Xref: dciem comp.graphics:1148 comp.windows.misc:71
Summary: QuickDraw Extended on the Mac

In article <1628@unc.cs.unc.edu> steele@unc.UUCP (Oliver Steele) writes:

} Most applications use QuickDraw, which is the true DeVice Independent (DVI)
} Macintosh Page Description Language (PDL)

} The moral of this is that if you have a sufficiently powerful PDL built
} into the computer, and DVI printing in the OS, it doesn't matter what PDL
} your printers use as long as your printers can print at a high enough
} resolution to render your page the way you described it.

} Actually, QuickDraw on the Macs doesn't quite fill the bill, else Mac
} programs that *do* deal specifically with PostScript wouldn't be necessary
} (nor would certain kludgy things that have to do with the different
} interpretation of certain picture opcodes by the screen driver and the
} printer driver).  The deficiencies include limitations on rotated text and
} the types and ranges of shading, among other things.

Well said, and truly.  It should be further noted that Apple are fully aware
of the various ramifications of this, and have seriously charged Macintosh
software developers that embedding direct PostScript support in their programs
is a dangerous practice.  The consequences of doing so became evident with the
introduction of what was essentially a QuickDraw laser printer, which cannot be
used to print output containing embedded PostScript.

Apple have announced a committment to extend QuicDraw to redress any
inadequacies in its capabilities as a PDL.  Of course, it is not clear how long
it will take to provide the necessary features, nor how welcome the extensions
will actually be (given that QuickDraw is solidly ROM at present).  Far more
important will be extending the capabilities of PDLs to reflect the wide range
of new demands that the rapidly expanding horde of personal computer users with
full page printers is likely to generate.  Enter, stage centre, the (computer-)
age-old problem of standard versus increased functionality....

Robert_S
-- 
Robert Stanley           Cognos Incorporated     S-mail: P.O. Box 9707
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