Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!lll-lcc!well!ewhac
From: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: A Modest Proposal (IFF QuickDraw)
Message-ID: <5967@well.UUCP>
Date: 15 May 88 21:51:22 GMT
References: <1760@van-bc.UUCP>
Reply-To: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Organization: onhigh!oracle
Lines: 44

In article <1760@van-bc.UUCP> lphillips@lpami.van-bc.UUCP (Larry Phillips) writes:
>
>In <4607@super.upenn.edu>, ranjit@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Ranjit Bhatnagar) writes:
> >	By some coincidence, there already is such a standard: Apple
> >QuickDraw.  So called "PICT" images consist of, effectively, a script
> >recording a sequence of calls to the graphics library.  An additional
>
>By further coincidence, PostScript is an established standard, fits all the
>criteria, and in addition, is supported on a great many more machines than
>'PICT'.  [ ... ]

	And. by an even more amazing coincidence, PostScript is just as
inappropriate a choice as QuickDraw.

	"PostScript:  The Inefficient Document Layout Specification Language
for The Masses.  Yes, PostScript is just the thing for you "power-users" with
disk space, transfer bandwidth, and money just begging to be needlessly
consumed.  Why be efficient or clever, when you can have PostScript?"

	Enough immature flamage (something I'm trying to cut down on).
Here's some concrete minuses for PostScript:
	o It's not public domain.
	o Adobe charges what I understand to be a hefty licensing fee for
	  the use of PostScript in any product.
	o PostScript files, from what I understand, can get very large very
	  quickly, even for relatively simple documents.
	o PostScript, from what I understand, doesn't know about color yet.
	o PostScript **may** not properly address the "structured graphics"
	  need we're looking for, since PostScript was designed as a
	  document layout language (font creation, manipulation, etc.).
	o Adobe is coming out with something called "Display PostScript".
	  This implies that Display PostScript and vanilla PostScript found
	  in laser printers aren't quite the same thing.  We want something
	  that works the same on all output devices.

	I still think NAPLPS is a better choice, if only that it will be
cheaper.  I'm going to order the standard from ANSI, and check it out more
thoroughly.

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Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape  ihnp4!pacbell -\
 \_ -_		Recumbent Bikes:	      dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac
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