Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!mandrill!decvax!spray!anson
From: anson@spray.CalComp.COM (Ed Anson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Printer Support (was Re: Microsoft cuts corners, actuall)
Message-ID: <2419@spray.CalComp.COM>
Date: 26 Aug 88 14:33:49 GMT
References: <870217@hpcilzb.HP.COM> <76000279@p.cs.uiuc.edu> <16109@apple.Apple.COM>
Reply-To: anson@spray.UUCP (Ed Anson)
Organization: CalComp, A Lockheed Company, Hudson, NH, USA
Lines: 33

In article <16109@apple.Apple.COM> casseres@apple.com.UUCP (David Casseres) writes:
>
>Actually, the OS doesn't do anything in particular for device-independent
>printing.  The part of the Printing Manager that's in the system is just
>a little bit of glue that knows how to pass Printing Manager calls to the
>current printer driver.

If it's really that simple, why does Apple choose not to document that
interface?

Those of us who are asking Apple for some help, are not asking for info or
advice on programming our printers. We know how to do that! All we ask is a
good description of the Printing Manager interface.

The results of Apple's current policy are as follows:
  1. Our customers want our printers on their Macintoshes. We will support them.
  2. Apple doesn't provide adequate information, so we have to find other
     sources. Those sources are necessarily incomplete and/or inaccurate.
  3. Our printer drivers will inevitably violate some unstated Apple standards
     in the area, and will break. Apple will blame us for not following their
     rules.

As I pointed out in a previous posting, Apple *has* promised to support printer
developers at some unspecified time in the future. I think the current lack of
support is not so much a matter of long term policy, as it is a short term
reaction to Apple's acknowledged shortage of Tech Support staff. That is,
they can't cope with printer driver developers right now.

(The opinions stated above are my own. Please don't blame my employer!)
-- 
=====================================================================
   Ed Anson,    Calcomp Display Products Division,    Hudson NH 03051
   (603) 885-8712,      anson@elrond.CalComp.COM