Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ulowell!m2c!applix!scott
From: scott@applix.UUCP (Scott Evernden)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Postscript <=> Amiga
Message-ID: <940@applix.UUCP>
Date: 29 Mar 89 15:57:44 GMT
References: <13811@gryphon.COM> <85@snll-arpagw.UUCP>
Reply-To: scott@applix.UUCP (Scott Evernden)
Organization: APPLiX Inc., Westboro MA
Lines: 29

In article <85@snll-arpagw.UUCP> paolucci@snll-arpagw.UUCP (Sam Paolucci) writes:
>In article <13811@gryphon.COM> scotty@pnet02.cts.com (Scott Hoisington) writes:
>->I need a program that can read and write encapsulated Postscript files for
>->the Amiga.
>... To interpret
>a PostScript file ( which is also required to convert to IFF ) would
>require the program to UNDERSTAND PostScript, in other words it has to
>include a full intepreter.  At this time I don't know of any program
>that can do this on the Amiga.

EPSF files generally contain textual Postscript code along with an optional
bitmap screen dump.  On a Macintosh, a PICT resource fork is usually
included.  And under MS-DOS, a header can be added to the .EPS file which
contains a pointer to an MS Windows Metafile or TIFF section.

So, if you are trying to read an EPSF file, you need to indicate whether
it is sufficient to accept the bitmap, or convert the PICT/MSMF/TIFF/etc,
if any.  Or are you interested in intepreting the Postscript somehow?

If you need to convert the Postscript, then you might want to look at a
product called ProScript from Pixelations (Northboro, MA).  This product
presumably allows you to output Postscript to any printer (dot-matrix).
There may be a mechanism to get a bitmap out of it, as well.  (Not an
endorsement- I've merely seen the product on dealer shelves.)

There are also a couple of PD/Copylefted Postscript interpreters around,
but they don't port easily to the Amiga.

-scott