Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!cbmvax!daveb
From: daveb@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Berezowski)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 1.4 wish list-Printer Support
Keywords: Printer Driver maker/patcher needed
Message-ID: <6850@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 12 May 89 13:37:22 GMT
References: <6984@ecsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: daveb@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Berezowski)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 56

In article <6984@ecsvax.UUCP> kms@ecsvax.UUCP (Ken Steele) writes:
>
>
>
>My wish for 1.4 (and 1.3 and 1.2) is for C-A to provide a utility 
>that will allow the user to create his/her own printer driver.
>
>The problem is that printers (particularly dot matrix) are constantly
>being changed/modified/tweaked by the manufacturers.  The current
>method by C-A for providing drivers often means that if you don't
>have an official driver then you are plagued by missing or incorrect
>commands and are, otherwise, generally out of luck.
>
>For example, I have an Okidata 192 (IBM version).  This is not a rare
>printer.  But I have been unable to find a driver that supports all its
>features AND doesn't attempt unrecognized features.
>
>When I write, I produce 50-page documents which need to follow
>rather specific page-formatting rules.  Because I have to use
>whatever printer is available, this means that I have had to stick with
>the IBM for such work because on it each piece of software provides drivers 
>(and periodic updates to incorporate new printers).
>
>I follow the reasoning of C-A's approach to driver issues, and have
>no quarrel about that.  However the approach means that C-A needs to 
>provide some easier mechanism, than having to write your own printer
>driver, to allow incorporation of the wide variety of printers.
>
>One suggestion:  Since so many of the printer command sets are variations
>of a few basic themes, then perhaps a few skeleton drivers could be 
>provided along with a patching program for specific user needs. Such
>drivers may not be as powerful/efficient as a from-scratch driver but
>would allow the user to "get by."
>
	A printer driver generator can be written to support the text mode
of a printer (in fact there is such a beast called PrtDrvGen on one of the
Fish disks although the number escapes me at present).  This program was
written to the V1.2 printer driver standard; I had hoped that the author
would upgrade it to the V1.3 standard.  You should be able to use this
tool to modify your Okidata_293I driver.

	A printer driver generator for the graphics side is much more
difficult if not near impossible.  Each different printer has so many
quirks when it comes to the graphics side that the possibilities are
almost endless.  I know that an 8-pin non-color graphics generator is
possible (I've seen it, but not for the Amiga), but it is very limited
in its scope.

	Commodore-Amiga makes available a document on how to write your
own printer driver along with sample source code.  Contact our CATS dept.
at (215) 431-9180 for more info (I believe that you need to be either a
certified or commercial developer to get this, but I'm not sure).

	Good luck.

	Regards, David Berezowski