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From: woody@rpp386.cactus.org (Woodrow Baker)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: Re: The Woody and Amanda show continues...
Summary: th
Message-ID: <17583@rpp386.cactus.org>
Date: 7 Jan 90 03:17:36 GMT
References: <4386@amelia.nas.nasa.gov> <17544@rpp386.cactus.org> <1686@intercon.com>
Organization: River Parishes Programming, Plano, TX
Lines: 51


In the interest of brevity, and ease, I've started a new message block         
here.  The comments refered to here, can be found in the other                 
post  with the subject The Woody and Amanda show.                              
                                                                               
First, QMS didnot do the NEC890.  That is a NEC printer.                       
                                                                               
Second, 8 bit transparent i/o should be allowed.  I don't have any problem     
with permitting it by a special switch setting, or even a software switch      
setting, but it should be there for you when needed.                           
                                                                               
Thirdly Adobe totaly controls what goes on the rom.  QMS cannot even look      
at it, using a dissasembler without violating thier contract.  The way         
it works, or at least USED to work, is that the OEM would specify the          
address of the i/o port hardware, and the hardware specific stuff.  Adobe      
would then generate a version of PS for them, complete with the printer        
specific stuff, and send them a set of master roms.  This was the way          
it was explained to me.  QMS didnot write either the emulators, or             
the paralell code.  They were furnished by Adobe.  QMS has had many            
years of experience with printer emulators.  Any emulation that they           
did would be a LOT better than the Adobe implementations of the HP and         
DIABLO emulators.  I know this, because they had no knowlege of things
that they would have if they had written these.  In addition, conversations
with Adobe confirmed the fact that they did the emulators.
 
In addition, QMS did not write the centronics drivers.  If they had, they
certainly would not have made them available to Apple, but there they are.
 
The DIABLO emulator is far from complete.
The HPLJ emulator does NOT behave like the HP.  Specifically, if you
tell a true HP that there are 66 lines per inch, it will do 6 lines
per inch.  The emulator in the Adobe printers will happily do 66 lines
per inch.  Looks wild.
The HPGL emulator gets lost on certain commands.
 
I realize that your areas of work and my areas of work are vastly different
in regard to Postscript.  I have used it in a production enviornment doing
the typesetting for a local penny-shopper type rag of 16-20 pages.  I
did all of the layout, and typesetting for it, for about a 3 month
period.  I know how it impacts work schedules.
 
Superexec seems to exist on versions above 41.  So yes, it is not on
all printers.  The ones that it is on, however, allow you to understand
more about the earlier ones.
 
Your code is most interesting and useful. Thanks. 
 
Cheers
 
Woody