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- Overview of Ghostscript
- This document is a roadmap to the Ghostscript documentation. After
- looking through it, if you want to install Ghostscript and not only
- use it, we recommend you read how to install Ghostscript, and how to
- compile Ghostscript from source code (which is necessary before
- installing it on Unix and VMS systems).
- _________________________________________________________________
- Table of contents
- * Document roadmap by theme
- + What should I read if I'm a new user?
- + AFPL Ghostscript and GPL Ghostscript
- + Before building Ghostscript
- + What should I read if I'm not a new user?
- + What if I'm a developer?
- + What if I'm writing documentation?
- * Presence on the World Wide Web
- + Ghostscript's home pages
- + Adobe PostScript, Encapsulated PostScript, and PDF reference
- documentation
- + Other material on the WWW
- * Which document contains what?
- + Primarily for users:
- Bug-form.htm
- Bug-info.htm
- Deprecated.htm
- Devices.htm
- Helpers.htm
- Humor.htm
- Ps2epsi.htm
- Ps2pdf.htm
- Ps2ps2.htm
- Readme.htm
- Unix-lpr.htm
- Use.htm
- + For both users and developers:
- Changes.htm
- Commprod.htm
- Copying.htm
- Fonts.htm
- Hershey.htm
- History*.htm
- Install.htm
- Language.htm
- Make.htm
- News.htm
- Psfiles.htm
- Public.htm
- + Primarily for developers:
- API.htm
- C-style.htm
- DLL.htm
- Develop.htm
- Drivers.htm
- Htmstyle.htm
- Issues.htm
- Lib.htm
- Maintain.htm
- Projects.htm
- Ps-style.htm
- Release.htm
- Source.htm
- Testing.htm
- Xfonts.htm
- _________________________________________________________________
- Document roadmap by theme
- What should I read if I'm a new user?
- * how to use Ghostscript. This includes both a quickstart
- introduction to the commandline version and more extensive
- reference material.
- * detailed information about specific devices that Ghostscript can
- use for output
- * information about reporting problems--but remember that
- Ghostscript comes with NO WARRANTY and NO SUPPORT
- * more detailed information about how to use Ghostscript under Unix
- with lpr as a filter for printing
- AFPL Ghostscript and GPL Ghostscript
- AFPL Ghostscript and GPL Ghostscript are different releases. If you
- have AFPL Ghostscript, not the GPL Ghostscript releases, you should
- read (or at least skim through):
- * additional information about AFPL Ghostscript releases that is not
- relevant to GPL Ghostscript releases.
- If you run into any questions, or if you are going to be using
- Ghostscript extensively, you should at least skim, and probably
- eventually read:
- * about the fonts distributed with Ghostscript, including how to add
- or replace fonts
- * a description of the Ghostscript language, and its differences
- from the documented PostScript language
- * about the postscript files distributed with Ghostscript (other
- than fonts)
- Before building Ghostscript
- If you are going to compile Ghostscript from source, rather than just
- use an executable you got from somewhere, you may want to read:
- * how to build Ghostscript and install it
- _________________________________________________________________
- What should I read if I'm not a new user?
- If you have already used Ghostscript, when you receive a new release
- you should begin by reading this file, then
- * News.htm, for incompatible changes and new features in the current
- release;
- * if you wish, Changes.htm, for a detailed list of changes in the
- current release;
- * if you wish, History#.htm (currently History8.htm), for changes in
- other releases.
- _________________________________________________________________
- What if I'm a developer?
- If you are going to do any development on or with Ghostscript at all,
- you should at least look at
- * the roadmap documentation for Ghostscript's source files and
- architecture
- If you are going to write a new driver for Ghostscript, you should
- read
- * the guide to the Ghostscript source code
- * the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers
- * about the external font interface between Ghostscript and
- platform-supplied fonts
- If you are considering distributing Ghostscript (either AFPL or GPL
- versions) in conjunction with a commercial product, you should read
- the license carefully, and you should also read
- * additional clarification of the circumstances under which
- Ghostscript can be distributed with a commercial product
- If you intend to use Ghostscript in the form of a dynamic link library
- (DLL) under OS/2 or Microsoft Windows or in the form of shared object
- under Linux, read
- * documentation on Ghostscript Interpreter API
- If you want to use Ghostscript as part of another program--as a
- callable PostScript language interpreter--and not as a DLL or as a
- self-contained executable application, you should begin by reading
- * the source file imain.h, the documented API for Ghostscript not as
- a DLL
- or if you are going to use only the Ghostscript graphics library,
- * about the structure of the Ghostscript library and its interfaces
- _________________________________________________________________
- What if I'm writing documentation?
- If you are editing or adding to Ghostscript's existing documentation
- in HTML format, or writing a new document, you should read
- * the coding and style guidelines for Ghostscript's HTML-based
- documentation.
- _________________________________________________________________
- Presence on the World Wide Web
- Ghostscript's home page
- Ghostscript has a home page on the World Wide Web with helpful
- information such as the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and a list of
- known problems and workarounds for the current AFPL Ghostscript
- release (in the "Obtaining" file for that release):
- http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/
- More material about Ghostscript can be found at
- http://www.ghostscript.com/
- Adobe PostScript, Encapsulated PostScript, and PDF reference documentation
- Adobe makes a wealth of technical documentation available over the
- Web, including the PostScript Language Reference Manual (Third
- Edition); the Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Format Specification
- version 3, including Encapsulated PostScript Interchange (EPSI)
- format; the PDF Reference manuals. The Acrobat SDK contains pdfmark
- and Acrobat Distiller parameters documentation. Some of these
- documents are also available at Adobe's ftp site, but not necessarily
- under the same filenames.
- Other material on the WWW
- Much other material about Ghostscript is available on the World Wide
- Web, both as web pages and as archived Usenet and mailing list
- discussions. Use the well-known search engines to find such material.
- There is a translation of the Ghostscript 'man' pages into Czech at:
- http://www.volny.cz/rebus/ghostscript/
- _________________________________________________________________
- Which document contains what?
- Here is the list in alphabetic order of Ghostscript documentation,
- with explanations of the contents.
- API.htm
- On MS-Windows and OS/2, Ghostscript is compiled as a dynamic
- link library (DLL). On Linux, Ghostscript can be compiled as a
- shared object. This describes how to use it. For developers.
- Bug-form.htm
- A form to fill out and email to report a problem with AFPL
- Ghostscript--but remember that Ghostscript comes with NO
- WARRANTY and NO SUPPORT. Please read the instructions before
- reporting a bug.
- Bug-info.htm
- Information about how to report problems with AFPL
- Ghostscript--but remember that Ghostscript comes with NO
- WARRANTY and NO SUPPORT. Please read this before reporting a
- problem.
- C-style.htm
- Guidelines and style for C coding, which you should follow if,
- for example, you write a new driver or add or change something
- in Ghostscript. For developers.
- Changes.htm
- A detailed list of all code changes in the current release or
- pre-release, generated mechanically from the CVS logs. For
- developers.
- Commprod.htm
- The conditions under which Ghostscript may be distributed in a
- commercial context. See also the Aladdin Free Public License.
- Copying.htm
- A reminder that AFPL Ghostscript is governed NOT by the Free
- Software Foundation's GNU General Public License but by the
- Aladdin Free Public License.
- DLL.htm
- On OS/2, MS Windows-16 and MS Windows-32 platforms, Ghostscript
- is compiled as a dynamic link library (DLL). This describes how
- to use it. For developers. This DLL interface is obsolete. Use
- API.htm instead.
- Develop.htm
- Code orientation for developers. Contains a detailed breakdown
- of the source files by functional group, and overviews of the
- major architectural features and services.
- Deprecated.htm
- Documention for deprecated devices and features. Features
- described here will be removed in future versions of
- Ghostscript.
- Devices.htm
- Detailed information about some specific devices for which
- Ghostscript can produce output. Run "gs -h" to see which
- devices a particular version of Ghostscript is built to use.
- Drivers.htm
- Describes the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers.
- If you do this, you should also read and use the C style and
- coding guidelines. Necessary to develop a new driver. For
- developers.
- Fonts.htm
- All about fonts freely available for Ghostscript, and how to
- add and use new fonts. Also describes how to use Ghostscript
- fonts as X Windows fonts. For both users and developers.
- Helpers.htm
- A note of thanks to people who have helped in the development
- of Ghostscript.
- Hershey.htm
- Part 1 of the five-part original Usenet distribution of the
- free Hershey fonts, giving the terms of use and describing
- their encoding.
- History*.htm
- The history of changes in all Ghostscript releases:
- History8.htm for Ghostscript versions 8.n
- History7.htm for Ghostscript versions 7.n
- History6.htm for Ghostscript versions 6.n
- History5.htm for Ghostscript versions 5.n
- History4.htm for Ghostscript versions 4.n
- History3.htm for Ghostscript versions 3.n
- History2.htm for Ghostscript versions 2.n
- History1.htm for Ghostscript versions 1.n
- Htmstyle.htm
- The guidelines and style for HTML coding of Ghostscript's
- documentation, which you should follow if, for example, you
- change existing HTML documentation or write new documents. For
- writers and editors.
- Humor.htm
- Another Ghostscript interpreter.
- Install.htm
- How to install Ghostscript. See also how to build it.
- Issues.htm
- A list of outstanding open issues in Ghostscript. These include
- known limitations, minor bugs, performance issues, differences
- from Adobe implementations, and others.
- Language.htm
- The relationship between the Ghostscript interpreter and the
- PostScript language as defined by Adobe.
- Lib.htm
- A description of the Ghostscript library, a set of procedures
- to implement the graphics and filtering capabilities that are
- primitive operations in the PostScript language and in Adobe
- Portable Document Format (PDF). For developers.
- Maintain.htm
- Assorted Ghostscript maintenance procedures. For developers.
- Make.htm
- How to build Ghostscript executables from the source code. See
- also how to install it. It's not necessary to be a highly
- experienced developer to build or install Ghostscript, but some
- experience is needed.
- News.htm
- A brief description of the latest release or pre-release of
- Ghostscript, and a list of any incompatible changes in it.
- Changes in older releases are described in the history files
- "History*.htm", which are usually installed in the
- documentation directory. Run "gs -h" to see where that is.
- Projects.htm
- A list of Ghostscript development projects with which we would
- like help.
- Ps-style.htm
- The guidelines and style for postscript coding in Ghostscript.
- Some of Ghostscript is implemented in the postscript language
- itself, and various utilities and examples are distributed with
- it. You should follow these guidelines if you're extending or
- modifying those files. For developers.
- Ps2epsi.htm
- Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2epsi
- to convert PostScript to Adobe Encapsulated PostScript
- Interchange (EPSI) format.
- Ps2pdf.htm
- Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2pdf
- to convert PostScript to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).
- Ps2ps2.htm
- Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2ps2
- to convert Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) or Adobe
- Postscript Level 3 into Adobe Postscript Level 2.
- Psfiles.htm
- A description of the PostScript files (other than font files)
- distributed with Ghostscript, including initialization
- routines, utility programs, and sample printable files.
- Public.htm
- The Aladdin Free Public License, which states the conditions
- for using and redistributing AFPL Ghostscript.
- Readme.htm
- This document.
- Release.htm
- A description of how to prepare and test a Ghostscript release.
- Of interest only to developers who want to create new
- Ghostscript versions for distribution.
- Source.htm
- A guide to the Ghostscript source code, for development and
- debugging.
- Testing.htm
- Documentation for using the test scripts located in the
- toolbin/tests directory, and conventions for writing new
- testing scripts.
- Unix-lpr.htm
- How to set up Ghostscript as a Unix lpr filter.
- Use.htm
- Detailed instructions on how to use Ghostscript, including such
- matters as designating an output device; choosing a default
- paper size; how Ghostscript finds files, including font files;
- how it uses environment variables; notes on specific platforms,
- including the X Window System; and command-line options.
- Xfonts.htm
- Ghostscript's external font interface to a host platform's
- font-rendering mechanism, for developers.
- _________________________________________________________________
- Copyright © 1996-2002 artofcode LLC. All rights reserved.
- This software is provided AS-IS with no warranty, either express or
- implied. This software is distributed under license and may not be
- copied, modified or distributed except as expressly authorized under
- the terms of the license contained in the file LICENSE in this
- distribution. For more information about licensing, please refer to
- http://www.ghostscript.com/licensing/. For information on commercial
- licensing, go to http://www.artifex.com/licensing/ or contact Artifex
- Software, Inc., 101 Lucas Valley Road #110, San Rafael, CA 94903,
- U.S.A., +1(415)492-9861.
- Ghostscript version 8.53, 20 October 2005
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