🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Oct15.001223@eklektix.com> rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)  
writes:
> connolly@convex.com (Dan Connolly) writes:
> >I am interested in a text formatting system written in PostScript.
> >It would read data from the input stream (similar to the way
> >the image operator, or any number of image decompression operators
> >read data from the input stream). Then it would arrange the text
> >on successive pages and render the text.
> 
> This falls into the category people like to call "Theoretically Possible,
> but..."  It is possible to format text in PostScript, but it's really not
> very well suited to the task.

It really depends on your situation.  I plan to do some of
this after I get my stuff better set up at home.  I'm
speaking here of a LaserWriter with a SCSI drive of its
own. 

If the bottleneck in your setup is transfer time from your
editing machine ("computer") to your PostScript
renderer ("printer"), this is a great idea.  The time you
save in transferal might make up for the calculations
required.

If you use a lot of standard stuff over and over that you can
store on your printer (and thus transfer once and never
again), things get even better.

Similarly, the header might just execute a prolog file
stored in your printer.  That would mean you'd only send a
line of PostScript ahead of your text.  Beat that for
filesize!  

> Also, you probably want the formatter to run on your host machine, so that
> it can find hyphenation tables/dictionaries, include files of macros and
> common text, etc.  This can be done, but it's not the model you suggested.

I don't do hyphenation if I can help it. :-)

> At this point, most of us are probably asking "why PostScript???"  That is,
> why does the implementation language matter?  It seems like PostScript has
> no particular strengths, and several serious weaknesses.

If your printer is more powerful than your computer, or
your computer has better things to do, it's a fine
solution.  There are people out there with Apple ][s
connected to printers with 68020 engines.  Honest! 

Allen B (No, not me :-) )