🚀 go-pugleaf

Forwarded-For:  Karl Berry <karl@aten.cs.umb.edu>

Some important features need to be added to Ghostscript, so it can be
used a la display PostScript.  We (i.e., project GNU) are asking for
volunteers to implement them, since Ghostscript's primary author (Peter
Deutsch) does not have access to an X server, and the FSF staff members
(karl@cs.umb.edu and letters@cs.umb.edu) working on Ghostscript are
implementing other features.

Following is a brief description of the new features we would like
added.  If you're interested in working on this, please contact
karl@cs.umb.edu.

----

First of all, it should be able to display on existing X windows.  The
resource manager is probably the best mechanism for doing this.  This
would allow ordinary X applications (for example, Emacs 19) to use
Ghostscript to put up pictures as part of their ordinary operation.  It
should be able to switch between several X windows under program
control.

Ghostscript should be able to keep track of a Postscript program for
each window, and rerun it when the window needs refreshing.  Perhaps
keep track of a collection of Postscript programs for each window,
each with a bounding box, so you can run the proper subset of them for
a partial refresh.  Clip each of these programs to its bounding box;
don't let it change anything outside of that.

It would be good to do the previewer as a separate program in that
fashion; it would send the Postscript programs to Ghostscript through
a socket when appropriate; it could also communicate with X directly
when that is convenient.  This has the appeal of being more modular.