jantypas@hope.UUCP (John Antypas) (05/31/88)
I know we've all seen this before, but I still need a ditroff post
processor for a matrix printer (Epson Fx8{0/5} type.) I know -- why would
anyone want a matrix printer for this! (People keep asking it over and over!)
Well:
o While I have access to a laser printer, it's not hooked to my
my computer and doesn't understand ditroff anyway.
o Pic and neqn are much happier with Ditroff than nroff anyway.
o My printer just happens to have (along with nearly every other
one these days) more than just bold, italics, and underline.
I know the printted output will look slightly rough but it makes a good
preview device before it goes to the laser printer. Besides, how hard could
it be? Simply make a bitmap (186k) of the page and print it. (I already
have the graphics routines.) It won't be hard if:
o I can get ahold of makedev code.
o Someone can explain some font standard I can use freely like
hershey or something.
Anyone have any ideas at least?
John Antypas -- Soft21 --21st Century Software:
UUCP: {buita|garp|killer|pyramid|reed|sdeggo|ucsd!ucrmath|uport}!soft21!jantypas
Internet: jantypas%soft21.uucp@{garp.MIT.EDU, ucsd.EDU} BITNET: jantypas@ucrvmsmikew@foobar.hf.intel.com (Mike Wright) (06/02/88)
From article <281@ucrmath.UUCP>, by jantypas@hope.UUCP (John Antypas): > I know we've all seen this before, but I still need a ditroff post > processor for a matrix printer (Epson Fx8{0/5} type.) I know -- why would > anyone want a matrix printer for this! (People keep asking it over and over!) > Well: [ much stuff deleted] > > John Antypas -- Soft21 --21st Century Software: > > UUCP: {buita|garp|killer|pyramid|reed|sdeggo|ucsd!ucrmath|uport}!soft21!jantypas > Internet: jantypas%soft21.uucp@{garp.MIT.EDU, ucsd.EDU} BITNET: jantypas@ucrvms If you are interested, I have written just such a beast. It takes ditroff output and makes page images for an Epson [RF]X-80. It could probably be changed quite easily for other dot-matrix printers. If anyone wants a copy - please let me know and I can arrange to send it to you. Please be aware that it is quite slow and produces ENOURMOUS amounts of output - but it does look amazingly nice if I say so myself. -- -mikew (Mike Wright, (503)696-7281, Intel Corp; Hillsboro OR) ...tektronix!psu-cs! \ ...uunet!vrdxhq!verdix!omepd!littlei! > foobar!semike!mikew ...reed!littlei! /
littauer@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com (Tom Littauer) (06/04/88)
In article <196@semike.foobar.hf.intel.com> mikew@foobar.hf.intel.com (Mike Wright) writes: >From article <281@ucrmath.UUCP>, by jantypas@hope.UUCP (John Antypas): >> I know we've all seen this before, but I still need a ditroff post >> processor for a matrix printer (Epson Fx8{0/5} type.)uld >[ much stuff deleted] >If you are interested, I have written just such a beast. I have one too, but I suggest trying Mike's first. It's not that I know anything about his, but I don't think mine has been shaken down enough yet. Details follow. >It takes ditroff output and makes page images for an Epson [RF]X-80. It >could probably be changed quite easily for other dot-matrix printers. > >If anyone wants a copy - please let me know and I can arrange to send it >to you. Please be aware that it is quite slow and produces ENOURMOUS >amounts of output - but it does look amazingly nice if I say so myself. > > >-- >-mikew (Mike Wright, (503)696-7281, Intel Corp; Hillsboro OR) > ...tektronix!psu-cs! \ > ...uunet!vrdxhq!verdix!omepd!littlei! > foobar!semike!mikew > ...reed!littlei! / From article <281@ucrmath.UUCP>, by jantypas@hope.UUCP (John Antypas): > I know we've all seen this before, but I still need a ditroff post > processor for a matrix printer (Epson Fx8{0/5} type.)uld I have one for the Fujitsu DL2600 (said to be compatible with these, but with a few quirks), *BUT* it's not really in postable form. When I started work on it I intended to create a generalized facility but when I got my printer working I got distracted by other tasks. >I know the printted output will look slightly rough but it makes a good >preview device before it goes to the laser printer. Besides, how hard could >it be? Simply make a bitmap (186k) of the page and print it. (I already >have the graphics routines.) It won't be hard if: At 180 dpi it looks OK and is fine for overhead foils - I've used it to produce theatre programs by reduction in a copier. A full-size bitmap is closer to 375K at 180 dpi, so you need to cope with segmentation. Font tables eat space, and Hershey-vector to bitmap algorithms (scaled) take time so optimizations are needed there, too. > o I can get ahold of makedev code. Somebody just posted this. > o Someone can explain some font standard I can use freely like > hershey or something. Hershey format is, uh, quaint. There are several sizes of character and differing conventions about where the baseline is. I ended up rescaling all of them and putting in an index so I could seek to the character I needed. As I implemented it, my ditroff filter supports as many fonts as you can talk ditroff into taking, in as many sizes as you can talk ditroff into taking. Drawing codes for lines and circles are supported, but I didn't get around to ellipses or splines. I also built a program to build the tables used as input to makedev. All the basic character sets in the Occidental Hershey fonts have descriptor tables built (2 flavors of script, Bold, Italic, Greek, Roman, Swiss, Old English, Fractur aka Old German, Old Italian, etc.) as well as a start on the Special Character font. The more complicated your pages are, the more memory you need (allocated dynamically) and a hard disk is a practical requirement. I've put in a few optimizations but it's still not fast. More optimizations are left, including pseudo-virtual memory for the page buffer, support of printer fonts, and font cacheing (I don't think I've put that in yet - I'm not posting from the machine I have the code on). By the way, don't trust my speed judgements... when you run UNIX on a mainframe your time sense gets warped. If there's someone out there who needs this in alpha-test mode (guaranteed to be buggy) and is interested in carrying the project forward, please send email. -- UUCP: littauer@amdahl.amdahl.com or: {sun,decwrl,hplabs,pyramid,ihnp4,ames,uunet,cbosgd}!amdahl!littauer DDD: (408) 737-5056 [after 5/1 - until then, (408) 982-0880] USPS: Amdahl Corp. M/S 330, 1250 E. Arques Av, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 I'll tell you when I'm giving you the party line. The rest of the time it's my very own ravings (accept no substitutes).