barnett@crdgw1.crd.ge.com (Bruce Barnett) (07/26/89)
I wrote>> >> If you want to be a REAL PostScript Wizard, You also MUST get >> >> Inside PostScript In article <3717@shlump.nac.dec.com>, batcheldern@level (Ned Batchelder) writes: >I have a simple question: In what way does this book help you to become >a real wizard? I've seen the book, and was amazed that someone would >try to publish such a book, and now I am amazed that someone would so >highly recommend it. Well, I have learned a lot from it. What I have learned was not well documented in the Adobe books. I am NOT a PostScript wizard, and nowhere near your level, Ned. Still, I have been collecting everything I can get on PostScript, and I still think this book is valuable. >It seems to me that since all of the new information in the book may be >completely different not only from printer to printer, but in the next >version of the same printer, that all Inside PostScript can really do is >fill your head with a lot of trivia about a particular version of a >particular printer. True, the Author has only debugged, with Adobe, 7 different printers - all QMS. True the implementation at QMS isn't the same as other vendors. But doesn't Adobe do most of the work? Do they sell the sources of their interpreter? If not, then most implementations should be similar??? >It should be called "Inside Version <foo> of Printer <bar>" I bet they wouldn't sell as many books if they did that. >I don't mind this to be a flame; I really would like to know in what way >you will use this book. A good question, and as I find myself learning PostScript and NeWS in my spare time, my knowledge is scanty. When I read the source of the various NeWS browsers, my head hurts. Nevertheless, I found the book to be refreshing in several ways. It explains what is really going on inside the printer. For instance, take the commands '=', '==', and 'pstack'. Instead of just stating how to use these commands, the book documents what these commands do. If I want to modify these commands, or make my own variation, I now understand how to do this. Those browsers mentioned above, for instance, display the structures in windows that allow you to examine procedures and modify them. This book gives me the tools to examine ANY implementation, and learn how ANY implementation REALLY works. I think. If someone knows if I am way-off base, please respond, and deflate my hopes. Then again, I'm the type of person who wants to have a real understanding how something works. Understanding one implementation helps me understand other implementations. I like reading books that explain how operating systems work down to the source code. I think "Inside PostScript" is that sort of book. What do other people think of this book? Am I the only one who likes it? -- Bruce G. Barnett <barnett@crdgw1.ge.com> a.k.a. <barnett@[192.35.44.4]> uunet!crdgw1.ge.com!barnett barnett@crdgw1.UUCP