wfc@cl.cam.ac.uk (William Clocksin on jenny) (05/09/89)
There are actually two issues on this topic, and contributors have been talking at cross purposes. First, a check (or cheque) is whatever the bank is willing to honor. Most banks make life easier by using a format they are prepared to honor (but even still reserve the right not to), but that format is not exclusive. So, you can write a check on the side of a cow, and if the bank will honor it, then it is a valid cheque (true for nearly all banks in every country). Second, the original article (from "The Polymath") was presumably concerned with the potential for using PostScript for fraud, which is where somebody claims to be (or to represent) somebody he isn't. Here the fraud is make easier by using PostScript (say) to forge cheques that resemble standard formats. But really. Whether or not he knew what he was talking about, Mr Polymath was really making a point about fraud, and not about PostScript, magnetic toner, or machine-readable characters.