[comp.archives] Announcing DVItoLN03 V4.0 for VAX/VMS

TEX@rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk (04/18/91)

Archive-name: tex/dviware/vms-dvitoln03/1991--22
Archive-directory: ymir.claremont.edu:[anonymous.tex.drivers.ukln03] [134.173.4.23]
Original-posting-by: TEX@rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk
Reposted-by: emv@msen.com (Edward Vielmetti, MSEN)

(The following announcement appeared three weeks ago in UKTeX; I have deferred
the announcment in TeXhax until assured of the program's availability by
anonymous FTP on the Internet.   BHK 22-MAR-1991)

DVItoLN03                      Version 4.0                   27th February 1991


This new release of DVItoLN03 provides support for virtual fonts, for
mixing portrait and landscape orientation in a document (including on
the same page) and for the newer DEClaser printers (LN05 & LN06), as
well as managing to effect a 25% increase in speed: it has been placed
in the UK TeX Archive as follows:

Sources, documentation and other support:
    in [tex-archive.drivers.ln03.rmcs] -- get 00files.txt for details

Binary files (can only be transferred to a VAX, using TRANSFER/CODE=FAST):
    in [tex-archive.binary.vms.drivers.dvitoln03]
         DVITOLN03.OBJ  -- ought to link under any version of VMS
	 DVITOLN03.EXE  -- linked under VMS V5.3-1
	 DVITOLN03.BCK  -- BACKUP save set containing the complete
	                   distribution; sites able to effect NIFTP can
			   usefully fetch the whole shebang in one go.

    ************************************************************************
    *                                                                      *
    *     Please ensure that you fetch and read the 00README.TXT file.     *
    *                                                                      *
    ************************************************************************

Internet Access
===============

Thanks to the good offices of Sankara Rao and Don Hosek, the new version
of DVItoLN03 is now available Stateside as follows (note that the .EXE
file needs to be transferred as 512-byte fixed-length blocks; the .OBJ
file is, of course, variable-length no-carriage_control.   File
DVItoLN03.SAVE_SET contains everything except the two .STY files as a
backup save set, but is recorded as 32256-byte fixed-length blocks:
being based in the UK, I don't know whether it's feasible to transfer
such a file by anonymous FTP!)

From power.eee.ndsu.nodak.edu [134.129.123.1] by anonymous FTP; files
present as follows---

DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]00README.TXT;1                  21/21        18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]CHANGEBAR.STY;1                 46/48        19-MAR-1991 18:16
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVILN03.HLP;13                  25/30        18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVILN03.LN3_PUBLISH;1          836/837       18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVILN03.TEX_PUBLISH;12         255/258       18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVITOLN03.CH;2                   5/9         18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVITOLN03.CLD;33                13/18        18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVITOLN03.EXE;1                282/285       18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVITOLN03.OBJ;1                455/456       18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVITOLN03.SAVE_SET;2          3213/3213      18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]DVITOLN03.WEB;16               902/906       18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]GRAPHICS.STY;1                   3/3         19-MAR-1991 18:16
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]LOCAL_GUIDES.BIB;45             16/18        18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]OPENCLOSE.SIX;6                 14/18        18-MAR-1991 09:07
DISK$FTP:[DVILN03]OPENCLOSE.SMALL;3               14/18        18-MAR-1991 09:07

From ymir.claremont.edu [134.173.4.23] by anonymous FTP; files present
as follows---

LOCAL:[ANONYMOUS.TEX.DRIVERS.UKLN03]
00FILES.TXT;1               3  13-MAR-1991 15:34 (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
00README.TXT;1             21  25-FEB-1991 18:53 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
CHANGEBAR.STY;1            46  21-MAR-1991 09:38 (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
DVILN03.HLP;13             25  26-FEB-1991 11:52 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVILN03.LN3_PUBLISH;1     836  25-FEB-1991 16:26 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVILN03.TEX_PUBLISH;12    255  25-FEB-1991 16:29 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.CH;2              5  27-FEB-1991 11:52 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.CLD;33           13  26-FEB-1991 12:17 (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.EXE;1           282  27-FEB-1991 12:16 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.OBJ;1           455  27-FEB-1991 12:15 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.WEB;16          902  27-FEB-1991 11:52 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
GRAPHICS.STY;1              3  21-MAR-1991 09:38 (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
LOCAL_GUIDES.BIB;45        16  21-FEB-1991 19:24 (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
OPENCLOSE.SIX;6            14  21-AUG-1989 19:25 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
OPENCLOSE.SMALL;3          14  21-AUG-1989 19:26 (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
Total of 2890 blocks in 15 files.

Features and functions
======================

This implementation of DVItoLN03 has the following advantages over
certain other DVItoLN03 programs (these are not in order of
importance; the new features are at the end of the list):

   i) It IS written in WEB, as opposed to C and other such kludgy languages.
  ii) It downloads to the LN03's font memory the rasters for only those
      characters actually used in the document.  As such, it does not run out
      of font memory just because you've used a few characters from each of a
      large number of different fonts.
 iii) It has a capacity for SIMPLE graphics inclusions.  These have to be in a
      format the LN03 understands (DEC sixels), and are copied verbatim into
      the output file generated.  (Can also manage Tektronix insertions
      on the LN03-plus.)
  iv) It works in landscape and portrait orientations.
   v) It makes use of the ``proper'' VAX/VMS DCL interface for commands.
  vi) It CAN print glyphs whose rasters are too large to be downloaded to the
      LN03 as a font file (by performing a sixel graphics dump of the bitmap);
      obviously this slows things down considerably!
 vii) It CAN handle the invisible fonts used by SliTeX; each such character is
      actually downloaded as a null character locator, ans is imaged by the
      appropriate amount of whitespace.
viii) Either packed or unpacked font files (or both) may be provided in either 
      flat or rooted directory structures; if logical names are used to specify
      these locations (as in the .CLD file provided), the files may be spread
      over a number of different directories or volumes. 
  ix) The error messages are improved over earlier versions of the program, and
      are now all indexed in the woven (WEAVEd?) WEB.  They are also all listed
      in the users' manual.
   x) The program can now handle fonts with more then 128 characters, up to
      TeX's limit of 256.  Therefore, it can now process documents which use
      Silvio Levy's Greek fonts.
  xi) Retention of the log (.TYP) file may now be forced, suppressed, or allowed
      to be determined by the success of the processing.
 xii) Minor revisions and corrections have been made, in particular, it now
      correctly understands the physical limitations to the imaging area.
xiii) Correct some log reports; report files read (except font files); provide
      the /OUTPUT qualifier, to permit utilization of a scratch directory or
      direct spooling to the output device.
 xiv) Support for Flavio Rose \special commands, for drawing changebars, was
      added by Robin Fairbairns at Laser Scan of Cambridge, UK.
  xv) TeX Font Metrics (TFM files) are no longer sought in the hard-wired
      directory TEX$FONTS:, but are instead controlled through the
      /TFM_DIRECTORY qualifier.
 xvi) Support for Virtual Fonts; the .VF files are sought in whatever is
      specified as the value of the /VIRTUAL_DIRECTORY qualifier; users can
      speed processing fractionally by specifying /NOVIRTUAL_DIRECTORY if it is
      known that no virtual fonts are used in the document.  If virtual fonts
      are never used at your site, make this the default.
xvii) Fonts for which the program cannot find any rasters no longer cause the
      processing to be abandoned; solid rules of appropriate dimensions are
      substituted for each missing glyph.
xviii)Landscape and portrait mode material may be mixed within a document, and
      even on a single page, through \special{landscape} and \special{portrait}.
      However, some suitable style option still needs to be written to make this
      feature useful rather than a curiosity!
 xix) Qualifiers /LEFT_MARGIN and /TOP_MARGIN now take a dimension (eg 1in)
      rather than being required to be entered in pixels; the additional
      <physical unit> called PX (pixel) has been added to TeX's normal set.
  xx) Support for the new DEClaser 2100 and 2200 printers has been provided by
      Karsten Nyblad of the Danish Telecomms Research Lab.  Users can select the
      paper source tray, separately for the first and subsequent sheets, and
      also the printing mode (simplex or duplex).  There is even a duplex mode
      for the ordinary LN03 (no, it doesn't really print two-sided!) which, by
      interspersing blank sheets at appropriate points, produces a single-sided
      master suitable for photocopying directly to a double-sided document.
 xxi) Last, but definitely not least, the program has been speeded up, in both
      the font mapping and the imaging phases, so that overall it runs
      approximately 25% faster than V3.1-4.

Author:
      
   B Hamilton Kelly
   Royal Military College of Science
   Shrivenham
   SWINDON
   UK     SN6 8LA

Swindon (++44 793) 785252 [Direct line]

or via JANET:	tex@uk.ac.cranfield.rmcs
    INTERNET:   tex%uk.ac.cranfield.rmcs@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
      Bitnet:   tex@rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk
        UUCP:   {mcsun,uunet,ukc}!rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk!tex


                        Good Luck!

                            Brian HAMILTON KELLY


-- comp.archives file verification
ymir.claremont.edu

LOCAL:[ANONYMOUS.TEX.DRIVERS.UKLN03]

00FILES.TXT;2               3  27-MAR-1991 16:13 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
00README.TXT;1             21  25-FEB-1991 18:53 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
CHANGEBAR.STY;1            46  21-MAR-1991 09:38 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
DVILN03.HLP;13             25  26-FEB-1991 11:52 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVILN03.LN3_PUBLISH;1
                          836  25-FEB-1991 16:26 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVILN03.TEX_PUBLISH;12
                          255  25-FEB-1991 16:29 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.CH;2              5  27-FEB-1991 11:52 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.CLD;33           13  26-FEB-1991 12:17 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.EXE;1           282  27-FEB-1991 12:16 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.OBJ;1           455  27-FEB-1991 12:15 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
DVITOLN03.WEB;16          902  27-FEB-1991 11:52 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
GRAPHICS.STY;1              3  21-MAR-1991 09:38 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
LOCAL_GUIDES.BIB;45        16  21-FEB-1991 19:24 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWE,RWED,RE,RE)
OPENCLOSE.SIX;6            14  21-AUG-1989 19:25 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
OPENCLOSE.SMALL;3          14  21-AUG-1989 19:26 [CSV_GUEST,DHOSEK] (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)


Total of 2890 blocks in 15 files.
found vms-dvitoln03 ok
ymir.claremont.edu:[anonymous.tex.drivers.ukln03]