[comp.unix.i386] SysV3.2 doesn't know Postscipt. So what.

dacseg@uts.amdahl.com (Scott E. Garfinkle) (06/07/90)

From article <51@raysnec.UUCP>, by shwake@raysnec.UUCP (Ray Shwake):
> In article <sean.644531308@s.ms.uky.edu> sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) writes:
>>Are the AT&T people stupid, or what? Did they think no one was ever going
>>to use postscript? What shortsightedness. What a *pain*.

I think it is foolish to say this.  Troff has been around since (at least)
Version 6 Unix.  When it came out, the dominant phototypesetter around (at
least at Bell Labs, I think) was the C/A/T.  Eventually, with ditroff, it
became possible to put other back ends on troff.  I think that the Labs
replaced their C/A/T phototypesetters with Imagens.  (They were replaced
with *something* -- I remember when they gave our department a surplus
C/A/T my senior year.)

Since AT&T doesn't even support DWB anymore, I can hardly fault them.  If
you want a free typesetting package get TeX.  If you want troff, get Elan
or a competitor.

> I personally find it amazing that the typical UNIX document processing
> package supports such an atypical collection of printers. Like, really,
> how many of your colleagues count a a C/A/T or Imagen photo typesetter
> in their installations. Yet any good DOS-based word processor from Word
> Perfect, Microsoft, Lyrix, et. al. will support myriad collections of
> dot-matrix, ink jet, Postscript, HP-compatible, etc. printers.

So get MS Word for Unix from SCO.  I'm curious where you got DWB for your 386;
I thought the only way to get n/troff for the 386 was from Elan, et al., who
all include postscript drivers.  Alternatively, get vp/ix and run your favorite
DOS package under it.  I use MS Word.

	-scott e. garfinkle
	 email to segpc!seg@vicom.com

mwarren@mips2.cr.bull.com (Mark Warren) (06/08/90)

In article <75Oq02tRadot01@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> dacseg@uts.amdahl.com (Scott E. Garfinkle) writes:
>
>Since AT&T doesn't even support DWB anymore, I can hardly fault them.  If


AT&T sells source licenses for DWB, which includes the newer version of troff,
know as "ditroff" (Device Independent Troff).  Many Unix vendors support this
package, and offer drivers for a couple of brands of printers.  The Elan
and Adobe packages provide font files and output filters for Postscript, but
I am fairly sure that they require that you already have DWB installed on your
system, because they rely on ditroff already being there.

For PC's, both SCO and Interactive, I think, offer DWB as an option, and
there are fonts and filters available to drive HP Laserjets, among others.

In particular, I am very pleased with the results we are getting with a
product called Jetroff from PC Research in New Jersey ((201) 389-8963).
NOTE:  I have *NO* connection with PC Research.  This is a free unsolicited
plug from a satisfied customer.

-- 

 == Mark Warren                      Bull HN Information Systems Inc. ==
 == (508) 671-3171 (FAX 671-3020)    300 Concord Road     MS820A      ==
 == mwarren@granite.cr.bull.com      Billerica, MA 01821              ==

aindiana@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (Daiv Stoner) (06/08/90)

> I personally find it amazing that the typical UNIX document processing
> package supports such an atypical collection of printers. Like, really,
> how many of your colleagues count a a C/A/T or Imagen photo typesetter
> in their installations. Yet any good DOS-based word processor from Word
> Perfect, Microsoft, Lyrix, et. al. will support myriad collections of
> dot-matrix, ink jet, Postscript, HP-compatible, etc. printers.

Now wait a minute.  Am I missing something?  Is there a Lyrix besides
SCO Lyrix, which was written especially for Xenix?

--
Daiv Stoner                  +===============================================+
aindiana@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu | I work for the Gov't.  If I want your opinion |
oinxds@ria-emh1.army.mil     | I'll ask you to fill out the necessary forms. |
Disclaimer:  The Dept. of    +===============================================+
Defense doesn't even know what it's doing, let alone what I'm doing.

cpcahil@virtech.uucp (Conor P. Cahill) (06/08/90)

In article <1990Jun7.185029.6173@mips2.cr.bull.com> mwarren@mips2.cr.bull.com (Mark Warren) writes:
>
>package, and offer drivers for a couple of brands of printers.  The Elan
>and Adobe packages provide font files and output filters for Postscript, but
>I am fairly sure that they require that you already have DWB installed on your
>system, because they rely on ditroff already being there.

Elan's product includes a "debugged" & enhanced version of DWB 2.0 in 
addition to the postscript and hp laserjet printer drivers.  I use it
with my Panasonic KXP-4450 laser partner and have had no problems with it.

>For PC's, both SCO and Interactive, I think, offer DWB as an option, and
>there are fonts and filters available to drive HP Laserjets, among others.

I don't think any of the stock DWB packages support the hp laserjet or 
postscript printers.  You need to get one of the various add-on packages
from third party vendors.

-- 
Conor P. Cahill            (703)430-9247        Virtual Technologies, Inc.,
uunet!virtech!cpcahil                           46030 Manekin Plaza, Suite 160
                                                Sterling, VA 22170 

brown@vidiot.UUCP (Vidiot) (06/09/90)

In article <75Oq02tRadot01@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> dacseg@uts.amdahl.com (Scott E. Garfinkle) writes:
<From article <51@raysnec.UUCP>, by shwake@raysnec.UUCP (Ray Shwake):
<> In article <sean.644531308@s.ms.uky.edu> sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) writes:
<>>Are the AT&T people stupid, or what? Did they think no one was ever going
<>>to use postscript? What shortsightedness. What a *pain*.
<
<Since AT&T doesn't even support DWB anymore, I can hardly fault them.  If
<you want a free typesetting package get TeX.  If you want troff, get Elan
<or a competitor.

But AT&T still supports DWB.  The 3.0 version is in Beta test at AT&T sites
now and includes PostScript support.

<So get MS Word for Unix from SCO.  I'm curious where you got DWB for your 386;
<I thought the only way to get n/troff for the 386 was from Elan, et al., who
<all include postscript drivers.  Alternatively, get vp/ix and run your favorite
<DOS package under it.  I use MS Word.

The ISC Unix package as an optional Text Processing package, which is DWB2.0.
-- 
      harvard\     att!nicmad\        spool.cs.wisc.edu!astroatc!vidiot!brown
Vidiot  ucbvax!uwvax..........!astroatc!vidiot!brown
      rutgers/  decvax!nicmad/ INET:<@spool.cs.wisc.edu,@astroatc:brown@vidiot>

shwake@raysnec.UUCP (Ray Shwake) (06/09/90)

In article <75Oq02tRadot01@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> dacseg@uts.amdahl.com (Scott E. Garfinkle) writes:
>So get MS Word for Unix from SCO.  I'm curious where you got DWB for your 386;
>I thought the only way to get n/troff for the 386 was from Elan, et al., who
>all include postscript drivers.  Alternatively, get vp/ix and run your favorite
>DOS package under it.  I use MS Word.

I actually have TWO implementations of DWB, one came with my copy of
SCO Xenix/386 (subset is known as the Text Processing System) while the
second came with Interactive's Application Developer Platform (subset is
known as the Text Processing Workbench). Both are available separately.
ISC's is the proper implementation of DWB 2.0+, and includes the device
independent troff (ditroff), but no driver to take advantage of my HP LJ.

Indeed, current plans are to run Word for Windows under VP/ix - once I
upgrade to a system with enough horsepower to support it. 8-)

det@hawkmoon.MN.ORG (Derek E. Terveer) (06/09/90)

In article <75Oq02tRadot01@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> dacseg@uts.amdahl.com (Scott E. Garfinkle) writes:
> So get MS Word for Unix from SCO.  I'm curious where you got DWB for your 386;
> I thought the only way to get n/troff for the 386 was from Elan, et al., who
> all include postscript drivers.

When i bought my microport system i also purchased the text processing package
which, to the best of my knowledge, is a pretty complete DWB.

derek
-- 
Derek Terveer		det@hawkmoon.MN.ORG

sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) (06/12/90)

dacseg@uts.amdahl.com (Scott E. Garfinkle) writes:

|From article <51@raysnec.UUCP>, by shwake@raysnec.UUCP (Ray Shwake):
|> In article <sean.644531308@s.ms.uky.edu> sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) writes:
|>>Are the AT&T people stupid, or what? Did they think no one was ever going
|>>to use postscript? What shortsightedness. What a *pain*.

|I think it is foolish to say this.  Troff has been around since (at least)
|Version 6 Unix.

Yes and how long have postscript laser printers been around? Isn't it
something like six or seven years now? And how many people have them?
Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? And what percentage of those
are in AT&T's market? Lots.

So it doesn't make any sense to support a zillion AT&T printers, and a
whole bunch of dot matrix printers, and not postscript. And it only takes
a five line printer driver!

|Since AT&T doesn't even support DWB anymore, I can hardly fault them.  If
|you want a free typesetting package get TeX.  If you want troff, get Elan
|or a competitor.

I didn't ask for a free typesetting package. I just want the computer to be
able to shove a file at the printer. Nothing more. I have my own typesetting
software that outputs postscript.

|So get MS Word for Unix from SCO.  I'm curious where you got DWB for your 386;
|I thought the only way to get n/troff for the 386 was from Elan, et al., who
|all include postscript drivers.  Alternatively, get vp/ix and run your favorite
|DOS package under it.  I use MS Word.

I don't have DWB, and didn't claim I did. I don't *want* DWB but it looks like
I'll need it to typeset documentation from third party packages.

Sean
-- 
***  Sean Casey          sean@ms.uky.edu, sean@ukma.bitnet, ukma!sean