First, you mention table support. Print Wizard does currently have some HTML table support, with control over borders, margins, widths, etc. We haven't written it up yet. And there are some things lacking.
What you have described is focused on markup-to-PCL or markup-to-PS, plus command and control of existing Linux utilities. This would greatly reduce the the complexity of the project. However, I still don't see the business case for doing this development. On Thu, 20 May 2010, Glen Batchelor wrote: > > I'll embed comments since it'll be easier to direct my responses. > > ---------------------------------------- > Glen Batchelor > IT Director > All-Spec Industries > phone: (910) 332-0424 > fax: (910) 763-5664 > E-mail: [email protected] > Web: http://www.all-spec.com > Blog: http://blog.all-spec.com > ---------------------------------------- > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] [mailto:u2-users- > > [email protected]] On Behalf Of Bob Rasmussen > > Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 1:10 AM > > To: U2 Users List > > Subject: [U2] Print Wizard on Linux (was Re: Code 128 Soft Font) > > > > On Wed, 19 May 2010, Glen B wrote: > > > > > > > > Bob, > > > > > > Let me also extend an offer to help with general development off- > > hours, if > > > you're willing to work with GPL libs for open development. > > > ... > > > > Thanks for the offer. But you haven't said what Print Wizard features you > > want, exactly. > > > > I need a markup-based PS/PDF generating solution that accepts embedded > PS/EPS as well as JPEG/GIF images. Barcode markup will be a nice addition, > but not required since I can generate PS and PCL content myself. > > > > Let me give you the scope of things. I just did a full build of > > printwiz.exe; that is, just the main program that does all the dirty work. > > It's 550,432 lines of code! It has a PCL reader, a PDF writer, a PDF > > reader (coming soon), graphics file input routines (some purchased), an > > interface to Windows faxing, Windows sockets, and Windows scanning, SSL, > > CDO, MAPI, SMTP, the Windows spooler, FTP, HTTP, and Windows printer > > drivers (yes, we do use those for most printing output). It has some user > > interface, notably the print previewer, but not a lot. It can read files > > in formats PCL-5, PCL-6 (some), JPG, TIFF, BMP, WMF, EMF, SPL, TXT, PWML, > > HTML, PDF, Unicode, and more. It deals with input and output of TrueType > > fonts and does fine-grained manipulation on them. It prints in most world > > languages. > > Let's break a few things down and compare: > > PCL input and output is covered under Ghostscript, though some complex PCL6 > stuff may be buggy. Find a bug and report it at this point. It will get > fixed. Generic PCL3/4 stuff should be solid at this point, but I would > verify with the devs. The XPS/GPDL code has been out for a while now. > > PDF/PS/EPS input and output are covered under Ghostscript. > > ImageMagick can handle image generation, manipulation, and conversion to a > ton of formats. > > Ghostscript can output a variety of raster and vector image formats, but the > input formats are limited since the application is vector based. I've not > found a situation where I couldn't convert between multiple standard formats > with ImageMagick and Ghostscript at my grasp. > > Faxing is a no-brainer with Hylafax or Hylafax++ using TIF or PS files. Most > faxing applications will accept either format so Hylafax was just an example > of a typical app that is installed. > > Most *nix servers that communicate with the world, or the employees in the > office, run a local MTA so an embedded SMTP client will not be needed. Send > it with the "mail" or "sendmail" command so that the admin has more control > over how the mail is processed. > > FTP? If you absolutely have to, but most *nix admins I know of mock the user > when that acronym is suggested. SCP is far superior in a ton of ways > including speed and security. > > HTTP? Erm, how exactly are you suggesting that? You serve stuff through IIS? > If so, lighttpd or Apache can be there depending on requirements. If you've > embedded an HTTP server, don't bother on *nix. There are plenty of http > servers you can hook directly or indirectly into. > > Windows printing drivers? While some obscure printers are problematic in > CUPS configuration, I've never had an issue making programmatic > paper/drawer/slot/etc selections when a PPD was available and installed > properly. I'm willing to bet the *nix admin(s) running the equipment > selected printers better suited to CUPS than Windows, so I wouldn't worry > too much about that. > > The other formats you mention like WMF and SPL are pretty pointless here. > Text is a given, along with TIFF, JPEG, and BMP. HTML and PWML are where > your expertise and experience with rendering content from mark-up could > really help make a great Linux product. Not having table support, though, is > a huge missing feature. If I misread the tech guide, please correct me. > Having CSS control in HTML would be just awesome. Instead of changing the > HTML attributes to make layout and small design changes, I would just need > to update the styles. I've not seen an HTML->PS tool that properly and > consistently renders the HTML and one of the reasons I've wanted PrintWizard > on Linux. > > > > > > And it's not in C, it's in Delphi. > > > > Now if you're interested in a very small subset of its capabilities, there > > might be hope. Several years ago I ported it to Kylix, which is the Linux > > equivalent of Delphi. I restricted it WAY down to just outputting PDF > > files. It was moderately painful. More to the point, it was dependent on > > Kylix and several libraries it used, which I think even today would be > > less stable and future-proof than Windows. I don't know if Kylix is > > currently supported. > > > > I would probably redevelop it in C so you can dynamically link to the > various libraries. I'm not sure how extensive your PWML handling code is, > but I'm willing to bet there's an HTML parsing lib out there that can make > the transition relatively painless. Getting from point A to point B on *nix > is not going to be the same as on Windows, so your current architecture will > be out the window. > > > > Then there's the question of the business case. It would have to generate > > some serious revenue. I won't go into numbers at this point, but I have a > > long to-do list. > > > > So what do you need, and what's it worth to you? > > > > Regards, > > ....Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. > > > > personal e-mail: [email protected] > > company e-mail: [email protected] > > voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) > > fax: (US) 503-624-0760 > > web: http://www.anzio.com > > street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. > > 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 > > Portland, OR 97223 USA > > _______________________________________________ > > U2-Users mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users > > _______________________________________________ > U2-Users mailing list > [email protected] > http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users > > Regards, ....Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: [email protected] company e-mail: [email protected] voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA _______________________________________________ U2-Users mailing list [email protected] http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
