[WinPrnDev] Re: Creating a Printer Driver
- From: Sam Elamin <hussam_88@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <winprndev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:16:23 +0000
Clinton
You raise some very interesting points, the major pro that has me bias to XPS
is that it is well documented and developing a driver for it will be the path
of least resistance.But thanks to the knowledgeable people of this forum it
sees the driver isnt uploading the document but in reality its the port monitor
that does this.
And exporting it to MAC/Linex is very important so since most printers that
handle Postscript can handle PCL, I am just tempted to go down the PostScript
path. Also if a site has no printers that handle Postscript I can always just
convert them to PDF.
So maybe just write a PDF printer driver if I can but if its a steep learning
curve then a simple post script driver and let the port monitor do the
uploading for me.
I can start by supporting a generic HP PostScript driver as a first stepping
stone to get my head around the print driver world
Does that seem reasonable ?
RegardsSam
> Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:09:03 +0100
> Subject: [WinPrnDev] Re: Creating a Printer Driver
> From: clinton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: winprndev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Hi Sam,
> Another good reference.
> http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/ps/index_specs.html
>
> Converting PostScript to PDF is a simple task you could make use of
> GhostScript. I did develop a PS to PDF and PDF to PS as commercially it
> was required so not sure on the performance, BUT do know it was a great
> reference for me in the past as to how things work in the world of
> PostScript and other graphical formats.
>
> As for PortMonitor I would suggest using REDMON if you don't plan to
> develop one. The concept of a monitor is actually quite simple and
> probably the easier part of things once you get your head around it.
>
> Now XPS and PostScript are two completely different things and both have
> their pros and cons. I don't want to start a which is best argument, BUT
> PostScript has already been ported and native to the world of
> LINUX,MAC,WINDOWS,UNIX. It is also very easy to convert to PDF and back
> again. XPS is new kid on the block and where I think it succeeds is
> providing a XML representation of data. BUT this is also its limitation.
> Describing Font outlines in XML is impossible so relies on either the font
> been native on the other side or embedding a large ammount of Font info
> and then it needs to be translated first before been handled by a RIP.
>
> What has been done though is the problem of how it works ( Printer Driver
> that is ), has been removed. But then you could quite easily just install
> a PostScript Driver.
>
> Hope it helps!
> Clinton
> >
> > Hey Clinton
> > Sorry for the late reply but Iw as rebuilding my PC with Windows 7 because
> > I heard that it is better as a printer driver building enviroment.
> > I have read your email and have a few questions:
> > 1) Did you use WDK to develop your driver? Did you write your driver
> > yourself?
> > 2) How do I start devloping this PostScript parser? and since its
> > Postscript does it mean that I wont be ableto print to PCL drivers? Or
> > willconverting it to PDF do the trick?
> > 3) I have no idea what you mean by using Port monitors, is there any
> > reference I can go back to and learn from?
> > 4) I think for testing purposes we might have to assume no errors and get
> > the actual driver working before installing checks to look for errors
> > I just feel really lost and overwhelmed, where is the best place to start?
> > RegardsSam
> > From: clinton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > To: winprndev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: [WinPrnDev] Re: Creating a Printer Driver
> > Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:32:58 +0100
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi
> > Sam,
> > I'm doing this off the
> > tail end of what seems like a long discussion.
> > Not sure if you have
> > your answer yet but might have a few design ideas for you.
> > What you are trying to
> > achieve has been done before and is possible.
> > Back in 2002 I was faced
> > with a similar issue. Getting a document off the client PC and sending it
> > round
> > the world to an unknown print server.
> > The solution is a
> > combination of technologies that each do their own part..
> >
> > 1.) I used a PostScript
> > print driver ( Generic PPD will do the job ) that pass the print stream
> > onto a
> > portmonitor ( this gives you the control to assign to random filename and
> > pass
> > onto the next module either WebService or in my case a socket service
> > client ).
> >
> > THINGS TO
> > REMEMBER:
> > If you are to allow for
> > duplex, orientation, colour etc, then you will need to gather this info
> > and
> > "drag" it along. I developed a PostScript parser that drives through the
> > spool
> > file ( PostScript ) extracts these bits and then passes this with the file
> > along
> > ( make use of network sockets and send as parameters or HASH index - a
> > WenService or Socket listener would need to manage these parameters ). OR
> > in the world of WebServices pass over an XML stream that can be
> > managed.
> >
> > On the "Server" side
> > either convert to a generic format i.e. PDF which then can be converted
> > over to
> > MOST printer specific languages
> >
> > 2.) Develop a
> > portmonitor that manages the spoolfile and controls calling the "service
> > client"
> > either webservice or sockets. Remember to remove the file and close
> > portinfo
> > thus removing the JOB off the print queue.
> >
> > 3.) The bigest problem
> > with transmitting data around is that we forget about the wonderful worl
> > of
> > TCP/IP packets and ERROR checking. What happens if network goes down
> > during
> > transmission, do I restart, fail, notify user or cycle through a number of
> > socket trying to establish connection.
> >
> > Hope this helps for
> > starters.
> > Clinton
> > Bessesen
> > check out www.pdqit.com
> >
> >
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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> > http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/
>
>
> ---
> Questions? First check the UndocPrint pages at
> http://www.undocprint.org/winspool
>
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