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Overview of Ghostscript
If this is your first contact with Ghostscript, before continuing here
you should read the documentation for new users, where you'll find
* what Ghostscript does (PostScript and PDF previewing, conversion,
and printing);
* its licensing terms (free for ordinary use);
* what platforms it runs on (every platform you're likely to be
interested in);
* where to find some useful programs that enhance Ghostscript (like
user-friendly previewers for Unix, VMS, MS Windows, DOS, and
Macintosh); and
* what to do if you need help.
The rest of this document is a roadmap to the Ghostscript
documentation. After looking through it, if you want to install
Ghostscript and not only use it, we recommend you read how to install
Ghostscript, and how to compile Ghostscript from source code (which is
necessary before installing it on Unix and VMS systems).
_________________________________________________________________
Table of contents
* Document roadmap by theme
+ What should I read if I'm a new user?
+ Before building Ghostscript
+ What should I read if I'm not a new user?
+ What if I'm a developer?
+ What if I'm writing documentation?
* Presence on the World Wide Web
+ Ghostscript's home pages
+ Adobe PostScript, Encapsulated PostScript, and PDF reference
documentation
+ Other material on the WWW
* Which document contains what?
+ Primarily for users:
Devices.htm
Helpers.htm
Humor.htm
New-user.htm
Ps2epsi.htm
Ps2pdf.htm
Readme.htm
Unix-lpr.htm
Use.htm
+ For both users and developers:
Changes.htm
Current.htm
CJK.htm
Fonts.htm
Hershey.htm
History*.htm
Install.htm
Language.htm
Make.htm
News.htm
Psfiles.htm
+ Primarily for developers:
API.htm
C-style.htm
CJKTTCID.htm
DLL.htm
Develop.htm
Drivers.htm
Htmstyle.htm
Issues.htm
Lib.htm
Maintain.htm
Projects.htm
Ps-style.htm
Release.htm
Source.htm
Xfonts.htm
_________________________________________________________________
Document roadmap by theme
What should I read if I'm a new user?
A new user of Ghostscript should begin by reading the material
specifically for new users, then as many of these documents as seem
useful:
* how to install Ghostscript
* how to use Ghostscript; some of this information information also
found in gs.1, the Unix "man" page for Ghostscript.
* the catalogs at the beginning of devs.mak and contrib.mak, which
list all the devices for which Ghostscript is able to produce
output (although if you got Ghostscript in binary form, it will
only include some of these devices)
* detailed information about some specific devices that Ghostscript
knows about
* more detailed information about how to use Ghostscript under Unix
with lpr as a filter for non-PostScript printers
* about the fonts distributed with Ghostscript, including how to add
or replace fonts
* a description of the Ghostscript language, and its differences
from the documented PostScript language
* about the postscript files distributed with Ghostscript (other
than fonts)
Before building Ghostscript
If you are going to compile Ghostscript, rather than just use an
executable you got from somewhere, you should read:
* how to build Ghostscript and install it
_________________________________________________________________
What should I read if I'm not a new user?
If you have already used Ghostscript, when you receive a new release
you should begin by reading this file, then
* News.htm, for incompatible changes and new features in the current
release;
* Current.htm, for known problems in the current release;
* if you wish, Changes.htm, for a detailed list of changes in the
current release;
* if you wish, History#.htm (currently History7.htm), for changes in
other releases.
_________________________________________________________________
What if I'm a developer?
If you are going to do any development on or with Ghostscript at all,
you should at least look at
* the roadmap documentation for Ghostscript's source files and
architecture
If you are going to write a new driver for Ghostscript, you should
read
* the guide to the Ghostscript source code
* the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers
* about the external font interface between Ghostscript and
platform-supplied fonts (but read about drivers in general first)
If you intend to use Ghostscript in the form of a dynamic link library
(DLL) under OS/2 or Microsoft Windows or in the form of shared object
under GNU/Linux, read
* documentation on Ghostscript Interpreter API
If you want to use Ghostscript as part of another program--as a
callable PostScript language interpreter--and not as a DLL or as a
self-contained executable application, you should begin by reading
* the source file imain.h, the documented API for Ghostscript not as
a DLL
or if you are going to use only the Ghostscript graphics library,
* about the structure of the Ghostscript library and its interfaces
_________________________________________________________________
What if I'm writing documentation?
If you are editing or adding to Ghostscript's existing documentation
in HTML format, or writing a new document, you should read
* the coding and style guidelines for Ghostscript's HTML-based
documentation.
_________________________________________________________________
Presence on the World Wide Web
Ghostscript's home page
GNU Ghostscript has a home page on the World Wide Web with helpful
information. Pleave visit:
http://www.gnu.org/software/ghostscript/
More material about Ghostscript can be found at
http://www.ghostscript.com/
Adobe PostScript, Encapsulated PostScript, and PDF reference documentation
Adobe makes a wealth of technical documentation available over the
Web, including the PostScript Language Reference Manual (Third
Edition); the Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Format Specification
version 3, including Encapsulated PostScript Interchange (EPSI)
format; the PDF 1.3 specification; and the pdfmark, transparency and
Acrobat Distiller parameters documentation. Some of these documents
are also available at Adobe's ftp site, but not necessarily under the
same filenames.
Other material on the WWW
Much other material about Ghostscript is available on the World Wide
Web, both as web pages and as archived Usenet and mailing list
discussions. Use the well-known search engines to find such material.
There is a good manual for Ghostscript available in PDF form, in
English and German (and soon in Japanese), at:
http://www.pdflib.com/gsmanual
There is a translation of the Ghostscript 'man' pages into Czech at:
http://www.volny.cz/rebus/ghostscript/
_________________________________________________________________
Which document contains what?
Here is the list in alphabetic order of Ghostscript documentation,
with explanations of the contents.
API.htm
On MS-Windows and OS/2, Ghostscript is compiled as a dynamic
link library (DLL). On GNU/Linux, Ghostscript can be compiled
as a shared object. This describes how to use it. For
developers.
C-style.htm
Guidelines and style for C coding, which you should follow if,
for example, you write a new driver or add or change something
in Ghostscript. For developers.
Changes.htm
A detailed list of all code changes in the current release or
pre-release, generated mechanically from the CVS logs. For
developers.
CJK.htm
Usage of features to support CJK CID-keyed fonts in
Ghostscript.
CJKTTCID.htm
Note providing information on utilization of CJK (Chinese,
Japanese and Korean) TrueType fonts as CIDFontType2 fonts from
the viewpoint of its validity and limitations.
Current.htm
Information specifically about the current release of
Ghostscript. See also the latest news of changes.
DLL.htm
On OS/2, MS Windows-16 and MS Windows-32 platforms, Ghostscript
is compiled as a dynamic link library (DLL). This describes how
to use it. For developers. This DLL interface is obsolete. Use
API.htm instead.
Develop.htm
Code orientation for developers. Contains a detailed breakdown
of the source files by functional group, and overviews of the
major architectural features and services.
Devices.htm
Detailed information about some specific devices for which
Ghostscript can produce output. Run "gs -h" to see which
devices a particular version of Ghostscript is built to use.
Drivers.htm
Describes the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers.
If you do this, you should also read and use the C style and
coding guidelines. Necessary to develop a new driver. For
developers.
Fonts.htm
All about fonts freely available for Ghostscript, and how to
add and use new fonts. Also describes how to use Ghostscript
fonts as X Windows fonts. For both users and developers.
Helpers.htm
A note of thanks to people who have helped in the development
of Ghostscript.
Hershey.htm
Part 1 of the five-part original Usenet distribution of the
free Hershey fonts, giving the terms of use and describing
their encoding.
History*.htm
The history of changes in all Ghostscript releases:
History7.htm for Ghostscript versions 7.n
History6.htm for Ghostscript versions 6.n
History5.htm for Ghostscript versions 5.n
History4.htm for Ghostscript versions 4.n
History3.htm for Ghostscript versions 3.n
History2.htm for Ghostscript versions 2.n
History1.htm for Ghostscript versions 1.n
Htmstyle.htm
The guidelines and style for HTML coding of Ghostscript's
documentation, which you should follow if, for example, you
change existing HTML documentation or write new documents. For
writers and editors.
Humor.htm
Another Ghostscript interpreter.
Install.htm
How to install Ghostscript. See also how to build it.
Issues.htm
A list of outstanding open issues in Ghostscript. These include
known limitations, minor bugs, performance issues, differences
from Adobe implementations, and others.
Language.htm
The relationship between the Ghostscript interpreter and the
PostScript language as defined by Adobe.
Lib.htm
A description of the Ghostscript library, a set of procedures
to implement the graphics and filtering capabilities that are
primitive operations in the PostScript language and in Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF). For developers.
Maintain.htm
Assorted Ghostscript maintenance procedures. For developers.
Make.htm
How to build Ghostscript executables from the source code. See
also how to install it. It's not necessary to be a highly
experienced developer to build or install Ghostscript, but some
experience is needed.
New-user.htm
Essential information for new users of Ghostscript.
News.htm
A brief description of the latest release or pre-release of
Ghostscript, and a list of any incompatible changes in it.
Changes in older releases are described in the history files
"History*.htm", which are usually installed in the
documentation directory. Run "gs -h" to see where that is.
Projects.htm
A list of Ghostscript development projects with which we would
like help.
Ps-style.htm
The guidelines and style for postscript coding in Ghostscript.
Some of Ghostscript is implemented in the postscript language
itself, and various utilities and examples are distributed with
it. You should follow these guidelines if you're extending or
modifying those files. For developers.
Ps2epsi.htm
Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2epsi
to convert PostScript to Adobe Encapsulated PostScript
Interchange (EPSI) format.
Ps2pdf.htm
Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2pdf
to convert PostScript to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).
Psfiles.htm
A description of the PostScript files (other than font files)
distributed with Ghostscript, including initialization
routines, utility programs, and sample printable files.
Readme.htm
This document.
Release.htm
A description of how to prepare and test a Ghostscript release.
Of interest only to developers who want to create new
Ghostscript versions for distribution.
Source.htm
A guide to the Ghostscript source code, for development and
debugging.
Unix-lpr.htm
How to set up Ghostscript as a Unix lpr filter.
Use.htm
Detailed instructions on how to use Ghostscript, including such
matters as designating an output device; choosing a default
paper size; how Ghostscript finds files, including font files;
how it uses environment variables; notes on specific platforms,
including the X Window System; and command-line options.
Xfonts.htm
Ghostscript's external font interface to a host platform's
font-rendering mechanism, for developers.
_________________________________________________________________
Copyright © 1996, 2000 Aladdin Enterprises. All rights reserved.
This software is provided AS-IS with no warranty, either express or
implied. This software is distributed under license and may not be
copied, modified or distributed except as expressly authorized under
the terms of the license contained in the file LICENSE in this
distribution.
Ghostscript version 7.07, 17 May 2003
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