Volume Number: 14 Issue Number: 10$ Column Tag: MacTech Online@ Getting It In PrintÄX $by Jeff Clites, online@mactech.comn UNot too many years ago a document was, almost by definition, something which lived onz Upaper. Although the print-based heritage remains, today we think of digital documents Ujust as often. Interestingly, at the same time the distinction between a document and Uthe information it contains has blurred, and where it was once clear (though possibly Rarbitrary) where one document ends and another begins, it is now more difficult to Tdefine. This month we're going to focus on the concept of the document, from several different perspectives. PostScriptÁ VPostScript and the Mac OS have had an interesting relationship, and one which is stillÛ Scontinuing to evolve. Apple's LaserWriters were among the first PostScript printers Uto hit the market, and they helped spark the desktop publishing revolution. The first Qgeneration of Apple's new operating system, OS X Server (formerly Rhapsody), will Vinherit NeXT's use of Display PostScript as its imaging model, later to be replaced by OApple's own resolution-independent graphics subsystem, Extended QuickDraw. Even [so, it is likely that PostScript will remain the lingua franca of high-end printing for a Nwhile to come, and as a developer it can be helpful to have at least a passing Pacquaintance with the language and concepts - and under the current Mac OS it is Aalmost essential if you want to print rotated text, for instance. PIn actuality, PostScript is a programming language, and a PostScript document is Nreally a program - it just happens to be a program which focusses on producing Ygraphics on a page (a page-description language). The official home of PostScript is of Tcourse Adobe's site, and programmers wishing to learn the language can find a wealth Vof technotes there, along with a bibliography and links to other resources on the web. NBeginners can start at A First Guide to PostScript, which includes an operator Wreference, and you can download an archive containing the entire site for easy off-line Vviewing. The second place to stop is the RightBrain Software site, where the author of XThinking in PostScript, now out of print, has generously provided a PDF version of the Nbook for free download. And no developer should be without Ghostscript, a free Qinterpreter which allows PostScript files to be viewed, printed to non-PostScript %printers, or converted to PDF format. 'Adobe's Technical Notes for DevelopersÇ2@http://www.adobe.com/supportservice/devrelations/technotes.html/

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