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Overview of Ghostscript
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<p>
If this is your first contact with Ghostscript, before continuing here you
should read the <a href="New-user.htm">documentation for new users</a>,
where you'll find
<ul>
<li><a href="New-user.htm#Overview">what Ghostscript does</a> (PostScript
and PDF previewing, conversion, and printing);
<li>its <a href="New-user.htm#Find_Ghostscript">licensing terms</a> (free
for ordinary use);
<li>what <a href="New-user.htm#Platforms">platforms it runs on</a> (every
platform you're likely to be interested in);
<li>where to find some <a href="New-user.htm#Ancillary_programs">useful
programs</a> that enhance Ghostscript (like user-friendly previewers for
Unix, VMS, MS Windows, DOS, and Macintosh); and
<li>what to do <a href="New-user.htm#Need_help">if you need help</a>.
</ul>
<p>
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 <a href="Install.htm">how to install
Ghostscript</a>, and <a href="Make.htm">how to compile Ghostscript</a> from
source code (which is necessary before installing it on Unix and VMS
systems).
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<h2>Table of contents</h2>
<blockquote><ul>
<li><a href="#Theme_roadmap">Document roadmap by theme</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#New_users">What should I read if I'm a new user?</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#Two_Ghostscripts">AFPL Ghostscript and GNU Ghostscript</a>
<li><a href="#Before_building">Before building Ghostscript</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#Not_a_new_user">What should I read if I'm not a new user?</a>
<li><a href="#Developer">What if I'm a developer?</a>
<li><a href="#Writer">What if I'm writing documentation?</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#Web_presence">Presence on the World Wide Web</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#Web_home_page">Ghostscript's home pages</a>
<li><a href="#Adobe_documentation">Adobe PostScript, Encapsulated
PostScript, and PDF reference documentation</a>
<li><a href="#Web_other">Other material on the WWW</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#Ordered_roadmap">Which document contains what?</a>
<ul>
<li>Primarily for users:
<blockquote><table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0>
<tr><td valign=top>
<a href="#Bug-form">Bug-form.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Bug-info">Bug-info.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Devices">Devices.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Helpers">Helpers.htm</a><br>
<td> <td valign=top>
<a href="#Humor">Humor.htm</a><br>
<a href="#New-user">New-user.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Ps2epsi">Ps2epsi.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Ps2pdf">Ps2pdf.htm</a><br>
<td> <td valign=top>
<a href="#Readme">Readme.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Unix-lpr">Unix-lpr.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Use">Use.htm</a><br>
<tr><td valign=top>
</table></blockquote>
<li>For both users and developers:
<blockquote><table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0>
<tr><td valign=top>
<a href="#Changes">Changes.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Commprod">Commprod.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Copying">Copying.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Current">Current.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Fonts">Fonts.htm</a><br>
<td> <td valign=top>
<a href="#Hershey">Hershey.htm</a><br>
<a href="#History">History*.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Install">Install.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Language">Language.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Make">Make.htm</a><br>
<td> <td valign=top>
<a href="#News">News.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Psfiles">Psfiles.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Public">Public.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Tester">Tester.htm</a><br>
</table></blockquote>
<li>Primarily for developers:
<blockquote><table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0>
<tr><td valign=top>
<a href="#C-style">C-style.htm</a><br>
<a href="#DLL">DLL.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Drivers">Drivers.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Htmstyle">Htmstyle.htm</a><br>
<td> <td valign=top>
<a href="#Lib">Lib.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Maintain">Maintain.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Projects">Projects.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Release">Release.htm</a><br>
<td> <td valign=top>
<a href="#Source">Source.htm</a><br>
<a href="#Xfonts">Xfonts.htm</a><br>
</table></blockquote>
</ul>
</ul></blockquote>
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<h1><a name="Theme_roadmap"></a>Document roadmap by theme</h1>
<h2><a name="New_users"></a>What should I read if I'm a new user?</h2>
<p>
A new user of Ghostscript should begin by reading the material
<a href="New-user.htm">specifically for new users</a>, then as many of
these documents as seem useful:
<ul>
<li>how to <a href="Install.htm">install Ghostscript</a>
<li>how to <a href="Use.htm">use Ghostscript</a>; some of this information
information also found in <b><tt>gs.1</tt></b>, the Unix
"man" page for Ghostscript.
<li>the catalogs at the beginning of <b><tt>devs.mak</tt></b> and
<b><tt>contrib.mak</tt></b>, 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)
<li>detailed information about <a href="Devices.htm">some specific
devices</a> that Ghostscript knows about
<li>more detailed information about how to use Ghostscript under
<a href="Unix-lpr.htm">Unix with <b><tt>lpr</tt></b></a> as a
filter for non-PostScript printers
<li>information about <a href="Bug-info.htm">reporting problems</a> -- but
remember that Ghostscript comes with <b>NO WARRANTY</b> and <b>NO
SUPPORT</b>
</ul>
<h3><a name="Two_Ghostscripts"></a>AFPL Ghostscript and GNU Ghostscript</h3>
<p>
AFPL Ghostscript and GNU Ghostscript are
<a href="New-user.htm#Find_Ghostscript">different releases</a>. If you
have AFPL Ghostscript, not the GNU Ghostscript releases distributed by
the <a href="http://www.gnu.org">Free Software Foundation</a>, you should
read (or at least skim through):
<ul>
<li>additional information about <a href="Public.htm">AFPL Ghostscript
releases</a> that is not relevant to GNU Ghostscript releases.
</ul>
<p>
If you run into any questions, or if you are going to be using Ghostscript
extensively, you should at least skim, and probably eventually read:
<ul>
<li> about the <a href="Fonts.htm">fonts distributed with
Ghostscript</a>, including how to add or replace fonts
<li> a description of <a href="Language.htm">the Ghostscript language</a>,
and its differences from the documented PostScript language
<li> about the <a href="Psfiles.htm"><b><tt>.ps</tt></b> files distributed with
Ghostscript</a> (other than fonts)
</ul>
<h3><a name="Before_building"></a>Before building Ghostscript</h3>
<p>
If you are going to compile Ghostscript, rather than just use an executable
you got from somewhere, you should read:
<ul>
<li> <a href="Make.htm">how to build Ghostscript</a> and
<a href="Install.htm">install it</a>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2><a name="Not_a_new_user"></a>What should I read if I'm not a new user?</h2>
<p>
If you have already used Ghostscript, when you receive a new release you
should begin by reading this file, then
<ul>
<li> <a href="News.htm">News.htm</a>, for incompatible changes and new
features in the current release;
<li> <a href="Current.htm">Current.htm</a>, for known problems in the
current release;
<li> if you wish, <a href="Changes.htm">Changes.htm</a>, for a detailed list
of changes in the current release;
<li> if you wish, History#.htm (currently <a
href="History6.htm">History6.htm</a>), for changes in other releases.
</ul>
<hr>
<h2><a name="Developer"></a>What if I'm a developer?</h2>
<p>
If you are going to write a new driver for Ghostscript, you should read
<ul>
<li> the <a href="Source.htm">guide to the Ghostscript source code</a>
<li> the interface between Ghostscript and <a href="Drivers.htm">device
drivers</a>
<li> about the <a href="Xfonts.htm">external font interface</a> between
Ghostscript and platform-supplied fonts (but read about
<a href="Drivers.htm">drivers in general</a> first)
</ul>
<p>
If you are considering distributing Ghostscript (either AFPL or GNU
versions) in conjunction with a commercial product, you should read the
<a href="Public.htm">license</a> carefully, and you should also read
<ul>
<li> additional clarification of the circumstances under which Ghostscript
can be distributed <a href="Commprod.htm">with a commercial product</a>
</ul>
<p>
If you intend to use Ghostscript in the form of a dynamic link library
(DLL) under OS/2 or Microsoft Windows, read
<ul>
<li> documentation on <a href="DLL.htm">Ghostscript as a DLL</a>
</ul>
<p>
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
<ul>
<li> the source file <b><tt>imain.h</tt></b>, the documented
API for Ghostscript <em>not</em> as a DLL
</ul>
<p>
or if you are going to use only the Ghostscript graphics library,
<ul>
<li> about the structure of the <a href="Lib.htm">Ghostscript library</a>
and its interfaces
</ul>
<hr>
<h2><a name="Writer"></a>What if I'm writing documentation?</h2>
<p>
If you are editing or adding to Ghostscript's existing documentation in
HTML format, or writing a new document, you should read
<ul>
<li> the <a href="Htmstyle.htm">coding and style guidelines</a> for
Ghostscript's HTML-based documentation.
</ul>
<hr>
<h1><a name="Web_presence"></a>Presence on the World Wide Web</h1>
<h2><a name="Web_home_page"></a>Ghostscript's home page</h2>
<p>
Ghostscript has a home page on the World Wide Web with helpful information
such as the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and a list of known problems
and workarounds for the current AFPL Ghostscript release (in the
"Obtaining" file for that release):
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/">http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/</a>
</blockquote>
<p>
More material about Ghostscript can be found at
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.ghostscript.com/">http://www.ghostscript.com/</a>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="Adobe_documentation"></a>Adobe PostScript, Encapsulated
PostScript, and PDF reference documentation</h2>
<p>
Adobe makes a wealth of
<a href="http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/technotes.html">
technical documentation</a> available over the Web, including the
<a href="http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/PDFS/TN/PLRM.pdf">
PostScript Language Reference Manual (Third Edition)</a>; the
<a href="http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/PDFS/TN/5002.EPSF_Spec.pdf">
Encapsulated PostScript</a> (EPS) Format Specification version 3, including
<a href="#Ps2epsi">Encapsulated PostScript Interchange (EPSI)</a>
format; the
<a href="http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/acrosdk/DOCS/pdfspec.pdf">
PDF 1.3 specification</a>; and the
<a href="http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/acrosdk/DOCS/pdfmark.pdf">
pdfmark</a> and
<a href="http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/acrosdk/DOCS/distparm.pdf">
Acrobat Distiller parameters</a> documentation. Some of these documents
are also available at <a href="ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/">Adobe's ftp
site</a>, but not necessarily under the same filenames.
<h2><a name="Web_other"></a>Other material on the WWW</h2>
<p>
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.
<p>
There is a good manual for Ghostscript available in PDF form,
in English and German (and soon in Japanese), at:
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.pdflib.com">http://www.pdflib.com/gsmanual</a>
</blockquote>
<p>
There is a translation of the Ghostscript 'man' pages into Czech at:
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.volny.cz/rebus/ghostscript">http://www.volny.cz/rebus/ghostscript</a>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<h1><a name="Ordered_roadmap"></a>Which document contains what?</h1>
<p> Here is the list in alphabetic order of Ghostscript documentation,
with explanations of the contents.
<dl>
<dt><a name="Bug-form"></a><a href="Bug-form.htm"><b>Bug-form.htm</b></a>
<dd> A form to fill out and a-meil to report a problem with AFPL
Ghostscript -- but remember that Ghostscript comes with <b>NO WARRANTY</b>
and <b>NO SUPPORT</b>. Please read the <a
href="Bug-info.htm">instructions</a> before reporting a bug.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Bug-info"></a><a href="Bug-info.htm"><b>Bug-info.htm</b></a>
<dd> Information about how to report problems with AFPL Ghostscript --
but remember that Ghostscript comes with <b>NO WARRANTY</b> and <b>NO
SUPPORT</b>. Please read this before reporting a problem.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="C-style"></a><a href="C-style.htm"><b>C-style.htm</b></a>
<dd> Guidelines and style for C coding, which you should follow
if, for example, you <a href="#Drivers">write a new driver</a> or add or
change something in Ghostscript. For developers.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Changes"></a><a href="Changes.htm"><b>Changes.htm</b></a>
<dd> A detailed list of all code changes in the current release or
pre-release, generated mechanically from the CVS logs. For developers.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Commprod"></a><a href="Commprod.htm"><b>Commprod.htm</b></a>
<dd> The conditions under which Ghostscript may be distributed in a
commercial context. See also the <a href="#Public">Aladdin Free Public
License</a>.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Copying"></a><a href="Copying.htm"><b>Copying.htm</b></a>
<dd> A reminder that AFPL Ghostscript is governed <b>NOT</b> by
the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/">Free Software Foundation's</a> GNU
<a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">General Public License</a>
but by the <a href="#Public">Aladdin Free Public License</a>.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Current"></a><a href="Current.htm"><b>Current.htm</b></a>
<dd> Information specifically about the current release of Ghostscript.
See also the <a href="#News">latest news</a> of changes.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="DLL"></a><a href="DLL.htm"><b>DLL.htm</b></a>
<dd> 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.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Devices"></a><a href="Devices.htm"><b>Devices.htm</b></a>
<dd> Detailed information about some specific devices for which Ghostscript
can produce output. Run "<b><tt>gs -h</tt></b>" to see which
devices a particular version of Ghostscript is built to use.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Drivers"></a><a href="Drivers.htm"><b>Drivers.htm</b></a>
<dd> Describes the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers. If
you do this, you should also read and use the <a href="#C-style">C style
and coding guidelines</a>. Necessary to develop a new driver. For
developers.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Fonts"></a><a href="Fonts.htm"><b>Fonts.htm</b></a> <dd> 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.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Helpers"></a><a href="Helpers.htm"><b>Helpers.htm</b></a>
<dd> A note of thanks to people who have helped in the development of
Ghostscript.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Hershey"></a><a href="Hershey.htm"><b>Hershey.htm</b></a>
<dd> Part 1 of the five-part original Usenet distribution of the free
Hershey fonts, giving the terms of use and describing their encoding.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="History"></a><b>History*.htm</b>
<dd> The history of changes in all Ghostscript releases:
<blockquote>
<a href="History6.htm">History6.htm</a> for Ghostscript versions 6.n<br>
<a href="History5.htm">History5.htm</a> for Ghostscript versions 5.n<br>
<a href="History4.htm">History4.htm</a> for Ghostscript versions 4.n<br>
<a href="History3.htm">History3.htm</a> for Ghostscript versions 3.n<br>
<a href="History2.htm">History2.htm</a> for Ghostscript versions 2.n<br>
<a href="History1.htm">History1.htm</a> for Ghostscript versions 1.n
</blockquote>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Htmstyle"></a><a href="Htmstyle.htm"><b>Htmstyle.htm</b></a>
<dd> 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.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Humor"></a><a href="Humor.htm"><b>Humor.htm</b></a>
<dd> Another Ghostscript interpreter.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Install"></a><a href="Install.htm"><b>Install.htm</b></a>
<dd> How to install Ghostscript. See also <a href="#Make">how to build
it</a>.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Language"></a><a href="Language.htm"><b>Language.htm</b></a>
<dd> The relationship between the Ghostscript interpreter and the
PostScript language as defined by Adobe.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Lib"></a><a href="Lib.htm"><b>Lib.htm</b></a>
<dd> 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.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Maintain"></a><a href="Maintain.htm"><b>Maintain.htm</b></a>
<dd> Assorted Ghostscript maintenance procedures. For developers.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Make"></a><a href="Make.htm"><b>Make.htm</b></a>
<dd> How to build Ghostscript executables from the source code. See also
<a href="#Install">how to install it</a>. It's not necessary to be a highly
experienced developer to build or install Ghostscript, but some experience
is needed.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="New-user"></a><a href="New-user.htm"><b>New-user.htm</b></a>
<dd> Essential information for new users of Ghostscript.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="News"></a><a href="News.htm"><b>News.htm</b></a>
<dd> 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 "<b><tt>History*.htm</tt></b>",
which are usually installed in the documentation directory. Run
"<b><tt>gs -h</tt></b>" to see where that is.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Projects"></a><a href="Projects.htm"><b>Projects.htm</b></a>
<dd> A list of Ghostscript development projects with which we would like
help.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Ps2epsi"></a><a href="Ps2epsi.htm"><b>Ps2epsi.htm</b></a>
<dd> Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through
<tt><b>ps2epsi</b></tt> to convert PostScript to Adobe
Encapsulated PostScript Interchange (EPSI) format.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Ps2pdf"></a><a href="Ps2pdf.htm"><b>Ps2pdf.htm</b></a>
<dd> Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through
<tt><b>ps2pdf</b></tt> to convert PostScript to Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF).
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Psfiles"></a><a href="Psfiles.htm"><b>Psfiles.htm</b></a>
<dd> A description of the PostScript files (other than font files)
distributed with Ghostscript, including initialization routines, utility
programs, and sample printable files.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Public"></a><a href="Public.htm"><b>Public.htm</b></a>
<dd> The Aladdin Free Public License, which states the conditions for using
and redistributing AFPL Ghostscript.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Readme"></a><b>Readme.htm</b>
<dd> This document.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Release"></a><a href="Release.htm"><b>Release.htm</b></a>
<dd> 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.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Source"></a><a href="Source.htm"><b>Source.htm</b></a>
<dd> A guide to the Ghostscript source code, for development and debugging.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Tester"></a><a href="Tester.htm"><b>Tester.htm</b></a>
<dd> A short questionnaire to fill out if you would like to be notified of
new tester / beta releases.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Unix-lpr"></a><a href="Unix-lpr.htm"><b>Unix-lpr.htm</b></a>
<dd> How to set up Ghostscript as a Unix <tt><b>lpr</b></tt>
filter.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Use"></a><a href="Use.htm"><b>Use.htm</b></a>
<dd> 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.
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><a name="Xfonts"></a><a href="Xfonts.htm"><b>Xfonts.htm</b></a>
<dd> Ghostscript's external font interface to a host platform's
font-rendering mechanism, for developers.
</dl>
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<font size=2>
<p>Copyright © 1996, 2000 Aladdin Enterprises. All rights reserved.
<p>This file is part of AFPL Ghostscript. See the
<a href="Public.htm">Aladdin Free Public License</a> (the "License") for
full details of the terms of using, copying, modifying, and redistributing
AFPL Ghostscript.
<p>
Ghostscript version 6.50, 2 December 2000
</font>
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Zerion Mini Shell 1.0