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Overview of Ghostscript
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This document is a roadmap to the Ghostscript documentation. After
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looking through it, if you want to install Ghostscript and not only use
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it, we recommend you read how to install Ghostscript, and how to
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compile Ghostscript from source code (which is necessary before
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installing it on Unix and VMS systems).
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__________________________________________________________________
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* Document roadmap by theme
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+ What should I read if I'm a new user?
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+ GPL Ghostscript and commerical Ghostscript
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+ Before building Ghostscript
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+ What should I read if I'm not a new user?
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+ What if I'm a developer?
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+ What if I'm writing documentation?
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* Presence on the World Wide Web
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+ Ghostscript's home pages
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+ Adobe PostScript, Encapsulated PostScript, and PDF reference
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+ Other material on the WWW
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* Which document contains what?
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+ Primarily for users:
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+ For both users and developers:
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+ Primarily for developers:
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__________________________________________________________________
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Document roadmap by theme
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What should I read if I'm a new user?
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* how to use Ghostscript. This includes both a quickstart
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introduction to the commandline version and more extensive
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* detailed information about specific devices that Ghostscript can
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* more detailed information about how to use Ghostscript under Unix
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with lpr as a filter for printing
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* for information about known problems or to report a new one, please
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visit bugs.ghostscript.com but remember that free versions of
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Ghostscript come with with NO WARRANTY and NO SUPPORT
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GPL and commercial Ghostscript
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GPL Ghostscript, Artifex Ghostscript and AFPL Ghostscript are different
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* additional information about GPL Ghostscript releases that is not
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relevant to commercial versions.
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If you run into any questions, or if you are going to be using
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Ghostscript extensively, you should at least skim, and probably
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* about the fonts distributed with Ghostscript, including how to add
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* a description of the Ghostscript language, and its differences from
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the documented PostScript language
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* about the postscript files distributed with Ghostscript (other than
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Before building Ghostscript
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If you are going to compile Ghostscript from source, rather than just
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use an executable you got from somewhere, you may want to read:
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* how to build Ghostscript and install it
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__________________________________________________________________
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What should I read if I'm not a new user?
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If you have already used Ghostscript, when you receive a new release
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you should begin by reading this file, then
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* News.htm, for incompatible changes and new features in the current
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* if you wish, Changes.htm, for a detailed list of changes in the
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* if you wish, History#.htm (currently History8.htm), for changes in
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__________________________________________________________________
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What if I'm a developer?
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If you are going to do any development on or with Ghostscript at all,
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you should at least look at
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* the roadmap documentation for Ghostscript's source files and
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If you are going to write a new driver for Ghostscript, you should read
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* the guide to the Ghostscript source code
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* the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers
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* about the external font interface between Ghostscript and
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platform-supplied fonts
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If you are considering distributing GPL Ghostscript in conjunction with
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a commercial product, you should read the license carefully, and you
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* additional clarification of the circumstances under which
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Ghostscript can be distributed with a commercial product
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If you intend to use Ghostscript in the form of a dynamic link library
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(DLL) under OS/2 or Microsoft Windows or in the form of shared object
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* documentation on Ghostscript Interpreter API
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If you want to use Ghostscript as part of another program--as a
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callable PostScript language interpreter--and not as a DLL or as a
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self-contained executable application, you should begin by reading
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* the source file imain.h, the documented API for Ghostscript not as
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or if you are going to use only the Ghostscript graphics library,
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* about the structure of the Ghostscript library and its interfaces
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__________________________________________________________________
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What if I'm writing documentation?
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If you are editing or adding to Ghostscript's existing documentation in
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HTML format, or writing a new document, you should read
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* the coding and style guidelines for Ghostscript's HTML-based
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__________________________________________________________________
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Presence on the World Wide Web
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Ghostscript's home page
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Ghostscript has a home page on the World Wide Web with helpful
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information such as the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and a list of
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known problems and workarounds for the current GPL Ghostscript release
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(in the "Obtaining" file for that release):
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http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/
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More material about Ghostscript can be found at
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http://www.ghostscript.com/
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Adobe PostScript, Encapsulated PostScript, and PDF reference documentation
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Adobe makes a wealth of technical documentation available over the Web,
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including the PostScript Language Reference Manual (Third Edition); the
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Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Format Specification version 3, including
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Encapsulated PostScript Interchange (EPSI) format; the PDF Reference
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manuals. The Acrobat SDK contains pdfmark and Acrobat Distiller
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parameters documentation. Some of these documents are also available at
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Adobe's ftp site, but not necessarily under the same filenames.
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Other material on the WWW
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Much other material about Ghostscript is available on the World Wide
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Web, both as web pages and as archived Usenet and mailing list
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discussions. Use the well-known search engines to find such material.
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There is a translation of the Ghostscript 'man' pages into Czech at:
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http://www.volny.cz/rebus/ghostscript/
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__________________________________________________________________
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Which document contains what?
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Here is the list in alphabetic order of Ghostscript documentation, with
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explanations of the contents.
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On MS-Windows and OS/2, Ghostscript is compiled as a dynamic
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link library (DLL). On Linux, Ghostscript can be compiled as a
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shared object. This describes how to use it. For developers.
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Guidelines and style for C coding, which you should follow if,
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for example, you write a new driver or add or change something
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in Ghostscript. For developers.
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A detailed list of all code changes in the current release or
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pre-release, generated mechanically from the CVS logs. For
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The conditions under which Ghostscript may be distributed in a
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commercial context. See also the GNU General Public License.
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On OS/2, MS Windows-16 and MS Windows-32 platforms, Ghostscript
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is compiled as a dynamic link library (DLL). This describes how
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to use it. For developers. This DLL interface is obsolete. Use
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Code orientation for developers. Contains a detailed breakdown
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of the source files by functional group, and overviews of the
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major architectural features and services.
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Documention for deprecated devices and features. Features
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described here will be removed in future versions of
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Detailed information about some specific devices for which
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Ghostscript can produce output. Run "gs -h" to see which devices
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a particular version of Ghostscript is built to use.
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Describes the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers.
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If you do this, you should also read and use the C style and
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coding guidelines. Necessary to develop a new driver. For
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All about fonts freely available for Ghostscript, and how to add
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and use new fonts. Also describes how to use Ghostscript fonts
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as X Windows fonts. For both users and developers.
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A note of thanks to people who have helped in the development of
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Part 1 of the five-part original Usenet distribution of the free
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Hershey fonts, giving the terms of use and describing their
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The history of changes in all Ghostscript releases:
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History8.htm for Ghostscript versions 8.n
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History7.htm for Ghostscript versions 7.n
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History6.htm for Ghostscript versions 6.n
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History5.htm for Ghostscript versions 5.n
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History4.htm for Ghostscript versions 4.n
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History3.htm for Ghostscript versions 3.n
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History2.htm for Ghostscript versions 2.n
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History1.htm for Ghostscript versions 1.n
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The guidelines and style for HTML coding of Ghostscript's
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documentation, which you should follow if, for example, you
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change existing HTML documentation or write new documents. For
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Another Ghostscript interpreter.
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How to install Ghostscript. See also how to build it.
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A list of outstanding open issues in Ghostscript. These include
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known limitations, minor bugs, performance issues, differences
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from Adobe implementations, and others.
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The relationship between the Ghostscript interpreter and the
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PostScript language as defined by Adobe.
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A description of the Ghostscript library, a set of procedures to
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implement the graphics and filtering capabilities that are
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primitive operations in the PostScript language and in Adobe
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Portable Document Format (PDF). For developers.
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How to build Ghostscript executables from the source code. See
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also how to install it. It's not necessary to be a highly
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experienced developer to build or install Ghostscript, but some
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experience is needed.
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A brief description of the latest release or pre-release of
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Ghostscript, and a list of any incompatible changes in it.
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Changes in older releases are described in the history files
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"History*.htm", which are usually installed in the documentation
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directory. Run "gs -h" to see where that is.
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A list of Ghostscript development projects with which we would
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The guidelines and style for postscript coding in Ghostscript.
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Some of Ghostscript is implemented in the postscript language
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itself, and various utilities and examples are distributed with
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it. You should follow these guidelines if you're extending or
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modifying those files. For developers.
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Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2epsi
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to convert PostScript to Adobe Encapsulated PostScript
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Interchange (EPSI) format.
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Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2pdf to
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convert PostScript to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).
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Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2ps2 to
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convert Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) or Adobe Postscript
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Level 3 into Adobe Postscript Level 2.
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A description of the PostScript files (other than font files)
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distributed with Ghostscript, including initialization routines,
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utility programs, and sample printable files.
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The GNU General Public License, which states the conditions for
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using and redistributing GPL Ghostscript.
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A description of how to prepare and test a Ghostscript release.
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Of interest only to developers who want to create new
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Ghostscript versions for distribution.
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A guide to the Ghostscript source code, for development and
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Documentation for using the test scripts located in the
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toolbin/tests directory, and conventions for writing new testing
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How to set up Ghostscript as a Unix lpr filter.
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Detailed instructions on how to use Ghostscript, including such
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matters as designating an output device; choosing a default
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paper size; how Ghostscript finds files, including font files;
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how it uses environment variables; notes on specific platforms,
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including the X Window System; and command-line options.
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Ghostscript's external font interface to a host platform's
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font-rendering mechanism, for developers.
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__________________________________________________________________
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Copyright � 2000-2006 Artifex Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
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This software is provided AS-IS with no warranty, either express or
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implied. This software is distributed under license and may not be
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copied, modified or distributed except as expressly authorized under
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the terms of that license. Refer to licensing information at
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http://www.artifex.com/ or contact Artifex Software, Inc., 7 Mt. Lassen
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Drive - Suite A-134, San Rafael, CA 94903, U.S.A., +1(415)492-9861, for
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Ghostscript version 8.61, 21 November 2007
added
removed
doc/README
