PSCOMM(8)PSCOMM(8)NAME
pscomm, ps?f, psbad, psrv, pstext, psbanner, psint - TRANSCRIPT spooler
filters for POSTSCRIPT printers
SYNOPSIS
/usr/lib/transcript/ps*
DESCRIPTION
These are the low-level TRANSCRIPT interface filters for use by the
4.2BSD line printer spooling system through the printer description
file /etc/printcap. The ps?f entries are all links to the psint.sh
shell script. This script uses argv[0] (the name it was invoked under)
to determine which action to take. The options are as specified in the
4.2BSD Line Printer Spooler Manual. This shell script reads a printer-
specific shell script named .options in the current working directory
(the spooling directory) which may do additional printer-specific
processing. The .options script is often used to redefine the values
of some environment variables which regulate page-reversal, how to
print banner pages, etc. See below.
The psof entry is responsible for formatting a banner break page. It
exec's the psbanner filter which leaves the banner page in a file named
``.banner'' for pscomm to print. The program pscomm is the lowest
level filter. It manages communication with the printer, error
handling, status reporting, etc.
All other ``formatting'' filters run pscomm at the far end of a
pipeline, the nearer end doing translation to POSTSCRIPT only. psgf,
psnf, and pstf, are the filters for plot(5), ditroff(1), and troff(1)
respectively. The psif filter will also accept any POSTSCRIPT print
file. Other filter entries, such as those for TeX DVI files, cifplot,
and raw raster data are not available in the TRANSCRIPT package,
although they may be available from other sources. The default action
for these filter types is to execute psbad, a script which prints and
logs an error message that the translation filter is not available.
The translation filters are usually invoked by giving an option to
lpr(1). It is not correct to invoke the interface filters directly.
More flexibility in format conversion may be achieved by invoking the
appropriate translator directly, rather than specifying an lpr option.
psint.sh environment variables.
There are a number of environment variables used by the spooler
filters. These are listed below. The psint.sh script sets the initial
value for each, and the .options file can be used to change the value
for a particular printer. Note that Bourne shell syntax must be used
in both psint.sh and the .options file. Many of the variables take a
number value, and specify whether an action should take place or not; 1
means do the action, and 0 means don't do it.
BANNERFIRST=number.........Print banner at start of job
BANNERLAST=number..........Print banner at end of job
(See note below) 0=No banner at end
1=Don't unlink .banner file
2=Unlink .banner after use
BANNERPRO=file name........Banner prolog file
VERBOSELOG=number..........Print verbose log messages
Note: Due to some problems with the design of lpd(8), there is no
implementation of BANNERLAST that will work in all cases. Two options
are provided:
1) BANNERLAST=1. This prints out a banner between each copy in a
multiple-copy job. It also may print out the previous user's banner on
a job that has specified no banner (lpr -h).
2) BANNERLAST=2. This never prints a banner on a job that has
specified no banner (lpr -h). However, it prints a banner after the
first copy only in a multiple-copy job. It should be after all copies
or after the final copy.
One chould change the banner page for a particular printer by
redefining the BANNERPRO value.
FILES
/usr/lib/transcript/
POSTSCRIPT library, prologues, filters, etc.
.options
Printer-specific options script (in the printer spool
directory).
printer.acct
Printer accounting file.
printer-log
Printer log file.
.banner
Banner break page temporary file (in the spool directory) ,
generated by psof/psbanner.
status Printer status file (in the spool directory), shared by lpd(8),
and pscomm.
SEE ALSOtranscript(1), lpr(1), lpc(8), lpd(8), printcap(5).
4.2BSD Line Printer Spooler Manual
AUTHOR
Adobe Systems Incorporated
NOTES
POSTSCRIPT is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
TRANSCRIPT is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
TeX is a trademark of the American Mathematical Society.
Adobe Systems 14 July 1987 PSCOMM(8)
