From: bcockburn@acorn.co.uk (Bruce Cockburn)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: Re: HPGL to postscript (once more!)?
Date: 12 Oct 92 10:47:19 GMT
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England

Mark,

  Here is the begining of a posting from the middle of last year.  I suggest
that you contact Alun directly.

  Bruce.

 >> From: gombo@tharr.UUCP (Alun Jones)
 >> Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
 >> Subject: HPGL filter for postscript printers.
 >> Summary: HPGL to Postscript (A4 assumed)
 >> Date: 22 Jul 91 12:13:50 GMT
 >> Reply-To: tharr!gombo@ukc.ac.uk (Alun Jones)
 >> Organization: Public Usenet Access
 >>
 >> Well, after the large amount of response I received about this program
 >> when I proposed writing it, I have decided to post it.  However, since
 >> it's a fairly long file - a thousand lines of code - I'm warning you
 >> of that fact now, so you can skip it if you want to.
 >>
 >> The program itself is an interpreter of sorts - and as you can guess
 >> from the Subject line, it interprets HPGL code on a Postscript
 >> printer.  It only emulates a subset of the HPGL codes - partly,
 >> because I only emulate the ones I have test files for, but mainly
 >> because I'm about to go into hospital, and haven't had time to add and
 >> test the others.  The commands it supports (at least in a limited way)
 >> are:
 >>
 >> AA, AF, AR, CI, CP, CT, DF, DI, DR, DT, EA, ER, FT, IN, IP, IW, LB,
 >> LT, PA, PD, PG, PR, PS, PU, PW, RA, RO, RR, SC, SI, SL, SP, SR
 >>
 >> Although, I would add the following riders:
 >>
 >> I guessed at the defaults set up by AF.
 >> FT doesn't support user defined fills or shading yet.
 >> IN - since some commands aren't present, their resulting
 >> initialisations have been commented ou.
 >> RO hasn't been tested, and probably won't work.
 >> SC only scales anisotropically.
 >> LB may have problems - LB defaults to ending each label with a ^c
 >> character.  Many postscript printers strip this code out, or use it to
 >> do an interrupt.  On these printers, I advise editing the HPGL code
 >> beforehand, and changing each ^c into some other character that won't
 >> appear in labels, and won't get stripped by the printer.  Say you
 >> choose the % character.  Now, after every DF or IN instruction, add
 >> the instruction "DT%,1;" - at present the ",1" is unnecessary, but is
 >> there for future expansion of the DT command.
 >>
 >> The code itself is shareware and uncrippled - if you use it and you
 >> think it's worth paying for, send me something.  To use this program,
 >> simply send it to the printer followed by the HPGL code to be drawn.
 >> EG, for dos, do:
 >> COPY HPGL.PS+FILE.PLT LPT1
 >> or for unix:
 >> cat hpgl.ps file.plt | lp
 >>
 >> I would appreciate any comments, bugs, fixes, or test examples for
 >> other command not yet implemented, although it may be some weeks
 >> before I answer, since I shall be in hospital, and then in plaster.
 >> (That's why I'm posting this now)
 >> Anyway, here's the file, so please enjoy it:

Any views expressed are my own and are not necessarily those     _--_|\ 
of Acorn. Any factual information is given in good faith and    /      \
neither I, nor Acorn can accept liability for loss or damage    \_.--._/
resulting from its use.                                               v