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Subject:
From:
"Randolph J. Herber" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 20 Dec 1998 08:44:33 -0600
Content-Type:
text/plain
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The following header lines retained to affect attribution:
|Date:         Sat, 19 Dec 1998 09:00:02 -0500
|Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
|From: "Y&Y Inc." <[log in to unmask]>
|Subject:      Re: portable LaTeX
|To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L

|At 12:08 PM 12/16/98 -0600, Randolph J. Herber wrote:

|>|Randolph J. Herber writes:

        ... I accept your other `corrections' even though my
        experience contradicts those statements.

|>        If the figures are not Adobe PostScript level 1 or self
|>        capable of reducing themselves to that level, then the
|>        only practical choice is to bitmap the images, which then
|>        can be converted to Adobe EPSF at Adobe PostScript level 1.
|>        Adobe PostScript level 1 is a requirement from considerations
|>        of portability.

|Not at all.  Distiller understands PS level II.  No need to dumb down
|your PS. It is up to the printer driver on the Reader side to use
|PS level I or PS level II whichever is appropriate.  Certainly there
|is no conversion to bitmaps when meeting level II code.

I repeat and stand by my original statement ``Adobe PostScript level 1 is
a requirement _from considerations of portability_.''  I work daily with
scientists scattered around the planet with problems generating, displaying
and printing Abode Postscript language files and Adobe PDF.  In the interest
of portability, Adobe PostScript level 1 language files using internal
supplied fonts or the ``original'' 13 fonts (4 each Times-Roman, Helvetica
and Courier and Symbol) with proper DSC is the _only_ in-practical-fact
portable format.  The only reliable ``fix'' for Adobe PDF is to convert
it to an Adobe PostScript language file and, if necessary (which it
frequently is), forcefully by manual editting dumb it down to language
level 1.  Nothing else works reliably.  PDF fails more frequently than
anything else---most printers fail if given a PDF directly.  As far as I
can tell the _only_ reason for PDF is to protect Adobe's fonts for Adobe.
Ghostview does not handle PDF files as input in any version that I am
aware of.  PDF files are frequently encrypted which causes problems by
cryptography being illegal to export from several countries as military
munitions and illegal to import into others without special permissions
(e.g. France, Russia and the Peoples' Reuplic of China).  As for Adobe
PostScript language level 2, many applications do not generate proper
``dumbing down'' code---it has to be hand repaired to be portable and
the easiest fix is to do a conversion to language level 1 at the same
time.  And, there are quite a few printers still in active use which
are only Adobe PostScript language level 1.  These printers are not
going to be withdrawn from service just to make it convenient for you,
Adobe or any one else.  As for Adobe PostScript language level 3, there
are very few level 3 printers or viewers available and they are hard to find.

I _am quite willing to accept_ a stage of conversion from TeX DVI to
Adobe PostScript language files.  Until there are converters as
competent as dvips and dvipsk are for converting DVI to Adobe PostScript
language files for converting Adobe PDF to Adobe PostScript level 1
language files, I have no interest in a LaTeX that produces Adobe PDF
instead of DVI.

|Maybe tune in to comp.text.pdf?

        There does not seem to be much there:

No articles under restriction.
Restriction comp.text.pdf removed.

|Maybe read http://www.YandY.com/download/pdf_from.pdf

        If you want this to be read, then put it up as an
        Adobe PostScript level 1 language file so that it
        generally can be read.

        Furthermore, to demonstrate the quality of that file:

# xpdf pdf_from.pdf
xpdf version 0.7a
Copyright © 1996-1998 Derek B. Noonburg
Error (0): PDF file is damaged - attempting to reconstruct xref table...
Error: Top-level pages object is wrong type (null)
Error: Couldn't read page catalog
# pdf2ps pdf_from.pdf pdf_from.ps
Error: /invalidaccess in --fileposition--
Operand stack:
   49150   49139   (dup 99 /floor)   (dup 99 /floorleft putt put<< \015/Linearized 1 \015/O 114 \015/H [ 964 520 ] \015/L 177710 \015/E 61162 \015/N 10 \015/T 175351 \015>> \015endobj\015                                                      xref\015112 27 \0150000000016 00000 n\015\0120000000891 00000 n\015\0120000001484 00000 n\015\012000000167)   49139   --nostringval--
Execution stack:
   %interp_exit   ()   --nostringval--   --nostringval--   --nostringval--   false   --nostringval--   --nostringval--   --nostringval--   --nostringval--   --nostringval--   %loop_continue   --nostringval--   --nostringval--   --nostringval--
Dictionary stack:
   --dict:677/701--   --dict:0/20--   --dict:47/200--   --dict:47/200--   --dict:112/119--   --dict:158/160--   --dict:4/10--
Current allocation mode is local

|Maybe check out Donald Story's `AcroTeX' web page:
|http://www.math.uakron.edu/~dpstory/

        I tried it.  I fail to see how it helps.  I did see that it also
        has the same problems with respect to Adobe PDF that many WWW sites
        have with respect to html---you have to have ``bleeding'' edge
        software in order to use the material.  Which is without
        consideration of the users' needs, wants, wishes or capacities.

        For example, general use WWW pages should be written to be usable
        by Lynx and Mosaic web browsers.  If nothing else, then provide
        a text only button and a separate set of pages.  If not, then,
        for example, provide alt= tags for images.

|Regards, Berthold.

|Y&Y, Inc.   phone: (508) 371-3286   fax: (508) 371-2004 (USA)
|mailto:[log in to unmask]            mailto:[log in to unmask]
|http://www.YandY.com                http://www.YandY.com/unique.htm

Randolph J. Herber, [log in to unmask], +1 630 840 2966, CD/CDFTF PK-149F,
Mail Stop 318, Fermilab, Kirk & Pine Rds., PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510-0500,
USA.  (Speaking for myself and not for US, US DOE, FNAL nor URA.)  (Product,
trade, or service marks herein belong to their respective owners.)

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