2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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PostScript
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n. A page description language, based on work originally done by John
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Gaffney at Evans and Sutherland in 1976, evolving through JaM ( John and
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Martin , Martin Newell) at XEROX PARC , and finally implemented in its
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current form by John Warnock et al. after he and Chuck Geschke founded Adobe
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Systems Incorporated in 1982. PostScript gets its leverage by using a full
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programming language, rather than a series of low-level escape sequences, to
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describe an image to be printed on a laser printer or other output device
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(in this it parallels EMACS , which exploited a similar insight about
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editing tasks). It is also noteworthy for implementing on-the fly
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rasterization, from Bezier curve descriptions, of high-quality fonts at low
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(e.g. 300 dpi) resolution (it was formerly believed that hand-tuned bitmap
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fonts were required for this task). Hackers consider PostScript to be among
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the most elegant hacks of all time, and the combination of technical merits
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and widespread availability has made PostScript the language of choice for
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graphical output.
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