Printer Device Driver Reference for OS/2
| Printer Device Driver Reference for OS/2 |
|---|
| About this Book & Introduction |
| Generic Printer Library |
| 32-Bit PostScript Driver |
| 32-Bit Plotter Presentation Driver |
| The 42XX Rasterizing Driver |
| 32-bit Omni Presentation Driver |
| Printer Bidirectional Communications |
| Font Test 32-Bit Printing Utility |
| Printer Test Tool (PTT) |
| Importing PostScript Printer Description files |
| Notices |
| Glossary |
By IBM
Reprint Courtesy of International Business Machines Corporation, © International Business Machines Corporation
About This Book
The Printer Device Driver Reference for OS/2 describes the printer and plotter presentation drivers as well as test tools that correspond to the source code that is supplied with the IBM Developer Connection Device Driver Kit for OS/2.
This reference also provides a roadmap to the drivers and briefly describes their functions and modules. It is intended to be used in conjunction with the Presentation Driver Reference. For additional information about graphics-engine functions and presentation drivers, see the Presentation Driver Reference.
Programmers can use the information found in this book to create printer drivers and tests as well as to test their drivers. Knowledge of C and Assembler programming languages is necessary. The programmer must be familiar with the the OS/2 operating system, the Presentation Manager interface, and 80X86 architecture. The programming concepts that should be understood before developing applications to run on the OS/2 system can be found in the Application Design Guide.
How This Book is Organized
- Generic Printer Library, describes a set of subroutine packages that can be used in the development of 32-bit hardcopy presentation drivers.
- 32-Bit PostScript Driver, describes important design and programming information about the PostScript driver. All the functions used by the PostScript driver are listed and described.
- 32-Bit Plotter Presentation Driver, describes important design and programming information about the plotter driver. All the functions used by the plotter driver are listed and described.
- The 42XX Rasterizing Driver, provides important design and programming information about the 42XX rasterizing driver. All the functions used by the 42XX rasterizing driver are listed and described.
- 32-bit Omni Presentation Driver, describes the Omni Driver, a 32-bit OS/2 Presentation Manager printer device driver.
- Printer Bidirectional Communications, provides important design and programming information about OS/2 bidirectional communications. All the functions used by the feature are listed and described.
- Font Test 32-Bit Printing Utility, describes Font Test.
- Font Test is a 32-bit Presentation Manager application that allows users to browse through and print text files as well as to query presentation drivers for device, font, and hardcopy information. Font Test is very useful for testing presentation drivers. All the functions used by Font Test are listed and described, and a description of how to add a test to Font Test is included.
- Printer Test Tool (PTT), describes the Printer Test Tool (PTT) and how to run test cases. It also contains information about PTT commands and PTT command-line options. The PTT's tests are detailed, and the GPI functions called by the tests in the PTT are listed with any necessary configuration settings.
- Importing PostScript Printer Description files
- The Notices contain trademark and service-mark notices and information.
- The Glossary defines terms commonly used in the IBM Device Driver Source Kit for OS/2.
What's New
The following update has been added to this release of the Printer Device Driver Reference for OS/2:
A new section, Sample Bidirectional Parallel Port Driver which describes the code/functions associated with the port driver.
For information on items discussed in this reference that have been added to OS/2 (beginning with Warp) and their compatibility with different versions of OS/2, see OS/2 Version Compatibility Considerations.
OS/2 Version Compatibility Considerations
The following table lists items discussed in this reference that have been added to OS/2 since OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 and discusses their compatibility with different versions of OS/2.
| Item Added or Changed | Date Item Added or Changed | Compatibility of Addition or Change |
|---|---|---|
| Omni Drivers | June 1996 | OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 and higher |
| GenPLib Updates | November 1995 | OS/2 Version 2.0 Service Pack and later |
| PostScript Driver Updates | November 1995 | OS/2 Version 2.0 Service Pack and later |
| 42xx Driver | November 1995 | OS/2 Version 2.0 Service Pack and later |
| Plotter Drivers | November 1995 | OS/2 Version 2.0 Service Pack and later |
| Bidirectional Communication | November 1995 | OS/2 Warp, Version 3.0 and later Earlier printer drivers should work without modification when printing to bidirectional printers; port drivers developed under DDK earlier than 3.0 should work without modification when printing to bidirectional printers, but they do not provide bidirectional communication |