Re: [Groff] PDF printing coming

[Miklos Somogyi]

On 21/04/2006, at 7:34 PM, (Ted Harding) wrote:

> On 21-Apr-06 Michail Vidiassov wrote:

> > .... though Linux will maintain PostScript support for a
> > long time to ensure backward compatibility.

I sincerely hope so.

> >  ..... all agreed that PDF
> > will give them more power, more reliability, and more control
> > over the printing process.
> >
> > http://applications.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/04/18/2114252

Thanks, I've read the article. As to the features PDF has and PS hasn't,
it seems to me that it is because Adobe does not want to add features 
to PS.
E.g. years ago I asked them whether access to the frame buffer was ever
coming to the language and got a `never-ever' type answer.
No wonder that things like alpha-blending, etc are very difficult is PS.

We love things that we can modify in our little text editors to our 
taste,
i.e. source files. For big companies there is not much money in source 
files.
That's behind the move, not features.

> I am perturbed by some of the implications, however. Never
> mind "backwards compatibility". As things stand at present,
> PS has advantages over PDF.

I could not agree more with Ted on this. E.g. how would you do
even primitive 3d in Acrobat?

> I fear that the above move from PS towards PDF may bring
> similar disadvatages with it.

I like PDF very much, especially if I can add notes to it, highlight
what's interesting to me, jump-around in the document and send it 
anywhere.
However, PS is a programming language I need. I'd like to keep both
of them, but if I would need to stick to one, it would be PS.

My 2 cents,

Miklos