[Gnome-print] Re: [printing-dev] X-print?

[Christian Schaller <Uraeus linuxpower org>]

Sander Vesik wrote:

> On Sat, 25 Nov 2000, Christian Schaller wrote:
> 
>> Hi OpenOffice printing hackers,
>> I am just wondering why StarOffice aims at using xprint (whatever that 
>> is) from reading through the archive, since it seems that it will 
> 
> 
> It is not an invention of us, if you menat that by 'whatever that is'. It
> is an X extension and appears in any sufficently up to date X distribution.
> It also happened to be (as I understand it) the shortest route to get some
> kind of printing into OpenOffice.

Well I figured that it wasn't a Sun thingie, but what I meant that it 
was a printing library that 'no-one' uses, at least under Linux. It 
probably was a little arrogant way to put it, sorry.

>> provide simple Postscript output only. 
>> Considering that Sun has proclaimed that OpenOffice will be made part of 
>> GNOME I am having big trouble seeing why the excelent gnome-print 
>> library isn't used instead. The advantages should be numerous.
>> 
> 
> I can see. Patches to make OpenOffice print using Xprint exist
> now. Patches to do the same using anything else (as long as that else has
> to be Open Source) don't. 

Well, those patches was made AFAIK by you people (Sun) and my point was 
that you should hack on something being more long term. Also as mentione 
Maher's mail implied that GNOME-print wasn't even something he wanted.

>> I saw a mail in the archive from Martin Maher saying something along the 
>> lines of GNOME-print probably being a less generic than xprint.  I am 
>> having problems seeing the problem here. True enough GNOME print might 
>> not run on obscure Unix variants without futher porting, but the number 
>> of users to who StarOffice becomes  unintersting due to it having a very 
>> limited printing system I would guess is much bigger, than the number 
>> who can't print straight away because they are using Siemens Unix or 
>> something. or similar (would OpenOffice itself compile?)
>> 
> 
> It probably would if somebody spent the effort. Anyways, using Xprint is a
> temporary workaround to have some printing in OpenOffice. As it happens,
> it is also a terribly generic solution. Whetever it is also a good one is
> totally another matter. As it is a temporary workaround, it doesn't have
> to be.
> 
>> My take is that if the printing people at Sun worked togheter with the 
>> GNOME-print developers we would get both high-quality printing in 
>> OpenOffice and a fantastic printing system for Unix sooner.  GNOME print 
>> already provides both Postscript and PDF output and PCL is as I 
>> understand being worked on. There is also work underway AFAIK to 
>> integrate the printer drivers IBM makes for Linux.
>> 
>> So my suggestion is that this list is simply killed of and the Sun 
>> developers here move onto the GNOME print 
> 
> 
> UHHHH..... What OpenOffice is not just for unix. And this list is about
> printing as it relates to OpenOffice. I can't see why it should be killed
> off. Not even if OpenOffice was only for unix systems having gnome. There
> would still be need for a place where people could ask/ talk about
> OpenOffice related printing matters.

Could be that the list is still usefull then, but I would expect 
OpenOffice to use the services provided by Windows and Mac on those 
plattforms, which kinda leaves Unix and relatives, which I would think 
would be well serviced by GNOME print.

So if you agreed with my that gnome-print should be the mailing-list for 
the development of a printing system for OpenOffice on Unix, then what 
is left for this list is as a discussion spot for how develop an 
architecture for Open Office to integrate with the different native 
printing iterfaces. This is something I would expect already is in 
place, but I have to admitt to never having used SO/OO on anything but 
Unix, so wether you always have used the same printing soultion accross 
plattforms or not is not within my range of knowledge.

> Does it work on Windows? MacOSX? How portable is it to non-unix platforms
> in general? Of course, it should be used on anything on which it was the
> native printing system, or better than the native system.
> 
> 
> Except that OpenOffice needs to print on Mac and Windows aswell. 

As I mentioned above, I would expect OO to use whatever is available on 
those plattforms instead of bringing in its own printing system. For 
instance I am having trouble seeing windows users being happy with 
having to get special printer drivers for OO instead of using the same 
system as all other windows programs use.

>> Also from the archive I saw Chema Celorio(the GNOME print maintainer) 
>> offer to help you out implementing this so the technical barrier should 
>> be easy to overcome.
>> 
> 
> Good. 
> 
> As soon as I have the patches (or indeed any patches working towards
> getting to a nice printing) that are of acceptable quality I will start
> asking people why they should not go into the next OpenOffice snapshot.
> 
> Having as good printing as possible in OO as soon as possible is IMHO in
> everybodies intrest. 

My mail was sent with the belief that SUN are paying someone to work on 
this and if so hopeing to influence those people to move their 
development in what I believe is to be a more long term solution.
If this isn't the case, I appologise and agree with you that it is up to 
us in the GNOME community to provide you with some patches to get this 
going.

Christian


BTW, you probably have a to tight anti-spam filer on this list, since 
neither your response nor the one from Michael Meeks of Helixcode has 
made it onto the dev-print list.

Michael response can be found here:

(http://lists.helixcode.com/archives/public/gnome-print/2000-November/000489.html)