### psfmt-2.4 README file

    Newsgroups: comp.sources.postscript
    From: alastair@vogon.cetia.fr (Alastair Adamson)
    Subject: v03i037: psfmt - General purpose PostScript text formatter, Part01/07
    Message-ID: <JGM.94Jun15154258@monaco.cs.brown.edu>
    Date: Wed, 15 Jun 1994 20:42:58 GMT
    Approved: postscript-request@cs.brown.edu (Jonathan Monsarrat)

    Submitted-by: alastair@vogon.cetia.fr (Alastair Adamson)
    Posting-number: Volume 03, Issue 37
    Archive-name: psfmt/part01-07
    Environment: PostScript
    Keywords: text formatting, converts ASCII to PostScript

    		PSFMT version 2.4

    Psfmt is a text formatter which generates PostScript code directly.
    It was originally written to format text for memos and faxes, i.e.
    on "preprinted" paper. To simplify life for the users, the syntax
    is very similar to that of [nt]roff; in this way, the need to learn
    a new syntax was obviated.

    Some of the formatting features:
    	+ font and point-size changes
    	+ line filling and adjusting (also no-fill mode)
    	+ line centering and three-part titles
    	+ user-defined registers, strings and macros
    	+ nested lists
    	+ displays
    	+ multi-column output
    	+ conditional input
    	+ PostScript code inclusion

    The functionality of the program has grown with time (creeping
    featurism?) and the program is now quite powerful. The psfmt program
    itself does no formatting; it only generates PostScript code. It is
    thus the printer which does all the "heavy" work.

    This approach has several advantages and disadvantages.
    Advantages:
    	- The psfmt program is very fast.
    	- There is no need for font description files. Disks seem to
    	  fill up quickly with font information for troff, tex, X11,
    	  FrameMaker etc, etc. Psfmt does not add to this problem.
    	- There is no restriction on font-usage. Since only the printer
    	  has to know about fonts, no font tables are needed.
    	- Psfmt is free. Several others packages aren't.
    Disadvantages:
    	- Some formatting capabilities are not possible (yet!), such
    	  as footnote handling and text-block control ("real" displays).
    	- There is no provision for real tables or equation setting.

    psfmt is distributed free of charge; you can redistribute it and/or
    modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License, a copy
    of which is provided in the file COPYING.

    To install this package, see the INSTALL file. The program should
    compile on any system with a C compiler with little or no problems,
    including DOS systems and Macintoshes, although only DOS has been
    tested (since I don't have access to others). It has been compiled
    and run on System V and BSD systems with *no* changes made.

    The HISTORY file gives some information about why the program was
    written in the first place, and the way in which is has evolved as
    well as plans for the future.

    Finally, the file PREPRINT gives some details on how to use this as
    it was originally intended, i.e. to format text within a "preprinted"
    page.

    The formatting uses only level 1 PostScript, but will probably be
    adapted to take advantage of features of level 2 printers sometime in
    the future. The generated code is *not* DSC compliant and can *not*
    be turned into EPSF. This is simply because it is the printer who does
    the formatting and so page breaks cannot be known in advance. The
    output of psfmt can be previewed successfully with GhostScript 2.5
    or later (perhaps even 2.4, but not earlier).

    If you're interested and have any ideas, comments, bug reports or
    whatever, please mail me at the following address:
    	alastair@cetia.fr