Postscript language tutorial and cookbook

Adobe Systems, 1985
PostScript (Computer program language)
The POSTSCRIPT page description language provides a device independent
standard for representing the printed page. This book
is designed to be a companion piece to the POSTSCRIPT Language
Reference Manual. It presents illustrative material to aid
in understanding the POSTSCRIPT language. The tutorial information
presented here has been deliberately separated from the
reference manual to help ensure that the defining document offers
a precise, unambiguous definition of the language and associated
graphics imaging model. In all cases, when questions of
definition or precise specification are raised, the POSTSCRIPT
Language Reference Manual is the final word.
This book actually contains two documents: the POSTSCRIPT
Language Tutorial and the POSTSCRIPT Language Cookbook.
The tutorial provides an easy, informal introduction to the
POSTSCRIPT language and its graphics primitives. The tutorial’s
style and level of presentation is aimed at programmers who
wish to design and implement applications, such as word
processing packages, graphics illustrators, and CAD/CAM drawing
systems. It is interactively oriented, and written with the assumption
that you, the reader, already know how to program.
You are encouraged to try variations of the examples presented
in the tutorial on a POSTSCRIPT printer as you work your way
through the book.
The cookbook is, as its name suggests, a collection of programs
that are offered as examples of POSTSCRIPT usage. These
samples have been chosen both as illustrations of the functional
range of POSTSCRIPT and as useful ingredients for inclusion in
application packages that you design. The cookbook samples
demonstrate techniques for rendering quality graphics, achieving
effective typography with digital fonts, and maintaining true
device independence. Again, you are encouraged to experiment
with variations of these samples on a POSTSCRIPT printer as you
develop your own applications.
The principal authors of this material are Linda Gass and John
Deubert. The final organization and the majority of the material
for the POSTSCRIPT Language Tutorial is due to John Deubert.
Ed Taft reviewed and proofread the material during the later
stages of its production. Linda Gass designed and developed the
POSTSCRIPT Language Cookbook and she is the principal author
of both the examples and the explanatory text. The seminal idea
of the cookbook is due to Doug Brotz and several of the illustrations
in the cookbook are due to John Warnock. Andy Shore
proofread the text and POSTSCRIPT sample programs. The book
design was specified by Bob Ishi and was implemented by Andy
Shore and Brian Reid. The index was compiled by Steven
Sorensen.
The art of printing is rich in tradition, and the technology for
producing the printed page has evolved over centuries. We at
Adobe Systems are pleased to offer POSTSCRIPT as a tool for
printing in the electronic age. I believe that this tutorial material
will significantly enhance your ability to explore this exciting
technology and help you enjoy the process of discovering the
world of electronic printing.