Debian bug report logs - #1112
a2gs output unusable by gs but usable by ghostview

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From pixar.com!bruce Mon Jul 17 15:56:02 1995
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From: bruce@pixar.com (Bruce Perens)
To: debian-bugs@pixar.com, debian-user@pixar.com, debian-bugs@pixar.com,
        edd@qed.econ.queensu.ca
Subject: Re:  Bug#1112: a2gs output unusable by gs but usable by ghostview

Just on a hunch, look and see if the word "showpage" appears in the PostScript
emitted by a2gs, close to the end. If it doesn't, that's the problem.
Mail the PostScript to me (privately!) and I'll look it over.

	Bruce
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From miles.econ.queensu.ca!edd Mon Jul 17 14:08:23 1995
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Date: Mon, 17 Jul 95 17:08 EDT
From: edd@miles.econ.queensu.ca (Dirk Eddelbuettel)
To: debian-user@pixar.com, debian-bugs@pixar.com
Subject: a2gs output unusable by gs but usable by ghostview
Reply-To: edd@qed.econ.queensu.ca


Package: a2gs         
Version: 1.0-1
Package: gs_x         
Version: 2.6.1pl4   
Package: gsfonts      
Version: 2.6.1

I am confused here. I use a2gs to create a postscript file of an ascii text 
file that I want to print. This postscript file can be viewed by ghostview
just fine.

But neither a HP 4ML (a genuine postscript printer) nor the following gs
script can use it. Simply nothing happens (but an empty x11 window) when
invoked by the script:

#!/bin/sh
gs -dNOBIND -sDEVICE=x11 -r80  -dSAFER -- $1

and all it creates is:

Initializing... done.
Ghostscript 2.6.1 (5/28/93)
Copyright (C) 1990-1993 Aladdin Enterprises, Menlo Park, CA.
  All rights reserved.
Ghostscript comes with NO WARRANTY: see the file COPYING for details.
Loading Courier font from /usr/lib/ghostscript/fonts/ncrr.gsf... 239192 232152 0 done.

The font file is there. Again, ghostview uses it correctly. Similarly,
nothing happens when I change the 'gs' device to 'ljet4'.

The script works fine on a file created by groff from a man page. What am I
missing?  

Thanks for any help,

-- 
Dirk Eddelbuettel		                   
<edd@qed.econ.queensu.ca>