Two programmers hoping to overhaul the RISC OS PostScript system were this week handed copies of the RISC OS printing system source code. Martin Wuerthner and John Tytgat were granted access to the blueprints of the RISC OS 6 printing system in order to improve it. The source code was supplied by RISCOS Ltd.It's understood Martin and John want to fix a number of long-standing issues in the way RISC OS generates PostScript and provide PostScript level 3 features. The duo want to tackle problems with fonts and colours, and add proper support for PPD files, which specify which paper trays to use, what resolution to use, duplex settings and so on.
The pair of programmers will ask for cash contributions to fund the development of the software. They also hope to release their work to as many users as possible, even as far as feeding their improvements into the RISC OS Open project. ROOL hopes to have the sources to the RISC OS 5 printing system, as well as the window manager, font manager and toolbox suite, ready for release by the end of the month.
A source close to Martin and John said: "The PostScript drivers really need to be kicked into the 21st century. Their to-do list for the sources is quite long and the code is a little obscure in places. It's a big job but now Martin and John can really get to work.
"It is their intention to help the RISC OS community as a whole and they can't see a reason why they should have to duplicate their work for Castle's RISC OS 5 and ROL's RISC OS 6. It's hoped the source code for both printing systems will be pretty much the same."
Links
Previous coverage of their PostScript project