PostScript(R) by Example [Paperback]

Henry McGilton (Author), Mary Compione (Author), Mary Campione (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1992

PostScript by Example is packed with 500 examples and 700 pictures to help users and programmers at all levels become knowledgeable in PostScript--the industry-standard page-description language developed by Adobe Systems Inc. Loaded with hands-on exercises and step-by-step instructions, this book covers two broad areas. You will start with the basic concept of PostScript--graphics, text, and language. Then continue with "build-it-yourself" PostScript tools to construct fonts, patterns, forms, and manage your printing environment. Henry McGilton and Mary Campione provide invaluable information for both beginning and experienced PostScript users on how to: *Lay foundations of the PostScript painting model--paths, graphic states, text, clipping, transformations, arcs, curves, and images *Understand PostScript Level 2 patterns, forms, images, composite fonts, halftones, and color models. *Construct error handlers, download fonts and PostScript programs, and understand Encapsulated PostScript.The most comprehensive hands-on PostScript guide ever, PostScript by Example is your toolkit for building effective PostScript programs. 0201632284B04062001

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

help users and programmers at all levels become knowledgeable in PostScript--the industry-standard page-description language developed by Adobe Systems Inc.

Loaded with hands-on exercises and step-by-step instructions, this book covers two broad areas. You will start with the basic concept of PostScript--graphics, text, and language. Then continue with "build-it- yourself" PostScript tools to construct fonts, patterns, forms, and manage your printing environment.

Henry McGilton and Mary Campione provide invaluable information for both beginning and experienced PostScript users on how to: Lay foundations of the PostScript painting model--paths, graphic states, text, clipping, transformations, arcs, curves, and images Understand PostScript Level 2 patterns, forms, images, composite fonts, halftones, and color models. Construct error handlers, download fonts and PostScript programs, and understand Encapsulated PostScript. The most comprehensive hands-on PostScript guide ever, PostScript by Example is your toolkit for building effective PostScript programs.

About the Author

Henry McGilton founded Technical Publications at Sun Microsystems in 1982 and coauthored Introducing the UNIX System and Introducing UNIX System V--books that sold more than a quarter million copies in five languages worldwide. Henry works at RightBrain Software in Palo Alto, California, developing desktop publications software for NeXT computer systems. Mary Campione was formerly a senior technical writer at Sun Microsystems, where she started writing about the Java platform in 1995. Mary graduated from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, with a B.S. in Computer Science and has worked as both a technical writer and programmer. 0201632284AB11062003

Product Details

• Paperback: 620 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (September 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201632284
• ISBN-13: 978-0201632286
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,634,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not enough definition, April 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PostScript(R) by Example (Paperback)

Although this book could be useful to the person who cares nothing of how things work, I found it extremely lacking in the area of defining the way Postscript works. From the outset, the book shows many examples which the authors touts as the best way to learn something. However, many of the examples used have little or no explanation of some of the cryptic commands contained within. You end up wasting a lot of time scratching your head trying to find out *what* is going on. It becomes a matter of wading through the entire book since many terms are not even listed in the index. A glossary and perhaps a command reference would have been extremely useful in this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superb examples and documentation; much easier than Adobe., August 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: PostScript(R) by Example (Paperback)

PostScript by Example may be your best introduction to this somewhat obscure page description language. I credit McGilton and Campione for providing what little I understand of PostScript object and stack creation and manipulation. Everything you need to know about basic syntax, construction of Bezier paths, use of fonts, graphic transformation and use of dictionaries is here, and it's properly commented, too!

If you absolutely HAVE to code or troubleshoot in PostScript and are wading through Adobe's Red Book (PostScript Language Reference Manual, 2nd Edition) or Blue Book (PostScript Language Tutorial and Cookbook), then take a break, accelerate yourself and read PostScript by Example.

Unfortunately, through no fault of the authors, some of what they have built is not really useable. The information in chapter ten on creating a user-defined (Type 3) font has no bearing in any PostScript interpreter environment I can access. This includes, Illustrator 6 and 7, Tailor 2 and Acrobat Distiller 3.0.2. If I'm doing something wrong, I'd like to see where, but in point of fact the Type 3 font information in the Red Book doesn't work either in those environments.

This, as I have mentioned, is not the fault of the writers, who cannot be held accountable for changes in the software since 1993. It would, however, be nice to see an update to this book, especially inasmuch as PostScript is now upgrading to level 3. If McGilton and Campione could be pulled away from UNIX (it's only an OS) and Java (it's not a standard and won't be for a while), then we can get back to basics.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much graphics, not enough text, February 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: PostScript(R) by Example (Paperback)

Although I found this book to be accurate, I did not enjoy it. Concepts jumped from chapter to chapter without any order. The index is totally lacking. It covered graphics completely but failed on handling bitmaps. It left text formatting to your imagination. As a programmer, I need to create reports. This book left me out in the cold. If you want to manipulate graphics using PostScript this book is for you. If you want to produce a spreadsheet on PostScript look elsewhere.