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- Subject: Ghostscript 2.4 release announcement
- Message-ID: <9203252355.0.UUL1.3#5127@aladdin.com>
- Date: 26 Mar 92 06:55:24 GMT
- Followup-To: gnu.ghostscript.bug
- Lines: 65
- Return-Path: <aladdin!ghost@decwrl.dec.com>
-
- Ghostscript 2.4 is now released. Major features of this release
- include:
-
- - Drivers for many new printers, and for SuperVGA displays.
- - The ability to select printer resolution dynamically.
- - Fonts whose character spacing matches that of the Adobe fonts.
- - Correct implementation of clipping and of transfer functions.
- - Ghostview support.
- - The ability to send printer output to a pipe or a designated
- file or files.
- - The ability to link fonts into the executable, so they don't
- have to be loaded dynamically.
- - Many PostScript Level 2 features.
- - A 32-bit PC executable (386/486 only) that runs much faster
- than the 16-bit executable, and will use all available
- (extended) memory.
-
- ... plus the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements. See
- readme.doc in the fileset for a somewhat more detailed list; see
- history.doc for a very detailed list.
-
- Ghostscript 2.4 may be obtained, as usual, from
- prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/ghostscript*.
-
- [ Soon to be at these ftp sites as well. Please try them
- before prep.ai.mit.edu! thanx -len
-
- archive.eu.net, ftp.funet.fi, isy.liu.se, ftp.diku.dk,
- ugle.unit.no, ftp.cs.titech.ac.jp, wuarchive.wustl.edu,
- gatekeeper.dec.com, uxc.cso.uiuc.edu, and
- ftp.uu.net (under /packages/gnu).
- ]
-
- Device drivers from Ghostscript 2.2 and 2.3 are *not* compatible with
- Ghostscript 2.4. This was unavoidable because of new functionality
- in 2.4; unfortunately, it may have to happen again in the future.
- Also, building Ghostscript 2.4 on a MS-DOS machine now requires
- MS-DOS version 3.3 or higher, since fixing some problems with the
- command script files required using some features not present in
- earlier DOS versions. (Ghostscript will still *run* on any DOS
- version 3.1 or higher.)
-
- Diffs from Ghostscript 2.3 to 2.4 have been provided, but they are
- not likely to be very useful, since there were massive and pervasive
- code changes between the two releases.
-
- The next release of Ghostscript, tentatively numbered 2.5, is
- scheduled for release in May or June. Its main planned features are
- better (hinted) Type 1 font rendering, and correct handling of
- rotated halftone screens. The next release after that will probably
- be numbered 2.6, will probably appear in August, and will probably
- include Type 0 (composite) font support and a version that runs under
- Microsoft Windows 3.n. Release 3.0, which will include garbage
- collection, is now planned for sometime in the Fall. Of course, all
- these plans are subject to change, depending on what you, the users
- of Ghostscript, ask for and/or can contribute. Note that there are
- several projects described in the README file that will probably only
- get done if someone volunteers to do them.
-
- I would like especially to thank the many users who have contributed
- testing time, algorithm improvements, and drivers to this release.
-
- L. Peter Deutsch :: Aladdin Enterprises :: P.O. box 60264, Palo Alto, CA 94306
- ghost@aladdin.com ; ...decwrl!aladdin!ghost ; 415-322-0103 8-9 AM M-F
- "Implementation is the sincerest form of flattery."
-