RE: flexfax: Design for a portable Java hylafax clients: iwantyour opinions, please!

["Bernd Proissl" <news@proissl.de>]

Ji Iain,

> > Will the print driver store the file in some defined location?
> > Can the print driver call another programm?
> > Is there a print driver that can create TIFF?
> >
> I followed the approach suggested by Ari Maniatis on the list a
> while back.
> One can write a customised printer definition (PPD) file that
> works with the
> Apple LaserWriter driver.  Apple and Adobe technotes are available which
> give a reasonable explanation of how to do this.
>
> It is possible to customise the print dialog to include the fax number and
> recipient name.  Using the Apple Desktop Printer Utility a desktop printer
> can be created with the PPD file which saves the output to a file
> or passes
> it to another program (eg a print spooler).  The resultant PostScript file
> contains the information given by the user as a special variable.
you may send me such a postscript file together with a desription of
the embedded fax data.
Do the PPD files work an Macs only? Some time ago i may have heard about
them.
If this is available for Windows also, maybe this is a cheap way to enter
the fax data. I know that one can download PS drivers from adobes website,
AFAIR they must be configured by some file. Does anybody have experience
with
theses drivers? Are they free?
Do you know the link to Adobes website?

> I have a PPD file available if you'd like it.  I hit difficulties when
> trying to work out how to transfer the file created to Hylafax - too much
> programming, too little time, not enough knowledge etc .....
If it is Mac only it will probably be useless for me, i am more interested
in a
sample PS output file.

> Creating TIFF from a printer driver is of course possible but I know of no
> freely available code that does it.  I guess that MacFlex does this.  In
i do not know MaxFlex. :-(

> general, Mac printing is either by PostScript or via writing bit
> maps to the
> printer driver - TIFF isn't that common.
>
> >> Viewing multi-page
> >> TIFFs is a
> >> bit of a pain (graphic converter fails on 50% of files,
> > Maybe there are receiving errors in these files.
> > Search for "TIFF" and "Dmitry" and someting like error correction or ECM
> > in the archives and you will find at least on
> > post with an explananation of how to configure hylafax to have
> theses errors
> > removed
> > (or how to setup your modem to elimitate the errors)
>
> Thanks for the tip - I'll have a look.  However, a file that
> won't read with
> Graphic Converter will read with the MacFlex viewer so I don't think it's
> fair to finger Hylafax!
Maybe MacFlex just ignores these errors?

> >
> >> The big problem for me with Hylafax - as a dabbler in
> programming - is the
> >> lack of a documented and easy to use interface to the Hylafax job
> >> scheduler.
> > What functionality should this interface offer?
> >
>
> Just a basic API for job submission - I'm not after flash features.  The
> Hylafax Email reporting works fine for me.  What I would like to
> do is pass
> the middleware the PostScript file and the recipient details and
> let it get
> on with the work.
this should work with my client.

> >>>
> >>> 1. is java 2 widely availabe on your (client) platforms?
> >>> or is it supposed to become availbe in the near future?
> >>>
> >> No - development tools for Java 2 are proprietary and costly
> (last time I
> >> looked)
> > What about a runtime only environment?
> > No development, just the virtual machine to make apps running?
> >
>
> I'm running Apple's MRJ 2.1.4 which, according to the release notes:
>
> "... is Apple¹s implementation of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), based on
> Sun Microsystems¹ Java 1.1.6 specification. MRJ allows you to run Java
> applications and applets. (Running applets also requires a Web
> browser, such
> as Microsoft Internet Explorer, or an applet viewer such as the
> Apple Applet
> Runner.)
>
> MRJ 2.1 makes many improvements over Apple¹s previous JVM,
> including greatly
> increased performance, improved reliability, and support for
> AppleScript and
> Sun¹s JFC/Swing. MRJ 2.1 also runs more applications and applets than
> earlier versions.
>
> For the latest developments in Java for the Macintosh, see
> Apple¹s Java Web
> site at http://apple.com/macos/java/.
This link does not work. :-(
i looked at apple.com/java
it says that MRJ2.2 is available which is supposed to be JRE1.1.8
compatible. Unfortunately i found nothing about java 2.

>
> Hope this is of interest!
yes, thanks!

>  Iain


Bernd