printing dot matrix from FileMaker

[Dan Shoop]

At 11:56 AM -0800 2/14/07, Roger Howard wrote:
>On Wed, February 14, 2007 11:08 am, Dan Shoop wrote:
>>  At 4:32 PM -0800 2/13/07, Roger Howard wrote:
>>>All of that said, printing to dot matrix isn't just like any other
>>>  device,
>>>in the sense that you don't tend to send high-resolution page images to
>>>the device and let it work out how to lay down antialiased dots to form
>>>the printed image - you ideally want it to send a stream of raw
>>>  characters
>>>to the device. So you may not in fact even use a typical OSX print driver
>>>for that; perhaps a custom serial driver instead (and it is possible to
>>>pump data to a serial port from FMP with a plugin, but you'll have to
>>>  work
>>>out the print protocol unless that comes with the plugin too).
>>
>>  Specifically a dot-matrix or line printer is not the same as a print
>>  queue but is rather merely a serial device. That is it's a TTY that
>>  receives text output.
>>
>>  Trting to incorporate such a beast w OS X's concept of CUPS is going
>>  to be a near impossible lose as they are incompatible in concept.
>
>Absolutely, that's why I suggested it's possible to interface with such a
>beast directly via a serial port, which can be done from FileMaker using a
>serial plugin. Since I don't know the specifics of the customer needs I
>left open the possibility of an OSX print driver, but if I were doing it
>I'd first question the whole idea, but if it was needed I'd format and
>write data out to a serial port from FMP directly. I think we're in total
>agreement Dan.

Then you should also agree that what the vendor said was probably on 
target given that the discussion there was regarding "printers" on 
the Mac, and those are not TTYs to the OS. So the statement was 
correct.
-- 

-dhan

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Dan Shoop                                                   AIM: iWiring
Systems & Networks Architect                      http://www.ustsvs.com/
shoop at iwiring.net                                http://www.iwiring.net/
1-714-363-1174

"The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right
questions." -- Claude Levi-Strauss

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