But PostScript? I can honestly say that I never used that, so its horribly archaic |
This probably applies also to the Theory of Relativity.
But joking apart:
PostScript is a programming language, developed since 1982 in the newly founded
company Adobe, then commercially distributed for printing by toner printers.
(Photoshop came later, developed basically in the years 1987 – 1990.)
PostScript applications belong to two different classes.
1) Graphic programs convert text, general vector graphics and raster graphics
automatically into PostScript (PageMaker era).
2) Graphics with all these types of objects are directly programmed "manually".
This is of very high value, because it can be done in RGB, Grayscale, Lab or CMYK,
and because mathematical functions are allowed as required (opposed to Adobe
Illustrator).
PostScript is therefore ideal for printable text books or tutorials (my stuff) with vector
graphics illustrations. By the way: procedural smooth shading is possible, but objects
with variable transparency cannot be used.
The application 1) had been replaced later by PDF. In the beginning by "distilling"
the PostScript file, later by generating PDF directly. The basis of PDF is PostScript.
PDF cannot be programmed "manually".
One great invention, already in PostScript, is the rendering of text and general
vector graphics with device resolution, maybe for display, customer printer or
image/platesetter.
The history of all this is very well described by John Warnock, who had founded
Adobe together with Charles Geschke:
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/adobe-co-founder-john-warnock-on-the-competitive-advanta...
PostScript is an archaic concept, language and file format, and much more than a
data container, therefore some reverence would be appropriate.
Best regards --Gernot Hoffmann
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