Hello
I get this mail from Kurt Pfeifle (one of the cups/KDEprint people)
and he invite to a workshop.
Maybe I will visit this workshop. But I am not a printer expert. Till
translate the mail and maybe someone others can go to this workshop...
----- Forwarded message from Till Kamppeter <till.kamppeter@gmx.net> -----
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 19:29:32 +0200
From: Till Kamppeter <till.kamppeter@gmx.net>
To: kpfeifle@danka.de
CC: Michael Bramer <grisu@debian.org>, k1pfeifle@gmx.net
Subject: Re: Einladung fuer "Foomatic/Linuxprinting.org-Datenbank-Workshop" auf dem LinuxTag
Kurt Pfeifle wrote:
> Michael Bramer wrote:
>> und vielleicht auch in English?
>
>
> Vielleicht kann Till das Einladungsschreiben uebersetzen? Ich schaffe es
> derzeit nicht mehr...
>
It's no problem:
I want to invite you to discuss about a distribution-independent
cooperation regarding the printer compatibility database of
linuxprinting.org on the LinuxTag in Karlsruhe.
As you probably know the database and its Foomatic toolkit is already
used in most GNU/Linux distributions, but often in a very restricted and
passive way. Various printer driver projects -- Omni (IBM, more than 400
supported models), GIMP-Print (Manufacturer-independent, 130 models),
HPIJS (HP, all HP inkjet printers) -- already prepare their data for
Foomatic and contribute it to the database. Foomatic uses a simple XML
format to store the datasets of printers, drivers, and options.
The most known and most widely used application for the Foomatic
database is the web site linuxprinting.org where the end user chooses
his printer model and his spooler and gets configuration files generated
online, which he downloads and installs to make his printer working.
But the Foomatic tools do much more.
The least known and up to now only very rarely used application is the
following: Foomatic tools can automatically generate from the database
configuration files (PPDs in case of CUPS) for all known free spoolers
(CUPS PPR, LPD, GNUlpr, LPRng, PDQ). They can even generate ready-to-use
printer queues. If a queue is set up with the Foomatic configuration
files and filter scripts, one can apply device-specific options to any
print job and this works even with the original commands of the spoolers.
The perhaps most advanced utility, "foomatic-configure", sets up printer
queues for all spoolers with a unique syntax. The generated
configuration files contain data in a certain "meta syntax" which is
translated into the spooler's own data format. If one wants to switch to
another spooler, one can overtake one's printer queues with simple
commands (also "foomatic-configure"). The queues are automatically
converted to the new spooler's format.
So Foomatic is a perfect starting point for frontend developments of
distributions, where printer configurations are generated once and they
are re-used for all supported spoolers.
I don't reveal any secret telling that the KDE project supports Foomatic
and foomatic-configure in KDEPrint.
Foomatic has already the maturity for production use, now it is the time
for developing new, more advanced features, as migrating all queues to a
new spooler with a single command, "option profiles" (as "draft",
"office document", "photo", ...) with all individual options set for the
appropriate printing task, option conflict handling (as duplex on
transparencies).
Now there is the opportunity to take part in the further development of
Foomatic.
Maintaining linuxprinting.org and the development of Foomatic is
actively done by only very few persons (90% done by Till). This should
be changed soon.
On the LinuxTag we want to present the internal database structure and
the tools using this database. It should be discussed about how to make
Foomatic to a common project of all GNU/Linux distributions.
Due to the strategic importance of the subject "Printing" for the
enterprise desktop not only GNU/Linux in general, but also every
individual distribution will benefit.
For this reason I have initiated a workshop where Till kamppeter,
maintainer of linuxprinting.org, will present the general concept of
Foomatic, the current state of the development, and the planned
improvements. Michael Goffioul, developer of KDEPrint, has also
confirmed his participation.
We have planned the following:
* Interested participants of the workshop with appropriate knowledge
will get write access to the CVS of the Foomatic database.
* We want to discuss about the direction of the development of the
Foomatic tools.
* We want to make printer manufacturers releasing the PPD/UPDF files
under a free license so that we can publish them for download at a
central point (linuxprinting.org) and that they can be freely
distributed in GNU/Linux distributions.
* We are searching for mirrors for the database.
===============================================================================
|| The workshop takes place on Saturday, June 8, 2002, 10am - 12pm on
the LinuxTag in Karlsruhe. ||
===============================================================================
If you cannot come by yourself or if you are not the right person for
this subject, feel free to forward this mail to your co-workers.
Please mail to BOTH Kurt and Till, because Kurt is on the SANE 2002 in
the Netherlands, and so he has not always mail access.
Mail to
Till Kamppeter (till.kamppeter@gmx.net)
Kurt Pfeifle (kpfeifle@danka.de AND k1pfeifle@gmx.net)
Please tell us other "candidates" to be invited or simply forward this
mail. We also accept that you put the mail on appropriate mailing lists.
Ich wuerde mich freuen, falls Du mir Vorschlaege fuer weitere "Kandidaten"
machst, oder die Mail gleich weiterleitest. Ich habe auch nichts dagegen,
wenn Du es auf einer eventuell vorhandenen internen oder sonstwie Dir
geeignet
erscheinendan Mailingliste weiter-postest
Regards,
Kurt Pfeifle & Till Kamppeter
>> Wie ist
>> die Arbeitssprache beim Treffen?
>
>
> Wir sind flexibel. Wir koennen auch gerne von vorneherein auf English
> gehen.
The slides I am already preparing in English.
Till
----- End forwarded message -----
Gruss
Grisu
--
Michael Bramer - a Debian Linux Developer http://www.debsupport.de
PGP: finger grisu@db.debian.org -- Linux Sysadmin -- Use Debian Linux
"Ein Computer ist nunmal ein Hochgeschwindigkeitstrottel."
-- Jens Dittmar in de.comp.os.unix.linux.newusers
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