RE: [Groff] Page classes in groff output to support reordering o

[Bernd Salbrechter]

On 21 Jul 2000 Ted Harding wrote:

> On 20-Jul-00 Bernd Salbrechter wrote:
> > 
> > I am playing around with imposition of groff generated pages
> > (PostScript).
> > 
> > In more detail the idea is to use groff to format a document into
> > well layouted pages (groff do this job quite well) and use the
> > pstools to put may of that pages onto one sheet of paper, which
> > get folded, stitched and trimmed to get nice booklets. The "pstools"
> > need some improvement at least for no so common impositions like
> > gate fold, concertina fold or 8 pages on one sheet of paper and a
> > 64 page signature.
> 
> In my view it is probably not a good idea to try to incorporate this
> kind of thing into groff itself. The way the main engine (gtroff) works
> is strictly sequential and pages get formatted as they are encountered,
> so it would need to take place either as a modification of the grops
> post-processor, or in an extra post-processor placed between gtroff
> and grops or following grops. The last case is, in effect, what you
> are trying to do with pstools.

Maybe I was no clear her. I want to write a new program (using
parts of the psutils) with better support for fancier impositions
than the existing parts of pstools have. groff should only produce
a sequence of nice formated pages, which it do very well. I want
to use on the the PostScript output.

> [By the way, is what you mean by "pstools" the same as "psutils",
> which is a package I have. Below I shall refer to "psutils".]

Yes, you are right the correct name of the package is "psutils".

> Putting an extra post-processor between gtroff and grops would probably
> not work, for all sorts of reasons, and similarly for a modification
> of grops which was not equivalent to a post-processor following grops.
> 
> Furthermore, once you contemplate re-ordering pages for special purposes
> there is no limit to the possible variations you may need to consider.

Yes, thats the reason, why I want to put the description of the
reordering in an external database (ASCII ala termcap). And thats
the area were the psutils are week.

> So my considered view is that this kind of thing is best done using
> a psutils-like utility which operates directly on the PS output
> from grops, whether this is a new program or an extension of pstools
> itself.

I want to go this way, but the essence of my question was to improve
the "%%Page:" comment grops leave for this tools in it's output.
The DSC (Document Structuring Conventions) describe the "%%Page:"
entry as "%%Page: <label> <sequence>". Where the <label> is a free
formatted page description and the <sequence> is a strict sequential
numbering of the pages. grops actually use the same value for <label>
and <sequence>. A psutils-like utility could be much more powerful,
if it can identify several classes of pages (i.e. Cover, Body, Table
of Contence, ...), thats was what I ask for. For an example look
in my original message.

Bernd

PS.: I have already running some step and repeat impositions and
some 3*2 concertina fold impositions for loose leave binding. All
with "pstops" and hand calculated order and position.