Re: MacOSX gg

[Gregory Casamento]

--- "M. Grabert" <xam@cs.ucc.ie> wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Jan 2003, John Davidorff Pell wrote:
> 
> > http://developer.apple.com/pdf/mactech_quartz.pdf
> >
> > I think this says (under "Drawing Functionality") that Quartz 2D
> > provides postscript-like features. As I understand it, OSX is NeXTSTEP
> > version 5 (jag is version 6). U can tell by looking at the version
> > reported by the darwin layer (10.0,10.1 reported 5, 10.2 reports 6). So
> > this should mean (unless I'm very wrong) that its grafix engine is an
> > evolved implementation of NeXT's engine. DPS, right?
> 
> Nope.
> Rhapsody was, MacOS X Server also still had DPS (at least the first
> versions i know), but MacOS X uses DisplayPDF, not DPS.
> Nowadays there are just some simple (D)PS-alike functions in MacOS X
> implemented (probably these so-called "postscript-like features" you
> mentioned); they got rid of DPS because *rumour* they didn't want to pay
> license fees to Adobe anymore.

It was a combination two things.  1) Adobe wanted to raise licensing fees and
2) Apple couldn't justify the cost to it's end users.    While OPENSTEP/Mach
was considered to be a "high-end" OS, Mac OS X is supposed to be an OS for the
average Mac user (two very disparate groups to say the least).

> > OSX now also
> > includes PDF, QuickTime, and OpenGL in its quartz layer, but I think
> > that an app (or group of apps) that use postscript to draw should be
> > able to use Quarts w/ little modification. Please correct me if I'm
> > wrong.
> 
> Well no. Yes, Quarz is AFAIK the summary of DPDF, OpenGL, (Quicktime?) and
> all other low/-highlevel screen drawing stuff of MacOS X, but it doesn't
> include DPS. If you use an Cocoa/Carbon app, you automatically use Quartz,
> but you can access Quartz directly (correct me if I'm wrong, I don't
> program under MacOS X, and I just use it occationally).
> 
> The OpenStep API itself includes DPS. But actually not many applications
> use the DPS functions directly, but they rather use the AppKit to draw
> something on the screen (but which itself then may use DPS to draw things
> on the screen, on NeXTSTEP for example. But on MacOS X the backend would
> be DPDF/Quartz).
> 
> So most OpenStep apps can be easily ported to MacOS X (sometimes just a
> recompile) if they just use AppKit. But if an OpenStep app uses full DPS
> functionality it can't be easily ported to MacOS X.
> 
> > I'm not interested in porting quartz to other systems (that'd be
> > a bit more than I can chew) but I am interested in getting GNUStep
> > closer to OSX/NeXT/Cocoa, and making it able to use Quartz would pave
> > the way for better integration, i think.  I'm going to go look at
> > GNUStep Renaissance, that sounds like it may be very useful.
> 
> GNUstep is primarily focussed on implementing the OpenStep standart, so
> it also features DPS (but the DPS backend is - uhmm - not really usable,
> so you should stick to the other backends GNUstep provides).

MOSX extension are added where practical.

> AFAIK nobody is implementing DPDF for GNUstep, but DPDF would be just one
> part of Quartz. Implementing Quartz altogether is very unlikely, because
> Apple wouldn't allow us ;)

See GSFusedSilica.m for the Quartz functions which have been implemented in
GNUstep.

> Moreover I don't know how many Cocoa programs use Quartz directly (and
> not only the basic AppKit), and whether it is therefore really worth the
> effort ...
> 
> 
> greetings max
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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Later, GJC :)


=====
Gregory John Casamento
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