Printing on the Z has been something I've been looking into, but there are
a few problems. First off, there is a limited amount of space on the Z for
actually doing a lot of things. That's okay, because a Palm with 4MB
can print(!). If it can, why not the Z? The process was actually pretty
easy, just setting the build environment, compile the apps, stripping out
unnecessary files (info, man pages, etc.) and also stripping executables
themselves.
To get printing working 'properly', you will want
to install all three of these packages. Since they're not really dependant
on each other, there are no dependancies. So far, I have just tested
printing out ASCII text files using this talking directly to a printer that
can handle PostScript. There is no reason why the lpr on the Z can't just
forward the raw data format to another LPD-compiliant device and let it do
the processing instead. This way, the software on the Z is minimal.
On the down side, this means that authentication should be implemented.
Ah well.
a2ps
"Anything" to PostScript converter. It is easier to install than enscript,
which needed flex, which isn't installed on the Z. So far, tested only
with text files. Other formats will probably not work.
a2ps_4.13-3_arm.ipk
file
Used before the days of MIME to tell you what a particular file type is.
Reads the first few bytes of data from the given file, tries
to match it with its database, and reports the file type. Can also give MIME
types as well.
file_3.39-2_arm.ipk
LPRng
Implements LPD (Line Printer Daemon). Talks to other LPD servers, or
directly to LPD-compliant printers (most print servers and networked printers).
I've added a -6 version that *should* work better when installing on something other than RAM (CF and SD). Since I start flying symlinks all over the place, BACK UP YOUR Z BEFORE INSTALLING. I take no responsiblity, blah blah blah....
lprng_3.8.15-2_arm.ipk
lprng_3.8.15-6_arm.ipk
Who did this mess?
Ahh yes, I guess I should explain who I am and why I did this. I'm Mark
Komarinski, author of a whole bunch of stuff over at the Linux Documentation Project and various books you may have seen. I've been using Linux for about 10 years, and it's really interesting to be running Linux on a device that's about 10 times faster than the first machine I installed Linux on, and it fits on my belt!
If you have comments, questions, or praise, please feel free to contact me at mkomarinski@wayga.org.