Xref: utzoo comp.lang.forth:561 comp.lang.postscript:966 comp.windows.news:785 comp.windows.misc:695 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ames!elroy!mahendo!wlbr!mh From: mh@wlbr.EATON.COM (Mike Hoegeman) Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth,comp.lang.postscript,comp.windows.news,comp.windows.misc Subject: Re: type checking (I want PostScript) -- give NeWS a try! Keywords: Forth, Lisp, Interactive PostScript, NeWS Message-ID: <23378@wlbr.EATON.COM> Date: 19 Sep 88 23:47:06 GMT References: <13613@mimsy.UUCP> <3492@phri.UUCP> Reply-To: mh@wlbr.eaton.com.UUCP (Mike Hoegeman) Organization: Eaton IMSD, Westlake Village, CA Lines: 48 In article <3492@phri.UUCP> roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes: >don@brillig.umd.edu.UUCP (Don Hopkins) writes: >> If you want to learn PostScript, NeWS is the way to go -- it's an exciting >> and gratifying programming environment! Don't waste your time trying to >> learn an interactive interpretive language like PostScript by >> - spooling files >> to a laser printer. NeWS isn't just for Display -- it's for Interaction! > > While I happen to be a true-blue fan of PostScript, and at least a >mild afficiando of NeWS, I can't agree that learning NeWS is the way to learn >PostScript. It's like trying to learn yacc at the same time you are learning >C, >or trying to appreciate Shakespere at the same time you are learning how to >read. NeWS in a complex system and you can't hope to understand what is going >on unless you already know the fundementals of how PostScript works. I think your analogies are pretty weak. You make it seem like there is tons and tons of NeWS stuff you have to learn before ever getting your hands on PostScript and that simply is not true. No one says you HAVE to start out using the NeWS extensions to postscript. You can just fire up a psh (PostScript Shell) which gives you an environment pretty similar to that of a plain 'ol printer and start typing away!! Here's all you have to do. newshost % psh newshost % executive Welcome to NeWS 1.1 erasepage 10 10 moveto (Hello world!) show : ...etc... : And, As Don was trying pointing out IT's INTERACTIVE !! Using a printer to do PostScript development on is downright primitive in comparison. How would you prefer to program in C? By submitting batch jobs via ftp to some remote machine where it get's compiled and then it mails you back the errors from the compiler? This is pretty much what you have to put up with if you are programming in PosctrScript via a printer. You don't really have to get into using processes, classes, etc.. at first if you don't want to but you get the bonus of an interactive environment and the debugger which is worth the price of NeWS alone if need to do alot of postscript debugging. -mike