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HP-GL/2 and HP RTL Reference Guide, The: A Handbook for Program Developers, 3rd Edition

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HP-GL/2 and HP RTL Reference Guide, The: A Handbook for Program Developers, 3rd Edition

Book

  • Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
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Description

  • Copyright 1997
  • Dimensions: 7-3/8x9-1/4
  • Pages: 544
  • Edition: 3rd
  • Book
  • ISBN-10: 0-201-31014-7
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-201-31014-6

The complete reference to these important graphics languages that are supported by many Hewlett-Packard graphics peripherals.

This comprehensive tutorial offers you a complete education in HP-GL/2, the standardized version of Hewlett-Packard's Graphics Language, and HP RTL, Hewlett-Packard's Raster Transfer Language. To help you get the highest quality output from your plotters and printers, this information is broken down into the following sections:

  • An introduction to plotting and printing using HP-GL/2 and HP RTL
  • HP-GL/2, including descriptions of the kernel and the extensions
  • HP RTL, including how to define images, colors, and interactions, and how to transmit data
  • Tips on writing efficient programs
  • An extensive glossary and index

With this book, you will learn how to make effective use of the coordinate system, scale your data, write device drivers, set colors, and compress raster data.

The book assumes that you have a knowledge of your computing system and familiarity with at least one programming language. All numbers are presented using the International System of Units.



0201310147B04062001

Sample Content

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION TO PLOTTING AND PRINTING USING HP-GL/2 AND HP RTL.

1. Plotting and Printing.

Vectors and Raster Images.

Graphics Limits.

Hard-Clip Limits.

Soft-Clip Limits.

Effective Window.

The Coordinate System.

Printers and Plotters.

Interactions between Different Coordinate Systems.

Absolute and Relative Movement.

Units of Measure.

HP-GL/2 Units of Measure.

HP RTL Units of Measure.

Isotropic and Anisotropic Scaling.

HP Printer Job Language (PJL).

Context Switching.

II. hp-gl/2.

2. Introduction to HP-GL/2.

The Instruction Groups.

The Kernel.

The Extensions.

Pen Status and Location.

Pen Status.

Pen Location.

Scaling.

HP-GL/2 Syntax.

Notation Used in this Book to Present.

Instruction Syntax.

Parameter Formats.

3. The HP-GL/2 Kernel.

The Configuration and Status Group.

Establishing Default Conditions.

The Scaling Points, P1 and P2.

Using Scaling Effectively.

Adapting the HP-GL/2 Coordinate System for Printers to Match the PCL System.

Adapting the HP-GL/2 Coordinate System for Plotters to Match the HP RTL System.

Windowing: Setting up Soft-Clip Limits.

Rotating a Picture.

Ending Your Program and Advancing the Page.

The Vector Group.

Pen Up or Down.

Drawing Lines.

Drawing Circles.

Drawing Arcs.

Angle of Rotation.

The Polygon Group.

Filling then Edging Compared with Edging then Filling.

Using the Polygon Buffer.

Drawing Rectangles.

Drawing Wedges.

Drawing Polygons.

Drawing Subpolygons.

Filling Polygons.

The Line and Fill Attributes Group.

Using Line Attributes and Types.

Using Fill Types.

Selecting a “Pen” and Changing Line Width.

The Character Group.

Working with the Character Cell.

How Your Device Selects Fonts.

Using Labels.

Default Label Conditions.

Character Positioning.

Moving to the Carriage-Return Point.

Adding Carriage Returns and Line Feeds to.

Labels.

Enhancing Labels.

HP-GL/2 Printing.

Area Fills.

The Kernel Print Model.

Extended Print Model.

HP-GL/2, HP RTL, and PCL Print Models.

4. The HP-GL/2 Extensions.

The Technical Graphics Extension.

Defining a Picture.

Chords and Chord Tolerance.

The Downloadable Set and User-Defined.

Characters.

Merging Pixels.

Obtaining Device Output.

Using Output Instructions.

Summary of Output Responses.

The Palette Extension.

Defining Your Palette.

The Dual-Context Extension.

Using Dual-Context PCL or HP RTL Commands.

Modifications to HP-GL/2 Instructions in Dual-Context Mode.

The Digitizing Extension.

The Digitizing Procedure.

Digitizing with the Plotter.

The Advanced Drawing Extension.

Drawing Bezier Curves.

Merging and Placing Pixels.

The Advanced Text Extension.

5. HP-GL/2 Instruction Reference.

AA, Arc Absolute.

AC, Anchor Corner.

AD, Alternate Font Definition.

AR, Arc Relative.

AT, Absolute Arc Three Point.

BP, Begin Plot.

BR, Bezier Relative.

BZ, Bezier Absolute.

CF, Character Fill Mode.

CI, Circle.

CO, Comment.

CP, Character Plot.

CR, Set Color Range for Relative Color Data.

CT, Chord Tolerance Mode.

DC, Digitize Clear.

DF, Default Values.

DI, Absolute Direction.

DL, Download Character.

DP, Digitize Point.

DR, Relative Direction.

DT, Define Label Terminator.

DV, Define Variable Text Path.

EA, Edge Rectangle Absolute.

EC, Enable Cutter.

EP, Edge Polygon.

ER, Edge Rectangle Relative.

ES, Extra Space.

EW, Edge Wedge.

FI, Primary Font Selection by ID.

FN, Secondary Font Selection by ID.

FP, Fill Polygon.

FR, Frame Advance.

FT, Fill Type.

IN, Initialize.

IP, Input P1 and P2.

IR, Input Relative P1 and P2.

IW, Input Window.

LA, Line Attributes.

LB, Label.

LM, Label Mode.

LO, Label Origin.

LT, Line Type.

MC, Merge Control.

MG, Message.

MT, Media Type.

NP, Number of Pens.

NR, Not Ready.

OD, Output Digitized Point and Pen Status.

OE, Output Error.

OH, Output Hard-Clip Limits.

OI, Output Identification.

OP, Output P1 and P2.

OS, Output Status.

PA, Plot Absolute.

PC, Pen Color Assignment.

PD, Pen Down.

PE, Polyline Encoded.

PG, Advance Full Page.

PM, Polygon Mode.

PP, Pixel Placement.

PR, Plot Relative.

PS, Plot Size.

PU, Pen Up.

PW, Pen Width.

QL, Quality Level.

RA, Fill Rectangle Absolute.

RF, Raster Fill Definition.

RO, Rotate Coordinate System.

RP, Replot.

RR, Fill Rectangle Relative.

RT, Relative Arc Three Point.

SA, Select Alternate Font.

SB, Scalable or Bitmap Fonts.

SC, Scale.

SD, Standard Font Definition.

SI, Absolute Character Size.

SL, Character Slant.

SM, Symbol Mode.

SP, Select Pen.

SR, Relative Character Size.

SS, Select Standard Font.

ST, Sort.

SV, Screened Vectors.

TD, Transparent Data.

TR, Transparency Mode.

UL, User-Defined Line Type.

VS, Velocity Select.

WG, Fill Wedge.

WU, Pen Width Unit Selection.

6. Summary of HP-GL/2.

Device-Dependencies.

Functions Supported.

Hardware and System Characteristics.

Coordinate Ranges.

Chord Angles.

Fill Types and Line Properties.

Characters and Fonts.

Pens and Colors.

Initial Conditions.

III. HP RTL.

7. HP RTL Concepts.

Writing HP RTL Drivers.

HP RTL Command Syntax.

Escape Sequences.

Parameterized Escape Sequences.

Combining Commands.

8. Defining an Image.

Setting Raster Boundaries.

Setting the Logical Page Size and Input.

Window in HP-GL/2.

Setting the Width and Height in HP RTL.

Raster Graphics.

Controlling Image Resolution.

Continuous and Discrete Resolution.

Scaling Raster Images.

How to Scale an Image.

The Current Active Position (CAP).

Commands to Change the CAP.

Negative Motion.

HP RTL Native Resolution Units.

9. Defining Colors.

Primary Colors.

Palettes.

Specifying Colors.

Indexed Selection.

Direct Selection.

Color Modes.

Black-and-White Mode.

Simple Color Mode.

HP RTL Imaging Mode.

HP-GL/2 Imaging Mode.

Black and White References.

Color-Definition Commands.

Encoding Colors.

Defining the HP RTL Palette.

Changing the Default Palette.

Changing the Black and White References.

Using HP RTL Indexes.

Multi-Plane Data.

Using Index 0.

Example: Programming the Color Palette.

Halftoning.

Patterns.

Exporting Patterns to HP-GL/2.

Pattern Orientation.

10. Interactions between Picture Elements.

Texture.

Logical Operations.

Which Logical Operation to Use?

The Default Print Model.

Transparency.

Source and Pattern Both Opaque.

Source Opaque, Pattern Transparent.

Source Transparent, Pattern Opaque.

Source and Pattern Both Transparent.

The Effect of Transparency.

11. Transmitting Data.

Transferring Raster Data.

Implicit Start Raster Graphics.

Commands in Raster Mode.

Implicit End Raster Graphics.

When Overflow Occurs.

Plane-by-Plane Printing and Scaling.

Compressing Data.

Row-Based Unencoded (Compression Method 0).

Block-Based Unencoded (Compression Method 4).

Run-Length Encoding (Compression Method 1).

TIFF Packbits Encoding (Compression Method 2).

Seed-Row or Delta-Row Encoding (Compression Method 3).

Adaptive Encoding (Compression Method 5).

CCITT Encoding Methods.

12. Interactions between HP RTL and Other Systems.

Updates

Submit Errata

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