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GNU Ghostscript

Table of Contents

• Introduction to GNU Ghostscript
• Obtaining GNU Ghostscript
• Documentation
• Mailing Lists/Newsgroups
• Request an Enhancement
• Report a Bug
• Development
• Additional Information
• Maintainer

Introduction to GNU Ghostscript

Ghostscript is the name of a set of software that provides:

• An interpreter for the PostScript language and the PDF file format,
• A set of C procedures (the Ghostscript library) that implement the graphics capabilities that appear as primitive operations in the PostScript language, and
• A wide variety of output drivers for various file formats and printers.

Ghostscript was originally written by Peter Deutsch.

The original Ghostscript program is maintained by a group of developers. Raph Levien is the main developer.

GNU Ghostscript is maintained by a team of GNU programmers.

GNU Ghostscript is known to run on the following platform families:

• A wide variety of Unix systems using X Window version 11, release 4, 5, and 6, including Sun-3, Sun-4, Sun-386i, and Sun SPARCStation; generic machines running GNU/Linux, 386/ix, ISC Unix, SCO Unix, and Solaris; H-P 9000/300 and 9000/800; DECStation 2100 and 3100; VAX running Ultrix and OSF/1; Sequent Symmetry; Convex C1 and C2; Tektronix 4300; SGI Iris Indigo;
• Sun workstations (Sun-3, SPARC, Sun-386i) running SunView;
• VAX or AXP systems running VMS with X11R4/5 and DEC C or gcc.

Obtaining GNU Ghostscript

GNU Ghostscript is a copyrighted work; it is distributed under the GNU General Public License. You can get the current version of GNU Ghostscript by Internet FTP from ftp.gnu.org/gnu/ghostscript from any of the GNU distribution sites; likely, alpha versions may be available on alpha.gnu.org/gnu/ghostscript.

The Ghostscript source code distribution requires a library written by the Independent JPEG Group (IJG), the zlib compression library, and optionally the libpng image format library. These libraries do NOT fall under the GNU License; each comes with its own license, all of which are more permissive than and compatible with the GPL. For more information, please see the README files in the respective library sources. The executable versions of Ghostscript are based in part on the work of these groups.

Documentation

GNU Ghostscript documentation is distributed with the source packages.

Mailing Lists/Newsgroups

The following mailing lists are all about GNU Ghostscript:

• <bug-ghostscript@gnu.org> (subscribe) (archive).

The main discussion list is <bug-ghostscript@gnu.org>, and is used to discuss all aspects of GNU Ghostscript, including development and porting.

Discussion about GNU Ghostscript and Ghostview can be found in the USENET gnu.ghostscript.bug newsgroup.

Request an Enhancement

If you would like any new feature to be included in future versions of GNU Ghostscript, please send a request to <help-ghostscript@gnu.org>.

Please remember that development of GNU Ghostscript is a volunteer effort, and you can also contribute to its development. For information about contributing to the GNU Project, please read How to help GNU.

Report a Bug

If you think you have found a bug in GNU Ghostscript, then you should send as complete a report as possible to <bug-ghostscript@gnu.org>.

Development

GNU Ghostscript development is done on the appropiate savannah project.

Additional Information

• Introduction to GNU Ghostscript
• GV allows to view and navigate through PostScript and PDF documents on an X display by providing a user interface for the ghostscript interpreter.

Maintainer

GNU Ghostscript is currently maintained by Didier Link (<didier.link@wanadoo.fr>) and José E. Marchesi (<jemarch@gnu.org>).

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