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Preview App on macOS Ventura Drops Support for PostScript Files
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I guess I’ll have to open our HOA’s .eps logo in Graphic Converter, which I use it all the time. But it will be annoying as a work around… 😵💫
Neither reason makes much sense since they still handle PDF which is just a specific format of PostScript.Encapsulated PostScript - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
So are they doing this for security issues or can Ventura and M1/2 chips not handle a vector file format from 1987?
Apple has limited resources and puts them to use as they see fit. It's quite possible that some of these things will return in the future. Then again, I don't think the demand is as high as we think.
According to this article, postscript is a programming language and pdf is not. This would support the security argument.
Citation Software Inc. - FAQ - What's the difference between PostScript and PDF?
www.citationsoftware.com
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So '↑↑↓↓←→←→BA' allows someone to cheat at a video game, but both are not very intuitive. Or maybe it is. Seems the long way to go to get a file to print.
So they are not dropping .pdf file support but .ps support? Don't most people cook the .ps files into a .pdf file? I got to a point I could write some basic PostScript 'programs' doing things like rotating letters and doing crazy things with efects, but some printers dropped PostScript support so that kind of ended that. As long as pdf files are supported, I can live with this, but with they be next.
Postcript is not a "vector file format". It's a programming language.Encapsulated PostScript - Wikipedia
So are they doing this for security issues or can Ventura and M1/2 chips not handle a vector file format from 1987?
These days, it's considered a security issue to execute code that was downloaded from an email or website.
Or jpg?
EDIT: Oh good grief, stop the hate. I was thinking that it was being used to print on documents. (I used to be on/in an HOA, and there seemed to be a bit of 'communication' that went on. (Usually threatening other owners) So using a jpg of the logo for printing would be fine. What printer that an HOA might have could print pristine ps file logos. It's a waste of time, IMO, the body of the letter is what matters: 'You have one week to mow your yard to the regulated height or we will place a lean on your property and have your lawn mowed for you, the cost of which you will be liable for'.
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Or is it? Or that format can handle more than just programming language? Or that “programming language” is the one for generating vector drawing?
I always thought they have unlimited resources.
/sAs for the demand, idk, not in academic field. But time will tell.
Apple will never stop supporting pdf. It's a world standard that will likely never be replaced. Raw postscript and .eps on the other hand, just aren't used much any more.
PDF files are pre-interpreted PostScript files so they are less sensitive to security issues. You can basically think of it as postscript converted to embedded image and vector data mainly for display use. Sort of PDF is like HTML, but postscript is like JavaScript that builds HTML. That is a little oversimplified since PDFs are partially rasterized, but the gist of it. The original postscript is often embedded in it for printing, but that doesn’t need to be interpreted except by the printer.
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thanks for the details there.
"a PDF file is actually a PostScript file that has been taken a little further."
That is what I was getting at without going into the details. That article brings back some old memories of dealing more directly with some of those file formats.
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Have not upgraded yet but do software like Skim work with the update. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skim_(software)
Wondering if it broke certain API that this software uses.
Wondering if it broke certain API that this software uses.
I'm generally curious how, as I haven't seen or touched a .eps file for maybe 20 years.
They can barely keep the lights on over there.
It is not. They required a completely separate engine to handle postscript. The graphics primitives are different. Also, postscript is not a standard but something licensed from Adobe.
My guess is it has to do with disuse and with things like this old hack, where a fellow crafted a postscript file that turned the printer into a HTTP server. https://www.pugo.org/project/pshttpd/
This is a PDF reader, where PDF is a separate format from Postscript.
PDF is a foundational technology (part of Quartz) for graphics on Apple platforms. It isn't going anyplace anytime soon.
