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- PLP - The Public Line Printer Spooler
- A Portable UNIX Line Printer Spooler
- Release 2.0, 1 June 1988
- Prof. Patrick Powell
- Dept. of Computer Science
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- PLP is a public domain version of the Berkeley LPD software.
- The functional resemblance between PLP and the Berkeley Line
- Printer Spooler (LPD) is intentional; the source code was written
- without reference to the original Berkeley LPD software, except
- for some very small sections concerned with networking and the
- large characters used for banner printing. The PLP software has
- the following features:
- 1).The PLP software is intended to be used in a Networked File
- System (NFS) environment, in which there is a common set of
- spool queues, as well as in a loosely coupled environment in
- which each host transfers print jobs to a host which has the
- printer.
- 2).Access and permission to use PLP functions is controlled by
- entries in a printer permissions file
- (/usr/spool/lpd/printer_perms.<hostname>) which can restrict
- use by user name, host, spooler, page useage, and a host of
- other factors. The printcap file
- (/usr/spool/lpd/printcap.<hostname>) is used to specify the
- printer queues and their operation.
- 3).Jobs can now be prioritized. The maximum priority a user can
- specify is set in the printer permissions file.
- 4).In addition to the general printer permissions file, each
- spool queue can have its own addition printer permissions
- file.
- 5).Line printer control functions can be exercised from a remote
- host. Hosts and users with remote control permission are
- specified by entries in the printer permissions file.
- 6).Unspooling of jobs can be performed by a printcap specified
- program, rather than by the PLP unspooler. This allows PLP to
- be used as a spooler and to have spool queues used for various
- purposes.
- 7).Extremely verbose and chatty error messages have been added.
- These greatly ease debugging and installation. In addition,
- the checkpc utility can be used to set file permissions and
- other items for use by the PLP software.
- 8).The code is quite portable, with as few system dependencies in
- it as possible. It has run on a VAX 4.2, 4.3, and ULTRIX, SUN
- 3.0, and DG-UX.
- ____________
- * UNIX is a trademark of ATT Bell Laboratories.
-