[pdftex] xpdf (was: [Gs-devel] Re: [gnu@toad.com: Re: EFF placeholder page for when we have PDF rather than HTML])

[Martin Schröder]

On 2002-02-06 15:49:52 -0800, Raph Levien wrote:
> Xpdf-pro

* xpdf offers a pdf parser which is used by pdfTeX. It's the
  only free one in C++ I know of; the other free one is pj from
  Etymon, which is in Java.

[...]

> Ghostscript has the potential to power a kick-ass PDF viewer. None of
> the current viewers come close to exploiting this potential. In
> particular, most of the interactive PDF features, such as document
> structure, links, and so on, get dropped on the floor.
> 
> When I took over Ghostscript, I tried to get some momentum going for
> better viewers. Unfortunately, the feedback I got back in return was
> overwhelmingly negative. A great many writers felt that committing to
> the Gnome platform (as was my original plan) would be a mistake. From
> this, I have basically concluded that the Linux community is not
> mature enough to deserve a good PostScript/PDF viewer. I'm sure that
> if and when this maturity develops, the viewer will follow shortly.
> 
> Perhaps you (Richard) can revitalize the effort. If so, I would be
> more than happy to work with whoever takes on the task. It may also
> be worth trying to persuade Russell to release GSView under the GPL
> license, perhaps with the same one year delay as Ghostscript.

A good viewer is definitely needed soon; especially since Adobe
seems to drop Unix support and concentrate on W$n and MacOS.

Best regards
    Martin
-- 
                http://www.tm.oneiros.de/calendar/2002/