Progress
Client Deployment
Guide


Printing on UNIX

Since UNIX is a multi-tasking operating system, print devices are usually spooled. However, it is possible to print directly to a device that is not spooled. This section describes the setup of spooled print devices on UNIX System V and Berkeley 4.n systems. The default spooler name for all systems that run UNIX System V is lp. The default spooler name for all other UNIX systems, including Berkeley 4.n, is lpr.

To set up a printer on a UNIX System V system, make sure that the lp system and the printer hardware are installed and that the LP scheduler is shut down. The LP scheduler services print requests for all destinations by routing requests to the interface programs that do the printing on devices. The LP scheduler is usually started when you boot your system. To shut down the LP scheduler, use the lpshut command. Log in as the root user, then follow these steps:

  1. Install and configure a device in the /dev directory. Make sure the device is not configured as a login terminal.
  2. Use the lpadmin command to set up a new printer. This command allows you to specify a printer name and a printer-interface program, and connects them with a print device that exists in the /dev directory.
  3. Use the lpsched command to start the LP scheduler once the printer has been set up.
  4. Use the accept and enable commands to let the printer accept print requests and enable spooling for the printer.

To set up a printer on a UNIX Berkeley 4.n system, make sure that the lpr system and the printer hardware are installed and that the lpd daemon is running. The lpd daemon is the master server that services print requests and routes them to the proper spooling directories for printing. The lpd daemon usually starts when you boot your system. Log in as the root user, then follow these steps:

  1. Install and configure a device in the /dev directory. Make sure the device is not configured as a login terminal.
  2. Edit the /etc/printcap file. This file contains definitions for all of the printers on a system (or accessible over a network). Each printer definition in /etc/printcap does the following:
    • Designates a device in the /dev directory as the printer port
    • Designates a spooling directory
    • Sets up printer characteristics
  3. Create the spooling directory and make sure the spooling directory and the directories of the lpr system have the proper permissions and ownership.
  4. Use the lpc start and lpc enable commands to let the printer accept print requests and enable spooling for the printer.

Most UNIX System V or Berkeley 4.n systems have printer installation scripts that perform the printer installation steps described in this section.

The OUTPUT TO PRINTER statement sends output to the UNIX system default spooler. To use a spooler other than the default, start Progress using the Printer (-o) startup parameter followed by the name of the spooler. For example:

pro database-name -o "lp -dpx1" 

Alternately, you can use the OUTPUT THROUGH statement to direct output to a spooler other than the default spooler:

OUTPUT THROUGH lp spooler-options PAGED. 

or:

OUTPUT THROUGH lpr spooler-options PAGED. 

With both the OUTPUT THROUGH statement and the Printer (-o) startup parameter, you can specify UNIX spooler options for the spooler that you designate. If you want to specify spooler options with the Printer (-o) startup parameter, surround the spooler name and options with quotes. For example:

pro database-name -o "lpr -Plw" 

For more information about printing on UNIX, see the UNIX system documentation.


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