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Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)?

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On Saturday, November 4, 2017 at 12:30:27 PM UTC-5, you...@beedwi.e4ward.com wrote:
> Something I have been wishing for forever, is the ability to display PostScript files in my favorite browser (or any browser).  I mean, the ability to display PDF files now seems to be standard feature of modern browsers, so WHY NOT POSTSCRIPT? And no, I don't mean the behavior when you try to display a .ps file, it opens up that little Microsoft popup asking if you want to "Open with" or "Save with", and if you choose "Open with", then it just runs the file with GSView in its own separate window. I want it to be integrated into the browser so you see it as a separate page under a separate TAB.
> 
> I mean this IS the preeminent Page Description Language isn't it?  And yet browsers don't know how to render it?  Shameful!

I understand your frustration. I think PostScript is largely a victim of its
history and the time it came of age. If you look at the NeWS experiment, it 
was almost there. But in the NeWSbook we see that it had already almost been
there with interlispD and Smalltalk. But somehow it turned out to be javascript.

It could've been postscript, or even lisp for that matter. But it is what it is.
Part of the problem is that it is a scripting language, so it's inherently not
securable. We have -dSAFER but that only goes so far. Javascript has these same
problems, but we've mitigated or ignored various of the dangers.

Another problem is licencing. Unless Artifex themselves want to develop and 
distribute a plugin for one or more browsers, then someone has to licence the
interpreter in order to offer it bundled up. Or Adobe, .... But there's no
real technical or economic need for anyone to do this. 

Xpost can be used as the basis for a plugin that could be distributed, but the
output quality is far inferior to gs currently. So it would be a lot of work
for somewhat meager result.

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Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? youtube@beedwi.e4ward.com - 2017-11-04 10:30 -0700
  Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? "Pascal J. Bourguignon" <pjb@informatimago.com> - 2017-11-04 19:21 +0100
    Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? helbig@asclothestro.multivax.de (Phillip Helbig (undress to reply)) - 2017-11-04 19:46 +0000
      Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? "Pascal J. Bourguignon" <pjb@informatimago.com> - 2017-11-05 05:36 +0100
  Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2017-11-04 12:51 -0700
    Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? youtube@beedwi.e4ward.com - 2017-11-04 13:27 -0700
      Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? ken <ken@spamcop.net> - 2017-11-06 17:24 +0000
    Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? ken <ken@spamcop.net> - 2017-11-06 17:23 +0000
  Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? Martin Leese <please@see.Web.for.e-mail.INVALID> - 2017-11-05 10:48 -0700
  Re: Why can't I view PostScript file in my browser (Firefox)? Eli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com> - 2017-11-06 19:37 +0000

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