RE: Java printing on AS/400 with ibmjps.jar: Can we generate AFPDS?

I haven't played with this myself. I can only offer that there's a P subset of MODCA which is probably what's referenced by application/vnd.ibm.modcap. P is the print subset. AFP is a superset of MODCA-P. You can probably do everything you want with MODCA-P. AFPDS is a page format line details (an embedded dataset). Modca-P is very like PDF. Google for the MODCA references. There are three or four books.

-----Original Message-----
From: java400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:java400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 4:02 AM
To: JAVA400-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Java printing on AS/400 with ibmjps.jar: Can we generate AFPDS?

I am looking into printing more than plain text with Java on the AS/400 (after successfully getting spooled files as PCL) and I have found that if /QIBM/ProdData/Java400/ext/ibmjps.jar is present on the class path, the Java Printing System correctly reports back flavors and attributes for the printer defined on the AS/400. So far so good.



(The documentation for this is the IBMSYstems Magazine article - <http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/march06/technicalcorner/7239p1.aspx>
http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/march06/technicalcorner/7239p1.aspx)



Based on
<http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?messageID=14259706>
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?messageID=14259706 I understand that it is necessary for the printer to have the flavors



application/x-java-jvm-local-objectref; class="java.awt.print.Pageable"

application/x-java-jvm-local-objectref; class="java.awt.print.Printable"



It appears that this only is the case for the HP LaserJet we have which also have the PCL flavor, and that all others only support the application/vnd.ibm.scs (which means SCS) and application/vnd.ibm.modcap (which I don't know what is). This makes sense according to the "which flavors are provided" as we do not have Infoprint available, and that Pageable/Printable is set because the _device_ reports it, not the AS/400 printing system.



I understand that SCS is a line printer protocol, and to get full device independent graphics we need AFPDS.



So the question is, can AFPDS spooled files be created from Java? Through the printing system? Without Interform?







(In a perfect world we would be able to create AS/400 overlays easily through Java. Anyone? J)



Thanks for any pointers



/Thorbjørn









--
This is the Java Programming on and around the iSeries / AS400 (JAVA400-L) mailing list To post a message email: JAVA400-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/java400-l
or email: JAVA400-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives at http://archive.midrange.com/java400-l.