Re: Re: scs2ps

On Tue, 12 Mar 2002, James Rich wrote:
> >
> > printer {
> >     host = as400
> >     env.DEVNAME=foo
> >     map=297
> >     outputcommand = scs2pdf map=297 > /home/bar/as400pdf-$$.pdf
> > }
> >
> > It just seems more intuitive to not have to specify the map in two
> > different places.
>
> Why the map=297 line by itself?  If it is a command line argument then
> shouldn't the map=297 argument in the outputcommand argument be enough?

Because both lp5250d and scs2pdf need it.   Not very intuitive, is it?
Thats why I suggest that lp5250d reads it from the config file, and
does a setenv().  Then scs2pdf can just "pick it up from the environment"
and it only has to be specified once.

>
> I still prefer environment variable, though.  It seems to me that in the
> future we would want the ability to change the behavior of scs2* without
> restarting lp5250d.  An environment variable would allow that.
>

It seems to me that you'd still have to restart lp5250d..   unless you
set your outputcommand= argument to a shell script -- and had that script
run scs2pdf.  Then you could change the script, and lp5250d would call the
new script with the next document.

Of course, that would work for either a command-line argument, or for an
environment var.

So, I guess I don't follow you.  How does an env var allow us to change
the behavior while it's running?