Imagesetter output
Paul
A very good introduction is `Learning PostScript, a Visual Approach' by
Ross Smith (Peachpit Press) … with this and the POST interpreter, you can
work through the many examples (although you will need to watch out for
specific fonts that the examples may call for) … it's very much a learn
by example sort of book and probably the most systematic introduction there
is, although it won't teach you the details of syntax and so on.
`Understanding PostScript Programming', by David A. Holzang (SYBEX) is much
more of a text-book, but is well written and fairly easy to follow.
The one book you really must have is the `Red Book', the `PostScript
Language Reference Manual', by Adobe (Addison-Wesley) … it's the
definitive guide to PostScript and, if you buy no other, you should buy
this. It isn't easy going, doesn't have many examples, but it is very
thorough.
The companion books from Adobe (`PostScript Language Tutorial & Cookbook'
[the Blue Book] and `PostScript Language Program Design' [the Green Book])
are also worth considering.
There are many others, but I don't think I could recommend any for a
beginner. They're either far too advanced, or far too bound up in specific
(and rather complex) example programs.
A one-book purchase would have to be the reference manual … and I'd
recommend either the visual approach book or the SYBEX book depending on
your personal learning style. The other Adobe books are okay, but they have
some limitations and I wouldn't recommend them as initial purchases … the
green book, for instance, is really only useful if you want to get into
writing complex PostScript applications.
If you've a decent bookshop nearby, you'd do well to have a browse around
the PostScript books they have.
Mike (from the UK)