Hewlett-Packard Appliance Printing Development Kit

# Hewlett-Packard Appliance Printing Software Development Kit

#

# Glossary of Terms

#

Version | Date | Comments
2.0.0 | 11.29.00 | Version 2.0.0 documentation reflects code changes from code Version 1.1.0. (Note: Documentation and code version numbers are designed to be independent of each other, and may not agree.)

Notice

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

All SDK documentation included in this list, received with the Hewlett-Packard Appliance Printing Software Development Kit, or received at a later date as a result of communication with any Hewlett-Packard employee regarding the Hewlett-Packard Appliance Printing Software Development Kit, is Hewlett-Packard "confidential" information.

Licensee shall not export or re-export the Hewlett-Packard documentation, or copies or variations thereof. Licensee may use Hewlett-Packard documentation only to develop Licensee Printer Drivers for exclusive use only on Hewlett-Packard printers.

Licensee shall assure that all Hewlett-Packard Software and all documentation based on Hewlett-Packard Documentation include the following notice:

"Copyright © [year]

Hewlett-Packard Company.

All Rights Reserved."

Hewlett-Packard Documentation has been developed entirely at private expense and is provided as "Commercial Computer Software" or "restricted computer software." Use, duplication or disclosure by the US Government or a US Government subcontractor is subject to the restrictions set forth in subparagraph (c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clauses in DFARS 252.227-7013 or as set forth in subparagraph (c) (1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software-Restricted Rights clauses in FAR 52.227-19, as applicable. The Contractor is Hewlett-Packard Company, 3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, California 94304.

Copyright γ 2000

Hewlett-Packard Company.

All rights reserved.

# Glossary of Terms

This glossary consists of terms found throughout the Hewlett-Packard Appliance Printing Software Development Kit. This is a living document, and new definitions will continue to be added. If you have terms that you believe should be defined or added to this document, log on to the SPP website (http://www.hp-developer-solutions.com/) using your assigned login name and password, and send an email titled "Glossary Terms". Be sure to include the term, the location in the documentation, and your name, email and phone number in the email, should Hewlett-Packard need to contact you directly.

The following letters correspond directly with the glossary. Note: Not all letters have definitions at this time.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

## A

Application Programming Interface (API) - The set of function calls by means of which a software library is accessed, (i.e., PrintContext.)

## B

Bit A binary digit that is 0 or 1.

Bool - A data type of true or false, denoted by an integer, typically 1 or 2.

Byte A sequence of 8 bits used to encode data.

## C

Consistency An IQ attribute that refers to the degree to which quality attributes and defects are uniform throughout a print job.

## [Back to top]

## D

Data Member (of a class or an object) - a variable (or constant) that belongs to the public interface of that class/object. See also, Method (of a class or an object).

Downsample To select a subset of a given image's pixels (say every Nth pixel) of dimensions [X x Y], so as to produce a smaller version of the same image with dimensions [X/N x Y/N]. (See also, Upsample.)

Dots Per Inch (d.p.i) The number of dots of color in a square inch. Refers to the device dot placement addressability.

## E

ECP (Extended Capabilities Port) - A term used in IEEE Specifications that refers to a mode that supports bi-directional communication. The SDK code only supports ECP forward mode. (See also, RLE.)

##

## F

Function - any callable code that returns a value as its result.

## [Back to top]

## G

Glyph - A picture of a character.

Graphic User Interface (GUI) - Program commands (code) in the form of buttons, dialog boxes, menus, or icons that make interaction between the user and the program easier.

## H

Hook Another word for interface or the API.

Host System - The system, i.e. the operating system together with relevant services (I/O, user-interface, etc.) and relevant applications (browser or other applications that print), in which the driver is embedded, and on which it depends.

## I

Integration Testing - Testing to find failures in interfaces between subsystems, modules, and programs. This test type is needed primarily when a new module or subsystem is being added in. The most productive testing usually starts with a technical knowledge of the interfaces between the modules. Some regression testing of the module may be included.

Interface - A collection of related methods or functions working together to provide some functionality.

IQ The abbreviation for image quality. The clarity of the writing device's output.

I/O Input/Output. For this SDK, I/O refers to the calling and retrieving of low-level information (such as printer type and specs) between the printer driver and the host system.

## [Back to top]

## J

## K

KCMY - Abbreviation for Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. (See also RGB, sRGB.)

## L

Landscape Orientation - The orientation of physical page rotation, either 90 or 270 degrees.

Logical Page - The actual page as defined by the application. The Printer Control Language's logical page (or addressable area) defines the area in which the cursor can be positioned. Logical page size may be changed by PCL commands. It can be larger than the printable area, which is determined by the technology of the printing device.

## [Back to top]

## M

Media The substrate that is printed upon, such as paper, glossy paper, photo paper, envelopes, or transparency film. Not all medias are accepted by this SDK.

Media Axis The axis along which the media moves..

Media Size - See Paper Size.

Media Source - The location, or source of the print media. "Where is the print media being pulled from?" This is usually expressed as Tray1, Tray2, Manual feed, or Manual Envelope.

Method (of a class or an object) - A function that belongs to the public interface of that class/object. See also, Data Member (of a class or an object).

## N

## O

Orientation - Either portrait or landscape, often defined in degrees of rotation (0, 90, 180, or 270).

Operating System (OS) - Example: Windows, Unix, Linux, or Macintosh.

Overloading Two methods within a class with the same name, even though different outputs can occur. Parameter lists determine which is to be used (i.e., Font).

## [Back to top]

## P

Page Description Language (PDL) - Proprietary language containing the DDI commands that describe the contents of a logical page.

Paper, Plain The term loosely used to refer to standard office papers such as bond and copier paper. In reality, there is no such thing as plain paper since every paper is designed for some specific use.

Paper Size The size of the media being printed on. Example, Letter, Legal, A4, or Envelope.

Paper, Special Paper or other media (such as Hewlett-Packard Premium Glossy Paper) which has been specifically formulated or processed for optimal use with a particular printing or writing system or in a particular print mode.

Paper Type - The type of media being printed on. Example: plain paper, bond, special, glossy or transparencies. See also, Media.

Pen A print cartridge. Within the inkjet industry, print cartridges are typically called pens. However, consumers known them as print cartridges. The two terms are synonymous.

Peripheral Any item connected to the host system. Example: mouse, keyboard, scanner, or printer.

Physical Page - The actual sheet of paper or media - what the user thinks of as a "page". Physical page size is determined by the size of the media inserted in the printer.

Pitch - A measurement defined in terms of characters per inch. A pitch of 10 (or 10-pitch) means that 10 characters (at the specified point size) will cover 1 inch across the page.

Pixel In this document, one or more logically addressed dots. Examples are: multiple black dots to achieve grayscale, or one or more color dots in the same location to achieve a desired color.

Pixel-rows A row of pixels. Each pixel is input to the SDK code set as 24-bit RGB value. The number of pixels on one row is set by the client in the PrintContext API.

Point size - Only used in relation to fonts, the point size of a font corresponds to the amount of vertical space required to store the tallest character in the font set. One point is technically 1/72".

Portrait Orientation - The orientation of physical page rotation, either 0 or 180 degrees.

Print Mode An imaging algorithm that specifies dot resolution, carriage velocity, and other printing specifications in order to optimize image quality, throughput, and media compatibility. Best, Normal, and EconoFast are examples of print modes.

Print Quality - A user-specified setting for the quality of the printed output, usually expressed in terms of Printmodes: EconoFast, Normal or Best.

Printable Page See Printable Region.

Printable Region Refers to the area of the printable page in which printable output may occur. For example: the default printable region on standard letter size paper (8.5 x 11") is 8 x 10". This allows 0.25" left and right margins, respectively, as well as a 0.33" top margin and 0.67" bottom margin.

Printer Driver - A part of the printing system that interfaces with the operating system, and generates printer ready data.

Printer Ready Data (PRD) - Pre-formatted data in the language of the target printer, which needs no processing before being sent to printer.

Printer Ready Data - Data stream that is consumable by the printer device to generate a physical page.

## Q

## R

Raster Data - Raw data for a print head, detailing print information made up of dots in a horizontal row, or dots which are arranged in rows and columns, ending when the print head completes a carriage return.

Raster Row One line of consecutive pixels in the scan (x-axis) direction..

RGB - A 24-bit value representing a color for one pixel (or the format for representing a pixel), with 8 bits each for Red, Green and Blue. (See sRGB.)

RLE (Run Length Encoding) - A term used in IEEE Specifications that refers to a compression mode that may exist in ECP transfers. This protocol is not supported by the SDK code. (See also, ECP.)

## [Back to top]

## S

Sharpness An IQ attribute that refers to the distinctness of the edge transition at an object's boundary.

sRGB - An industry standard color space that enables different color-capable devices (e.g. displays, printers, etc.) to exchange color information in a way that helps maintain color accuracy. This enables the colors that the user sees on the screen to more closely match the colors that are printed.

System Testing - System testing looks for defects that belong to the system as a whole.

## T

Transient Data: Data that exists only during the processing of a print job. The majority of this data is generated by user settings for the print job, and information that is generated as part of processing the print job.

## U

Upsample When an image is given at a lower resolution than that of the printer, it must be expanded or scaled up by interpolating between neighboring pixels to produce enough pixels to fill the target region. The interpolation may be "dumb", i.e. a simple averaging of neighboring pixel values, or it may be "smart", as in Hewlett-Packard's proprietary SmartFocus technology. (See Scaler object in the API.) (See also, Downsample.)

## [Back to top]

## V

Variable Member (of a class object) - a variable that belongs to the interface of that class/object.

Visual Comfort An IQ attribute that refers to the degree to which an image does not cause a viewer visual fatigue or distress.

## W

##

## X

##

## Y

##

## Z

## [Back to top]