217 lines
8.5 KiB
Plaintext
217 lines
8.5 KiB
Plaintext
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PDFlib - A library for generating PDF on the fly
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================================================
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Portable C library for dynamically generating PDF ("Adobe Acrobat") files,
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with support for many other programming languages.
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The PDFlib distribution is available from www.pdflib.com
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PDFlib is a library for generating PDF files. It offers an API with
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support for text, vector graphics, raster image, and hypertext. Call PDFlib
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routines from within your client program and voila: dynamic PDF files!
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PDFlib is available on a wide variety of operating system platforms,
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and supports many programming languages and development environments:
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- C
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- C++
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- Cobol
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- COM (Visual Basic, ASP, Windows Script Host, Delphi, and many others)
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- Java via the JNI, including servlets and JSP (but not EJB)
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- .NET framework (VB.NET, ASP.NET, C# and others).
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- Perl
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- PHP Hypertext Processor
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- Python
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- REALbasic
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- RPG
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- Ruby
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- Tcl
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An overview of PDFlib features can be found in the PDFlib tutorial and
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the PDFlib reference manual. Separate Windows editions of these manuals
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cover the COM, .NET, and REALbasic bindings.
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PDFlib flavors
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==============
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The PDFlib software is available in different flavors (see the PDFlib
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tutorial for a detailed comparison):
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- PDFlib Lite
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Open-source edition for basic PDF generation, free for personal use.
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PDFlib Lite does not support all languages, and is not available on
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EBCDIC platforms.
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Important note: PDFlib Lite supports only a subset of PDFlib features.
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The differences are detailed in the PDFlib tutorial.
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- PDFlib
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The commercial edition adds various features for advanced PDF generation.
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- PDFlib+PDI
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Includes PDFlib plus the PDF Import library PDI which can be used to
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integrate pages from existing PDF documents in the generated output
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- PDFlib Personalization Server (PPS)
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Includes PDFlib+PDI, plus advanced block processing functions for
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easily personalizing PDF documents. PPS also includes the Block
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plugin for Adobe Acrobat which can be used to create PDFlib blocks
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interactively.
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Binary Packages
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===============
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PDFlib, PDFlib+PDI, and PPS are available in binary form, and require
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a commercial license. All of these products are available in a single
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library, and can be evaluated without any restrictions without any
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license. However, unless a valid license key is applied a demo stamp
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will be generated across all pages.
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The binary packages support C plus various other language bindings.
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Instructions for using these packages can be found in doc/readme-binary.txt.
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PDFlib Lite Source Packages
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===========================
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PDFlib Lite is available in source form, and can be used for free under
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certain conditions. Source code is also available for selected language
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wrappers. If you are working with a source code package you need an ANSI C
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compiler. Detailed instructions for building PDFlib from source code
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can be found in doc/readme-source-*.txt
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Documentation and Samples
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=========================
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We provide the following material to assist you in using PDFlib successfully:
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- The mini samples (hello, image, pdfclock, etc.) are available in all
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packages and for all supported language bindings. They provide minimalistic
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sample code for text output, images, and vector graphics. The mini samples
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are mainly useful for testing your PDFlib installation, and for getting a
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very quick overview of writing PDFlib applications.
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The hello, pdfclock, chartab, and image examples work with PDFlib or
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PDFlib Lite.
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The invoice and quickreference examples require PDFlib+PDI, and demonstrate
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how to deal with existing PDF documents.
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The businesscard example requires the PDFlib Personalization Server (PPS),
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and contains a simple personalization example.
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- The starter samples are contained in all packages and are available for a
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variety of language bindings. They provide a useful generic starting point
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for important topics, and cover simple text and image output, Textflow and
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table formatting, PDF/A and PDF/X creation and other topics. The starter
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samples demonstrate the basic techniques for achieving a particular goal
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with PDFlib products. It is strongly recommended to take a look at the
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starter samples.
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- The PDFlib Tutorial, which is contained in all packages as a single PDF
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document, explains important programming concepts in more detail, using
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explanations, tables, and small or large pieces of sample code. If you
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start extending your code beyond the starter samples you should read up on
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relevant topics in the PDFlib Tutorial.
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- The PDFlib Reference, which is contained in all packages as a single PDF
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document, contains a concise description of all functions, parameters, and
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options which together comprise the PDFlib application programming interface
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(API). The PDFlib Reference is the definitive source for looking up parameter
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details, supported options, input conditions, and other programming rules
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which must be observed. Note that some versions of the PDFlib reference are
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incomplete, e.g. the Javadoc API listing for PDFlib and the PDFlib function
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listing on php.net. Make sure to always use the full PDFlib Reference when
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working with PDFlib.
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- The PDFlib Cookbook is a growing collection of PDFlib coding fragments for
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solving specific problems. Most Cookbook examples are written in the Java
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language, but can easily be adjusted to other programming languages since
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the PDFlib API is almost identical for all supported language bindings. The
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PDFlib Cookbook is maintained as a growing collection of sample programs.
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It is available on the Web at the following URL:
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www.pdflib.com/developer/cookbook
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Other PDFlib resources
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======================
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In addition to the PDFlib reference manual the following resources
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are available:
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- The PDFlib FAQ collects information about known bugs, patches,
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and workarounds: www.pdflib.com
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- The PDFlib mailing list discusses PDFlib deployment in a variety of
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environments. You can access the mailing list archives over the Web,
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and don't need to subscribe in order to use it:
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groups.yahoo.com/group/pdflib
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- Commercial PDFlib licensees are eligible to standard product
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support from PDFlib GmbH. Please send your inquiry along with your
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PDFlib license number to support@pdflib.com.
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- Customers with a valid support contract can benefit from additional
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advantages, including short response times and free minor and major
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updates; see our Web site for details.
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Submitting Bug Reports
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======================
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In case of trouble you should always check the PDFlib Web site in order
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to see whether your problem is already known, or a patch exists. If not
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so, please observe the following:
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If you have trouble with running PDFlib, please send the following
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information to support@pdflib.com
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- a description of your problem
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- the platform in use
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- the PDFlib version number you are using
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- the language binding you are using, along with relevant version numbers
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- relevant code snippets for reproducing the problem, or a small PDF file
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exhibiting the problem if you can't construct a code snippet easily
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- sample data files if necessary (image files, for example)
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- details of the PDF viewer (if relevant) where the problem occurs
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If you have trouble compiling the PDFlib Lite source code, please send the
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following information to support@pdflib.com:
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- a description of your problem and the platform in use
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- the PDFlib version number you are using
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- the output of "./libtool --config" (Unix systems only)
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- most welcome: suggested patches or solutions, other helpful information
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Licensing and Copyright
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=======================
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THIS IS NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN OR FREEWARE SOFTWARE!
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PDFlib Lite can freely be used for non-profit personal use.
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The license text can be found in the file PDFlib-Lite-license.pdf.
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PDFlib, PDFlib+PDI, and PPS can only be used under the terms of
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a commercial license, and always require a license fee. Details
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of the license can be found in the file PDFlib-license.pdf.
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Licensing information is available in the file PDFlib-purchase-order.pdf,
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and on our Web site www.pdflib.com.
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Please contact us if you are interested in obtaining a commercial
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PDFlib license:
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PDFlib GmbH
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Licensing Department
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Franziska-Bilek-Weg 9, 80339 Munich, Germany
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fax +49/89/452 33 84-99
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License inquiries: sales@pdflib.com
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Support for PDFlib licensees: support@pdflib.com
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Technical inquiries if you have not licensed PDFlib:
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mailing list and archives at groups.yahoo.com/group/pdflib
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Copyright (c) 1997-2010 PDFlib GmbH and Thomas Merz. All rights reserved.
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PDFlib and the PDFlib logo are registered trademarks of PDFlib GmbH.
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