post⋅script
[pohst-skript, pohs-] 
| 1. | a paragraph, phrase, etc., added to a letter that has already been concluded and signed by the writer. |
| 2. | any addition or supplement, as one appended by a writer to a book to supply further information. |
1515–25; < L postscrīptum, neut. ptp. of postscrībere to write after
Post⋅Script
[pohst-skript, pohs‑] | a page description language using scalable fonts that can be printed on a variety of appropriately equipped devices, including laser printers and professional-quality imagesetters. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
| post·script (pōst'skrĭpt', pōs'skrĭpt') n. Abbr. PS
[Medieval Latin *postscrīptum, from neuter past participle of Latin postscrībere, to write after : post-, post- + scrībere, to write; see skrībh- in Indo-European roots.] |
| Post·Script (pōst'skrĭpt') A trademark used for an object-oriented computer language for describing the appearance and layout of documents, used to print high-resolution text and graphics. |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Postscript
Post"script\, n. [L. postscriptus, (assumed) p. p. of postscribere to write after; post after + scribere to write: cf. F. postscriptum. See Post-, and Scribe.] A paragraph added to a letter after it is concluded and signed by the writer; an addition made to a book or composition after the main body of the work has been finished, containing something omitted, or something new occurring to the writer. [Abbrev. P. S.]Cite This Source
PostScript
n. A Page Description Language (PDL), based on work originally done by John Gaffney at Evans and Sutherland in 1976, evolving through `JaM' (`John and Martin', Martin Newell) at XEROX PARC, and finally implemented in its current form by John Warnock et al. after he and Chuck Geschke founded Adobe Systems Incorporated in 1982. PostScript gets its leverage by using a full programming language, rather than a series of low-level escape sequences, to describe an image to be printed on a laser printer or other output device (in this it parallels EMACS, which exploited a similar insight about editing tasks). It is also noteworthy for implementing on-the fly rasterization, from Bezier curve descriptions, of high-quality fonts at low (e.g. 300 dpi) resolution (it was formerly believed that hand-tuned bitmap fonts were required for this task). Hackers consider PostScript to be among the most elegant hacks of all time, and the combination of technical merits and widespread availability has made PostScript the language of choice for graphical output.Cite This Source
postscript
Cite This Source
PostScript language, text, graphics
A page description language based on work originally done by John Gaffney at Evans and Sutherland in 1976, evolving through "JaM" ("John and Martin", Martin Newell) at XEROX PARC, and finally implemented in its current form by John Warnock et al. after he and Chuck Geschke founded Adobe Systems, Inc. in 1982.
PostScript is an interpreted, stack-based language (like FORTH). It was used as a page description language by the Apple LaserWriter, and now many laser printers and on-screen graphics systems. Its primary application is to describe the appearance of text, graphical shapes, and sampled images on printed or displayed pages.
A program in PostScript can communicate a document description from a composition system to a printing system in a device-independent way.
PostScript is an unusually powerful printer language because it is a full programming language, rather than a series of low-level escape sequences. (In this it parallels Emacs, which exploited a similar insight about editing tasks). It is also noteworthy for implementing on-the fly rasterisation, from Bezier curve descriptions, of high-quality fonts at low (e.g. 300 dpi) resolution (it was formerly believed that hand-tuned bitmap fonts were required for this task).
PostScript's combination of technical merits and widespread availability made it the language of choice for graphical output until PDF appeared.
The Postscript point, 1/72 inch, is slightly different from other point units.
An introduction.
["PostScript Language Reference Manual" ("The Red Book"), Adobe Systems, A-W 1985].
[The Jargon File]
(2002-03-11)
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
