DOS ain't dead

On 20 August 2008 I finished my 16-bit DOS port of Thomas Merz' Jpeg2ps version 1.9 using LSI C-86 version 3.30c.

I did this port, because the original home page incorrectly states to have a "MS-DOS executable", which is in fact a Win32 console mode application. (Yes, I know HX. )

Binaries, plain text manuals, and fully configured sources plus some simple instructions on how to rebuild are available at http://www.bttr-software.de/ports/.

About: Jpeg2ps is a utility for converting JPEG images to compressed PostScript Level 2 or 3 files (without uncompressing the images). The JPEG data is simply "wrapped" with PostScript which yields considerably smaller PS files.

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Forum admin

> On 20 August 2008 I finished my 16-bit DOS port of Thomas Merz'
> Jpeg2ps version 1.9

Good for printing .JPGs, perhaps??

> Good for printing .JPGs, perhaps??

Good for including .JPGs into .PSs

> > Good for printing .JPGs, perhaps??
>
> Good for including .JPGs into .PSs

I use it to convert pictures from JPEG to EPS for inclusion with Lout documents. Then run Ghostscript's "ps2pdf" and we have a nice PDF file.

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Forum admin

> I use it to convert pictures from JPEG to EPS for inclusion with
> Lout documents. Then run
> Ghostscript's "ps2pdf" and we have a nice PDF file.

Is Lout any easier to use than groff/troff/nroff?

> Is Lout any easier to use than groff/troff/nroff?

I know Groff by its name, but have never used it.

My intention of using Lout is to produce PDF files (including small pics) without the need of "huge" Ghostscript. Unfortunately Lout's PDF backend is only preliminary (main coder has left) and does still not allow images. So either I have to enhance the PDF backend myself (very unlikely, because I don't understand Lout's source code) or I have stick with Ghostscript.

If there's any C coder around, who wishes to take the task, I'd be very happy to assist.

Another small typesetting system, I mentioned elsewhere, is Halibut from the original author of NASM. Unfortunately Halibut also doesn't know how to cope with images and there's no plan to change this.

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Are those typesetting programs all we have, or is there some open source word processor like WordPerfect, WordStar, MS Word, ... out there?

> Are those typesetting programs all we have, or is there some open source
> word processor like WordPerfect, WordStar, MS Word, ... out there?

I don't know any. Steve?!

Maybe someone could do a port of AbiWord or LyX?

I wish Sun would have released source code for StarOffice 1.0 for DOS (formerly from Star Division, Hamburg). I had SO 1.0 once, but sold it at eBay.

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Forum admin

> I don't know any. Steve?!

I'm surprised he didn't yell "VDE!" at high volume already.

I don't do a lot of word processing, and the few really popular DOS ones aren't free. However, maybe you can squeak by with GNU Emacs, VIM, EdiTury, or something from Simtel's huge (but kinda outdated) selection, etc.

EDIT: Removed link, fixed other link (EdiTury just updated yesterday, even).

> > I don't know any. Steve?!
>
> I'm surprised he didn't yell
> "VDE!" at high
> volume already.

You probably misunderstood. We are talking about word processing in the meaning of WordPerfect or WordStar, i.e., with "graphical" fonts. We were not talking about text editors with a few enhanced capabilities.

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Forum admin

> > Are those typesetting programs all we have, or is there some open source
> > word processor like WordPerfect, WordStar, MS Word, ... out there?
>
> I don't know any. Steve?!

The best pure typesetting systems are TeX and its derivatives
Tex Users Group - http://www.tug.org/
LaTeX - http://www.latex-project.org/

PCroff is a derivative of the Unix roff print util. Includes source (DeSmet C).
ftp://ftp.icm.edu.pl/packages/coast/msdos/printer/pcroff.zip

proff is another roff derivative. Includes source (Turbo C).
ftp://ftp.icm.edu.pl/packages/coast/msdos/printer/proff.zip

GNU enscript converts ASCII to PostScript, HTML, RTF, ANSI, and overstrikes (but only PS has full support).
Home page
http://www.codento.com/people/mtr/genscript/
Kai Uwe Rommel's binaries for OS/2 and Win32, with source that might work for DOS
ftp://ftp.icm.edu.pl/packages/hobbes/os2/util/convert/gnuenscript.zip
GnuWin32 Project's version
http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/enscript.htm

a2ps Generates PostScript from ASCII and other text formats.
Home page
http://www.infres.enst.fr/~demaille/a2ps/index.html
GNU's page
http://www.gnu.org/software/a2ps/
Get DOS version from /djgpp/current/v2gnu/

MS Word 5.5 for DOS and OS/2 1.x is free.
UK English - CP 437S, 850, 850S, 863
http://super.hplx.net/anonftp/pub/word55_en.exe
US English - CP 850
ftp://ftp.uni-koeln.de/pc/msdos/editors/wd55e.zip
French - CP 850, 863
http://super.hplx.net/anonftp/pub/word55_fr.exe
German - CP 850
ftp://ftp.uni-koeln.de/pc/msdos/editors/wd55d.zip

OpenOffice is something like StarOffice. No DOS binaries, but source is available.
http://www.openoffice.org/

> > > I don't know any. Steve?!
> >
> > I'm surprised he didn't yell
> > "VDE!" at high
> > volume already.
>
> You probably misunderstood. We are talking about word processing in the
> meaning of WordPerfect or WordStar, i.e., with "graphical" fonts. We were
> not talking about text editors with a few enhanced capabilities.

It is true that VDE doesn't handle graphical fonts, or in fact any fonts at all. Its printer controls do bold, italic, etc., only. However, an external util, VDE2RTF, converts plain text and VDE printer codes to RTF. A reverse program, RTF2VDE, converts RTF codes to VDE printer codes, stripping away what VDE doesn't know. Both progs also do code page translations. Download from http://www.volny.cz/zampach/hplx/page1.html .

> The best pure typesetting systems are TeX and its derivatives

No relevance, because it's not "like WordPerfect, WordStar".

> PCroff is a derivative of the Unix roff print util. Includes source
> (DeSmet C).

No relevance, because it's not "like WordPerfect, WordStar".

> proff is another roff derivative. Includes source (Turbo C).

No relevance, because it's not "like WordPerfect, WordStar".

> GNU enscript converts ASCII to PostScript, HTML, RTF, ANSI, and

No relevance, because it's not "like WordPerfect, WordStar".

> a2ps Generates PostScript from ASCII and other text formats.

No relevance, because it's not "like WordPerfect, WordStar".

> MS Word 5.5 for DOS and OS/2 1.x is free.

No relevance, because it's not open source.

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Forum admin

There is also CAWF, wich compiles with OW C:
http://pkgsrc.se/textproc/cawf
And much simpler MINIX roff (from minix 1) - it needs a bit of tweaking before it compiles
http://www.minix3.org/previous-versions/Intel-1.1/cmds.tar
I also found RO - some roff derivate. I don't know where exactly I found it, but it's verry old (1985). I'm working on it to compile it with OW and to add some new printer filters. I will upload it some time later.

But unfortunately theese formatters can only do fixed width fonts and only one size. They can do underline, bold, italics, center, left, right, justify ...

> > The best pure typesetting systems are TeX and its derivatives
>
> No relevance, because it's not "like WordPerfect, WordStar".
etc.

I took Matjaz's question:
> Are those typesetting programs all we have, or is there some open source
> word processor like WordPerfect, WordStar, MS Word, ... out there?
as having two parts, and answered them separately.

> > MS Word 5.5 for DOS and OS/2 1.x is free.
>
> No relevance, because it's not open source.

Just a footnote. It's still a free program that works.

> But unfortunately theese formatters can only do fixed width fonts and only
> one size.

Why do we need those then, when we already have Groff, Lout, Halibut, ...?

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Forum admin

> Why do we need those then, when we already have Groff, Lout, Halibut, ...?

The fact that newer, better, more sophisticated programms exist doesn't mean the old ones are any less useful and fun. Specially since this is a DOS forum
Besides, those that I mentioned are 16-bit real mode programms and don't need DPMI host.

> Besides, those that I mentioned are 16-bit real mode programms and don't
> need DPMI host.

OK, but it's still not Word-like.

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Forum admin

> > > MS Word 5.5 for DOS and OS/2 1.x is free.
> >
> > No relevance, because it's not open source.
>
> Just a footnote. It's still a free program that works.

Your 'free' is the same as in 'free beer'

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