LP Spool System

The LP spool system is a printer spooler for RTEA/VC+ systems that provides compatibility with the HPUX LP spooler and other TCP/IPbased Internet spoolers. The LP spool system supports local printers, network peripherals, and network printing between HPUX and other RTE systems via NSARPA/1000. The user interface is very similar to that of HPUX, allowing users that work on both RTE and HPUX instant familiarity with the other system.

The LP spool system can coexist with the SP spool system and the PRINT utility without interfering with their operation. Because the output device LU is locked to the program performing the output, all three systems may simultaneously attempt to access the same device without disrupting the output of another system.

Overview

The LP spool system consists of a number of programs, the majority of which present a user interface that is very similar to the LP spool system that runs on HPUX systems. All programs in the system take their input from the runstring; there are no interactive programs. Therefore, the •programmatic" and •interactive" modes of access to the system are very similar, the programmatic interface consisting of FmpRunProgram calls that are functionally equivalent to entering the runstrings at a CI prompt. As an aid to programmatic usage, most of the programs return error status to the scheduling program and allow any output generated to be redirected to a file for programmatic processing.

Each •task" that the LP spooler handles is called a •request". A request specifies that a certain collection of files is to be printed on a certain printer (or on any member of a class of printers, as discussed later) in a certain format. Other properties are associated with the request as well, such as the priority of the request for prioritybased printer scheduling. Requests are usually created when a user runs the program named lp, as documented in a following section. Each request is assigned a unique •request ID" that is used when performing subsequent LP spooler commands on the request, and in tracking the progress of the request through the system.

The LP spooler must be configured for each printer it may access, using the lpadmin program. At that time a name is associated with the printer. That name, rather than the device LU number, is used to refer to the printer within the LP spool system.

LP Spool System 21