32-bit ghostscript, required for ImageWriter and other printers using CUPS

John Galt wrote:

Try it for yourself: from wherever it resides on your Mac, run gs -h

My older gs 8.71 (the 32-bit one that worked until Cat) returns a total of 323 "available devices" including iwhi, iwlo, and• iwlq

• The new gs 9.27 returns 335 "available devices" but the three we need are absent. That's an obvious show-stopper.

I have an old VM with 10.7 and Xcode 5.1 installed. I downloaded and built the old gs 8.71. I had to make a small hack to get it to compile. I don’t know what they were doing with that (comment out lines 45 and 46). But it now it builds and is 64-bit. It seems to run on Mojave when I just copy over the gs executable. It seems to have the Imagewriter drivers. It would be better to build on the VM and then do a full “make install” on Catalina. I have no way to test any of this. Contact me and I’ll send you the installable directory.

That's very kind of you! I'll take you up on that offer.

Thanks Grant! I will give Dr Koch's installer another look. Won't have time today though.

I really appreciate your interest. I don't accomplish much in a vacuum; even knowing someone else is interested provides motivation I wouldn't otherwise have.

etresoft wrote:

I have an old VM with 10.7 and Xcode 5.1 installed. I downloaded and built the old gs 8.71. I had to make a small hack to get it to compile. I don’t know what they were doing with that (comment out lines 45 and 46). But it now it builds and is 64-bit. It seems to run on Mojave when I just copy over the gs executable. It seems to have the Imagewriter drivers.

Quick update: I installed your gs 8.71 build on both High Sierra and Mojave systems, and I'm happy to report it works! Which is to say the ImageWriter drivers are included, I can print the way I always have on those various systems, and nothing appears to have been broken. My only other (non-Ghostscript related) /usr/local/bin/ files that might have been affected don't appear to have been affected.

I don't know of any better way to inspect its architecture other than the file command, results below:

Prior to installing it (the "old" gs)

iMac4:~ john$ file /usr/local/bin/gs 
/usr/local/bin/gs: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures: [i386:Mach-O executable i386] [ppc]
/usr/local/bin/gs (for architecture i386):	Mach-O executable i386
/usr/local/bin/gs (for architecture ppc):	Mach-O executable ppc
iMac4:~ john$ 

After installing it (the "new" gs):

iMac4:~ john$ file /usr/local/bin/gs 
/usr/local/bin/gs: Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64
iMac4:~ john$ 

As I wrote I don't know any other way to determine its 64-bit compliance, except for System Information. It does show the "old" gs, but its entry indicates its "last used" date was a few days ago, so that's not a surprise.

It's still version 8.71 which I'm sure you're aware of, but I want that to be clear in the highly unlikely event anyone else is interested.

When making changes like this I try to use my systems for a while in the usual manner before drawing any conclusions, but for now am I correct in assuming that "Mach-O 64-bit" architecture means Catalina ought to load it? Of course it's easy enough for me to try it myself, which I'll get around to doing over the next few days. I just wanted to give you this quick update and say thanks!

I have a new installer if anyone else wants to try it: https://etresoft.org/download/ghostscript64.pkg

It is notarized and should install on Catalina without any complaints. It is very similar to the version that John tested above and found to work.

Disclaimer: This is my own web site. This is free software downloaded from (https://sourceforge.net/projects/ghostscript/files/GPL%20Ghostscript/8.71/) with some custom patches and procedures applied. it’s GPL, so contact me if you want full build procedures. Downloading this software or using it could give me some form of compensation, financial or otherwise.

Thanks Grant. I'm pleased to report that Mr. etresoft's package installs and works perfectly in Catalina. He also sent me a link to Suspicious Package. I used it to inspect Dr. Koch's installer, which I did not test for reasons I'll explain.

It's probably ok, but for our purposes it may not offer anything particularly advantageous. For example it includes support for additional fonts, as well as X11, but none of that matters to me. Also: since it predated app notarization it's signed, but not notarized. At present that doesn't matter either, but who knows what "security" requirements Apple may impose in the future. So, I didn't test it.

Right after 9.20 Artifex seems to have set about ripping out the PPC support, which is how ImageWriter driver appears to have been tossed aside.

The reason the ImageWriter appears to have been removed from later gs versions remains a mystery to me. I can only speculate that somewhere along the way someone conflated it with the PowerPC, and tossed it out. If that's the reason, removing it was unjustified.

Anyway, the good news is that not only is there an option for 64-bit Ghostscript that retains the ImageWriter drivers, thanks to etresoft we have the luxury of two options.

For now I'm beyond pleased I won't have to keep Mojave around just for them. If you are interested in exploring options for retiring your dedicated Mac / AppleTalk "print server" (which seems like an unattractive workaround to me) please let me know. Additional options exist today, beyond what I discussed in my User Tips.

I had a LaserWriter Pro 630 that that was just too cantankerous and didn't do anything any disposable laser printer can't do. I gave it to an enthusiastic hobbyist. She was thrilled, but it's a PostScript printer and that's easy. I gave up on QuickDraw printers.

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I didn't even bother checking Stack Overflow until today:

• a scolding from Stack Overflow moderators that Stack Overflow was for developer questions, and this discussion should go elsewhere (to which I responded Ghostscript told us Stack Overflow was their official forum)

I saw that. I had posted the identical question on SuperUser as suggested. Zero replies.

Links on the Ghostscript web site say that THIS (StackOverflow) is the official forum for discussing issues related to Ghostscript.

Exactly!

That's the reason I posted it there, but... 🤷🏻‍♂️

There's no point in arguing with mods about which forum is appropriate and which isn't. Unlike SuperUser, at least StackOverflow got replies. Can't argue with that.

That test version has Etresoft's Developer Certificate right?

Yes.

So if you get Linux Foundation to put up the 64-bit version of Ghostscript 8.71 (not notarized unless somebody ¿Artisoft? want to tie it to their developer certificate) then it has to be installed as an Un-Identified Developer product, right?

I don't know. As I wrote I was given authority to edit that page and presumably provide links to a package installer. Once I have a suitable package I suppose I could tie it to mine. Or Etresoft's, assuming he's amenable to it. I don't know.

• A confession that Chris was the one who removed gdevadmp, and possible conditions for putting back.

Aha!

I agree legacy equipment can't be supported forever, but the IW hasn't been "supported" in ages. I thought that's what OpenPrinting was all about. It's just a dumb printer, but it's a good one, and as I recall I spent $1000 apiece for them back then. I've got one of them in use with a program I wrote for a handheld calculator's serial port (an HP-48GX). It's unencumbered by "security" nonsense. Paper gets shredded 😆

Anyway I replied to Chris, so all I can do is wait and see what happens.

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

That test version has Etresoft's Developer Certificate right? So if you get Linux Foundation to put up the 64-bit version of Ghostscript 8.71 (not notarized unless somebody ¿Artisoft? want to tie it to their developer certificate) then it has to be installed as an Un-Identified Developer product, right?

Good luck with that. You can use the version I posted. I don’t plan on doing anything with etresoft.org for a while, so it should be safe. And it is open-source to begin with, so copy at will.

I have detailed build instructions if anyone wants them. The original project needed a couple of fixes. Distributing open-source software via a stand-alone installer can be difficult. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could scramble it. Since I definitely didn’t know what I was doing with Ghostscript, my build procedure is a bit of a kludge. I have no idea how to get a newer version running. I don’t know the software and don’t have the hardware.

There is more activity on ghostscript thread at Stack Overflow, summarized thus:

• A confession that Chris was the one who removed gdevadmp, and possible conditions for putting back.

• a scolding from Stack Overflow moderators that Stack Overflow was for developer questions, and this discussion should go elsewhere (to which I responded Ghostscript told us Stack Overflow was their official forum)

• a link to a slideshow by Michael Sweet (now of Apple) proposing the total elimination of "fringe" non-compliant printers in future versions of CUPS

Typical Stack Overflow. What a mess.

Check Stack Overflow. Chris indicated at least some willingness to reinstate the IW drivers, provided someone with the requisite hardware and other skills steps up, so that's a hopeful sign.

So the 9.20 version probably works.

It probably does. My original (ideal) goal to create a macOS installer package remains though, so reinstating the IW drivers in current and future Ghostscript releases would be commensurately ideal. For now all I can do is wait and see

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

If nothing else, seeing that 9.20 seems to work adds credibility that the main developed versions of Ghostscript going forward may still do the job for Mac users. They don't seem to have changed it so much that it is falling apart for Mac users.

Just to keep you updated, a week or two ago Chris at Artifex told me via email:

"The Apple devices were updated and reinstated as contrib devices."

I don't believe they have quite yet made it into a public gs release, but I expect that it will occur soon.

This is the best possible outcome, much better than I would have imagined. Apple's 35 year old ImageWriter printers are alive and well in Catalina, with full 64-bit Ghostscript support, thanks to you, Etresoft, and perhaps one or two others in the known universe.

I'll update my User Tips at an appropriate time. I have some other equipment on order (a modern, wireless serial device server, as well as a commercially available cable) which I'll also be evaluating presently.

Thank you all! Without your interest this outcome would never have gotten off the ground.

😄