APRINT(1) UNIX System V(ANNEX) APRINT(1)
NAME
aprint - Annex remote print command
SYNOPSIS
aprint [ -Aannex [ -Lline ] ] [ -f ] [ -Fstring ] [ filename... ]
aprint [ -Pprinter ] [ -f ] [ -Fstring ] [ filename... ]
ARGUMENTS
-A annex The hostname string or Internet address (in standard Internet
dot separated notation) of the Annex to print on.
-L line The line number on the Annex specified by -A to print on. If
absent or a value of 0 given, the parallel port is used. A
value greater than zero specifies a serial port.
-f Prevent Aprint from supplying extra formfeeds.
-F string Use string to produce a formfeed instead of the default
string of a single ^L. This will override an ff= capability
read from /etc/printcap. No formfeeds are produced if the -f
flag has been given.
filename... The file(s) to print; if none specified, the standard input
is used.
-P printer Use printer as the printer name to lookup in /etc/printcap.
(OBSOLETE)
DESCRIPTION
The aprint utility is intended for sites that either do not have or
cannot modify the Berkeley printer spooler. It sends files directly to a
printer attached to an Annex, without the use of any spooling mechanism.
Aprint supports printers connected to either a parallel port or any of an
Annexes serial ports. The Annex and port to be printed on is specified
by the -A and -L arguments specifying the name of the Annex and the port
to print on, respectively. To be backwards compatible with old versions
of aprint, it also supports a -P argument specifying a printer name to be
looked up in the /etc/printcap file for ra and al capabilities. The -A
and -P arguments are mutually exclusive. If neither is given, aprint
will lookup in /etc/printcap, using as the printer name either the value
of the PRINTER environment variable or, if thats not set, the default
printer name lp.
By default, aprint will print a formfeed at the start of every file, and
at the end of all files. Versions of the Annex operational code previous
to R3.0 produced these formfeeds without any means of disabling them. As
this function should now be produced by host resident software, aprint
will provide them for backwards compatibiltiy. The -f flag will prevent
aprint from generating these formfeeds.
10/89 Page 1
APRINT(1) UNIX System V(ANNEX) APRINT(1)
Annex operational code from versions R3.0 and later support a more
elaborate Annex LPD protocol that provides for acknowledgements from the
Annex to the host (indicating that the Annex is ready to recieve data)
and from the host to the Annex (marking EOF, among other things). This
makes it possible for aprint to determine that the Annex has opened the
requested serial or parallel line sucessfully. Aprint will only wait 10
seconds for this acknowledgement, and then assume it came. This is to
allow you use this version of aprint with an Annex running older
operational code that doesn't supply this acknowledge, to prevent aprint
from waiting forever for acknowledgement.
FILES
/etc/printcap printer capabilities database
SEE ALSO
Annex Network Administrator's Guide
DIAGNOSTICS
Most messages are self-explanatory, if not overly verbose.
RESTRICTIONS
Some ports of the Berkeley networking software to System V systems do not
support out of band data (MSG_OOB) on sockets. Since OOB is used in the
close handshake of the Annex LPD protocol, it (the close handshake) will
not be used on such hosts. The implication of this is that with two
back-to-back invocations of aprint , the second can fail because the
Annex port will still be busy from the first print job. This should not
be a problem if aprint is invoked from within a spooling system (such as
System V lp or Berkeley LPD).
Page 2 10/89