Michael R Sweet, author of the CUPS printing system, announced the release of PAPPL 1.1, a framework for developing IPP Everywhere printing applications that are recommended to be used in place of traditional printer drivers. The framework code is written in C and distributed under the Apache 2.0 license with an exception allowing linking with code under the GPLv2 and LGPLv2 licenses.
In the new version:
- Added the ability to configure via Wi-Fi.
- There was support for accessing the printer using the IPP-over-USB protocol (IPP-USB).
- Implemented search for suitable printer drivers and automatic addition of extended functionality.
- Added PAPPL_SOPTIONS_NO_TLS mode to disable TLS encryption.
- Added buttons and commands to pause and resume the printer.
- Added papplSystemSetAuthCallback API to support alternative authentication mechanisms.
- Implemented an option to enable compression.
- Improved simultaneous management of multiple printers.
- Added support for Windows 10 and 11 platforms.
Recall that the PAPPL framework was originally designed to support the LPrint printing system and Gutenprint drivers, but can be used to implement support for any printers and drivers when printing on desktop, server and embedded systems. PAPPL is expected to help accelerate the advancement of IPP Everywhere technology in place of the classic drivers and make it easier to support other IPP-based programs such as AirPrint and Mopria.
PAPPL includes a built-in implementation of the IPP Everywhere protocol, which provides the means to access printers locally or over a network and process print requests. IPP Everywhere operates in driverless mode and, unlike PPD drivers, does not require the creation of static configuration files. Interaction with printers is supported both directly through a local printer connection via USB, and network access using the AppSocket and JetDirect protocols. Data can be sent to the printer in JPEG, PNG, PWG Raster, Apple Raster, and raw formats.
PAPPL can be built for POSIX-compliant operating systems, including Linux, macOS, QNX, and VxWorks. Dependencies include Avahi (for mDNS/DNS-SD support), CUPS, GNU TLS, JPEGLIB, LIBPNG, LIBPAM (for authentication), and ZLIB. Based on PAPPL, the OpenPrinting project develops a universal PostScript Printer Application that can work with both modern IPP-compatible printers (used by PAPPL) that support PostScript and Ghostscript, and with older printers that have PPD drivers (using cups-filters and libppd filters). ).
Source: opennet.ru