Processing Print jobs through Java before sending them to Novell iPrint

[dwalter]

Hi I want to process all print jobs through java, before letting them
print to enforce such things as print quotas and add banner pages and
such to the various print jobs. But the one thing I can't figgure out
is how to catch the print job before the printer starts printing it.

 

[Rationem]

Maybe java isn't the best programming language to do this in......
sounds like C might provide some better inferfaces to catch lower level
controls and simulate the print queue

 

[Roedy Green]

Hi I want to process all print jobs through java, before letting them
print to enforce such things as print quotas and add banner pages and
such to the various print jobs. But the one thing I can't figgure out
is how to catch the print job before the printer starts printing it.

The Javaesque way to do that would be to build a wrapper around one or
more of the System printing classes that added the additional
functionality and just use discipline to use that new class instead.

Java's philosophy is to maintain class integrity. Nobody gets to
insert code or modify code in a class unless the original author
explicitly designed for it.

 

[steve]

Hi I want to process all print jobs through java, before letting them
print to enforce such things as print quotas and add banner pages and
such to the various print jobs. But the one thing I can't figgure out
is how to catch the print job before the printer starts printing it.

why are you not using IPrint for this?
To write a print spooler in java is madness, have you any idea of the typical
volume of data sent from a computer to a print spooler?

Steve

 

[dwalter]

why are you not using IPrint for this?

I am trying too, but I dont't understand how to call a java program
from IPrint, and have it modify the right job. I know IPrint can send
out events but I don't know how to intergrate java with that.

 

[Roedy Green]

Hi I want to process all print jobs through java,

Did you mean my that all print jobs inside a particular java app or
all print jobs in the machine, including ones written in other
languages? I assumed the first when I answered.

 

[dwalter]

all print jobs that are send to the print server from the labs. The
single most important feature is the ability to check the users
printing account to check that they can pay before printing anything. I
can do this checking on the server side or on the client side but I
need to do it somehow. When approved it should then print.

 

[Roedy Green]

I am trying too, but I dont't understand how to call a java program
from IPrint, and have it modify the right job. I know IPrint can send
out events but I don't know how to intergrate java with that.

What sort of interface does Iprint offer? If you really want to do
this, consider another separate Java program that runs all the time
and takes work requests from Iprint.

How might the connection work, in descending order of plausibility:

1. jni

2. raw socket.

3. shared file.

4. shared SQL database.

5. Java side is a Servlet Womb liseting to requests coming in via HTTP
and sending back HTML.

 

[steve]

What sort of interface does Iprint offer? If you really want to do
this, consider another separate Java program that runs all the time
and takes work requests from Iprint.

How might the connection work, in descending order of plausibility:

1. jni

2. raw socket.

3. shared file.

4. shared SQL database.

5. Java side is a Servlet Womb liseting to requests coming in via HTTP
and sending back HTML.

CHRISSSSSTT!!

novell's iPrint, is novells backend print system. it handles security ,
Auditing , accounting , headers, job control , spooling Etc.

It is time for this guy to get the novell manuals out.

After users install an iPrint printer on their computer, they can use iPrint
client software to access that printer's NDPS Printer Operations page. As you
probably know, the Printer Operations page includes printer information that
you can't access through the Windows Printers folder. For example, the
Printer Operations page enables you to view the number of print jobs that
have been submitted to a printer before you send a print job to that printer.
In contrast, as you know, you must send a print job to a printer before you
can view this information through the Windows Printers folder. (See Figure
4.)
Users can also use the Printer Operations page to find out if an iPrint
printer is experiencing a paper jam, is low on toner, or is out of paper
before they print to that printer. In addition, the Printer Operations page
displays information about the printer's make and model, the languages the
printer supports, and whether or not the printer is a color printer.
To view the Printer Operations page for an iPrint printer that is already
installed on a user's computer, the user uses his or her browser to access
either the iPrint default web page or an iPrint map. When the user clicks to
select a previously installed printer from either of these locations, iPrint
client software displays the Printer Operations page for that printer.



A BRIEF HISTORY OF SIMPLIFIED PRINTING
iPrint runs on top of Novell Distributed Print Services (NDPS) 2.1.2 or
later. (NDPS version 2.1.2 is included in Support Pack 2a for NetWare 5.1.
You can download Support Pack 2a from
http://support.novell.com/misc/patlst.htm#nw.) NDPS, as you probably know, is
Novell's print services software for NetWare 4.11 and above. NDPS meets two
complementary goals:
€ Simplify printer setup and management
€ Simplify users' printing experience
For example, NDPS 1.0 for NetWare 4.11--the first version of NDPS--replaced
queue-based print services with distributed print services. As a result, you
create only one Novell Directory Services (NDS) object for each printer on
your company's network. You also use only one utility to manage all print
tasks through this one object.
In contrast, with queue-based printing, you must create three NDS objects for
every printer. To manage print tasks for these printers, you then use several
utilities--including the NetWare Administrator (NWADMIN) utility, the PSERVER
utility, and the printer management utilities provided by the manufacturers
of the printers.
NDPS 1.0 also simplifies printing for users. For example, users no longer
need to perform queue-based tasks such as capturing printer ports. (For more
information about the benefits of NDPS 1.0, see "NDPS: Good-bye, Queue
World!" Novell Connection, Oct. 1997, pp 6-22.)
Novell provides another tool that further simplifies network printing,
NetWare Enterprise Print Services (NEPS). NEPS--which is a separate printing
product for NetWare 4.11 and 5.0 servers--adds management capabilities to
NDPS running on these servers. These capabilities are also available for
NetWare 5.1 servers with NDPS 2.1.1, which ships with NetWare 5.1.
Specifically, NEPS and NDPS 2.1.1 further simplify administrative tasks by
enabling you to manage print services for UNIX, Macintosh, and mainframe
users. Prior to NEPS and NDPS 2.1.1, you had to set up and manage print
services for these users separately. (For more information about NEPS, See
"NetWare Enterprise Print Services: Print Services Made Easy," Novell
Connection, Dec. 1999, pp. 24-35.)
NEPS and NDPS 2.1.1 include a Line Printer Remote/Line Printer Daemon
(LPR/LPD) server. LPR is a UNIX print command that links files to a spooling
area on a print server. LPD then copies these files to a printer. You can
also configure Macintosh workstations and several mainframe systems to use
LPR/LPD.
NEPS and NDPS 2.1.1 also include an IPP 1.0 server, which enables users who
have IPP client software and an Internet connection to print to NDPS printers
over the Internet. iPrint updates and enhances NDPS to make printing over the
Internet as easy for users as printing over the local network. In fact,
iPrint essentially extends NDPS to include IPP access to NDPS printers.

 

[Roedy Green]

novell's iPrint, is novells backend print system. it handles security ,
Auditing , accounting , headers, job control , spooling Etc.

Your point is if he dug around, he would discover he did not need to
do ANY custom coding at all. Somewhere in there is all the
functionality he already needs?