Re: [docbook-apps] Enable FOP's PCL duplexing feature with DocBook XSL stylesheet customization?

[Tony Graham <tgraham@antenna.co.jp>]

On 08/09/2017 21:57, Warren Young wrote:
> On Sep 8, 2017, at 1:33 PM, Jirka Kosek <jirka@kosek.cz> wrote:
> > On 7.9.2017 17:46, Warren Young wrote:
> > > Unfortunately, grepping the DBX FO XSL files in the version of 
> > > the stylesheets packaged for my OS turns up no instances of 
> > > “duplex”.
> >
> > That's because XSL-FO and DocBook stylesheets are dealing with 
> > formatting and pagination. How these pages are printed onto 
> > physical paper is out of scope of these technologies.

Yes, XSL 1.1 does talk about the binding edge of a page but sidesteps
actually defining how to either work out or indicate which edge is the
binding edge: https://www.w3.org/TR/xsl11/#fo_page-sequence

> FO comes into it because that’s the level where FOP defines the 
> feature.  As you say, FO has nothing to do with paper handling, but 
> PCL does, and FOP has a PCL output mode.  This feature is therefore 
> the only way to communicate this information between the input and 
> output (FO and PCL) sides of FOP.

Yes, users can and do ignore the neat separations of scope in the cause
of getting things done.

FWIW, AH Formatter does let you specify duplexing [1] and a few other
things in the FO that are used only when running on Windows and
outputting straight to the printer.  It doesn't generate PCL, though.  I
haven't been able to trace why the feature was initially added.

Also FWIW, control of duplexing, etc., are in the XSL 2.0 Requirements
document [2] (as is specifying the binding edge [3]).

Regards,


Tony Graham.
--
Senior Architect
XML Division
Antenna House, Inc.
----
Skerries, Ireland
tgraham@antenna.co.jp


[1] https://www.antennahouse.com/product/ahf64/ahf-ext.html#printing
[2] https://www.w3.org/TR/xslfo20-req/#print-specific-properties
[3] https://www.w3.org/TR/xslfo20-req/#N66625