   Copyright (C) 1989, 1996 Aladdin Enterprises.  All rights reserved.
  
  This file is part of Aladdin Ghostscript.
  
  Aladdin Ghostscript is distributed with NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.  No author
  or distributor accepts any responsibility for the consequences of using it,
  or for whether it serves any particular purpose or works at all, unless he
  or she says so in writing.  Refer to the Aladdin Ghostscript Free Public
  License (the "License") for full details.
  
  Every copy of Aladdin Ghostscript must include a copy of the License,
  normally in a plain ASCII text file named PUBLIC.  The License grants you
  the right to copy, modify and redistribute Aladdin Ghostscript, but only
  under certain conditions described in the License.  Among other things, the
  License requires that the copyright notice and this notice be preserved on
  all copies.

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***************************************************
* This file describes version 4.0 of Ghostscript. *
***************************************************

If this is your first contact with Ghostscript, we suggest you read the file
new-user.txt before continuing with this README file.  new-user.txt gives an
overview of:

	- what Ghostscript does (PostScript and PDF previewing, conversion,
	and printing);

	- what its licensing terms are (free for ordinary use);

	- what platforms it runs on (every platform you're likely to be
	interested in);

	- where to find some useful programs that enhance Ghostscript (like
	user-friendly previewers for Unix, VMS, MS Windows, MS-DOS, and
	Macintosh).

	- what to do if you have problems (the "If you need help" section).

The rest of this README file is a road map to the documentation files that
are part of the fileset.  If you are a new user, we suggest you look through
it now.  After that, we recommend you read install.txt, which tells you how
to install Ghostscript, and make.txt, which tells you how to compile
Ghostscript from source code (which is required before installation on Unix
and VMS systems).

********
******** Documentation overview ********
********

There is a Ghostscript World Wide Web home page at 
	http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/index.html

All the file names mentioned in the documentation, except for README and
NEWS, are in lower case, which is the usual convention for Unix systems.  On
MS-DOS systems, all file names are actually upper-case.

What should I read if I'm a new user?
-------------------------------------

If you are a new user of Ghostscript, you should start by reading:

> new-user.txt - information specifically for new users.

Then read as many of the following as seem relevant:

> install.txt - information about how install Ghostscript.

> use.txt - information about to use Ghostscript.  Some of this information
is also contained in gs.1 - a `man' page for Ghostscript.

> The catalog at the beginning of devs.mak, which lists all the devices for
which Ghostscript is able to produce output (although if you got Ghostscript
in binary form, it will only include a subset of these devices).

> devices.txt - more detailed information about some specific devices that
Ghostscript knows about.

> ps2epsi.txt, unix-lpr.txt - more detailed information about some of
the shell scripts and batch files distributed with Ghostscript.

If you have Aladdin Ghostscript, as opposed to the GNU Ghostscript releases
distributed by the Free Software Foundation, you should read (or at least
skim through):

> public.txt - additional information about Aladdin Ghostscript releases
that is not relevant to GNU Ghostscript releases.

If you are going to compile Ghostscript, rather than just use an executable
you got from somewhere, you should read:

> make.txt - how to compile and link Ghostscript.  (You should also read
install.txt in this case.)

If you run into any questions, or if you are going to be using Ghostscript
extensively, you should at least skim, and probably eventually read:

> fonts.txt - information about the fonts distributed with
Ghostscript, including how to add or replace fonts.

> language.txt - A description of the Ghostscript language, and its
differences from the documented PostScript language.

> psfiles.txt - information about the .ps files distributed with
Ghostscript (other than fonts).

There is also a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file available on the
Internet.  See "If you need help" below for the location.

What should I read if I'm not a new user?
-----------------------------------------

When you receive a new release of Ghostscript, you should start by reading:

> README - this file.

> current.txt - information about problems, and major changes and new
features in the current release.

If you have used a previous release of Ghostscript, you probably should also
read any more recent sections of:

> NEWS - a complete, detailed history of changes in the most recent
Ghostscript releases.

What if I'm a developer?
------------------------

If you are going to be writing a new driver for Ghostscript, you
should read:

> drivers.txt - the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers.

> xfonts.txt - the interface between Ghostscript and platform-supplied
fonts.  (Read drivers.txt first.)

If you are considering distributing Ghostscript (either Aladdin or GNU
versions) in conjunction with a commercial product, you should read the
PUBLIC license carefully, and you should also read:

> commprod.txt - additional clarification of the circumstances under which
Ghostscript can be distributed with a commercial product.

If you intend to use Ghostscript in the form of a DLL under OS/2 or
Microsoft Windows, you should read:

> dll.txt - documentation on Ghostscript as a DLL.

If you intend to use Ghostscript as part of another program and not
as a DLL, rather than as a self-contained executable application, you
should start by reading either (if you will be using Ghostscript as a
callable PostScript language interpreter):

> imain.h - the documented API for Ghostscript not as a DLL.

or (if you are going to use just the Ghostscript graphics library):

> lib.txt - information about the structure of and APIs for the
Ghostscript library.

Other files
-----------

> devarch.txt - notes on the architecture of device handling in
Ghostscript 3.0.

> ps2epsi.txt - documentation for the PostScript to EPSI conversion
utility.

> helpers.txt - a note of thanks to all the people who have helped with
Ghostscript development.

> hershey.txt - information about the Hershey fonts, which are the
basis of some of the Ghostscript fonts.

> history*.txt - a history of changes in older Ghostscript releases.

> humor.txt - a humorous comment on Ghostscript contributed by a user.

> unix-lpr.txt - information about how to integrate Ghostscript with
Unix printer spooling.

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PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Incorporated.
