Ghostscript can be used as araster image processor (RIP) for rastercomputer printers—for instance, as an input filter ofline printer daemon—or as the RIP engine behind PostScript and PDF viewers. It can also be used as a file format converter, such as PostScript to PDF converter. Theps2pdf conversion program comes with the Ghostscript distribution.[6]
Ghostscript can also serve as the back-end for PDF toraster image (png, tiff, jpeg, etc.) converter; this is often combined with a PostScript printer driver in "virtual printer" PDF creators.[7][citation needed] As it takes the form of a language interpreter, Ghostscript can also be used as a general purpose programming environment.
Ghostscript was originally written byL. Peter Deutsch for theGNU Project, and released under theGNU General Public License in 1988.[8] At the time of the initial release there was a similar commercial software product named GoScript from LaserGo.[9] Later, Deutsch formedAladdin Enterprises todual-license Ghostscript also under aproprietary license with an own developmentfork:Aladdin Ghostscript under theAladdin Free Public License[10] (which, despite the name, is not a free software license, as it forbids commercial distribution) andGNU Ghostscript distributed with theGNU General Public License.[11] With version 8.54 in 2006, both development branches were merged again, and dual-licensed releases were still provided.[12][13]
Ghostscript is currently owned by Artifex Software and maintained by Artifex Software employees and the worldwide user community. According to Artifex, as of version 9.03, the commercial version of Ghostscript can no longer be freely distributed for commercial purposes without purchasing a license, though the (A)GPL variant allows commercial distribution provided all code using it is released under the (A)GPL.[14][15][16][17]
Starting with release 9.55.0 Ghostscript has two built-in PDF interpreters. Until spring 2022, up to Ghostscript version 9.56.1, the default PDF interpreters implementation itself was coded in PostScript. The new default PDF interpreter has been rewritten in C entirely, and is faster and more secure than its predecessor, while its interface and graphics library have not changed.[21] Scripting the new C written PDF interpreter from PostScript is still possible.[22]
There are several sets offree fonts supplied for Ghostscript, intended to be metrically compatible with common fonts attached with the PostScript standard.[23][24][25][26] These include:
The GhostPDL package (including Ghostscript as well as companion implementations ofHP PCL andMicrosoft XPS) includes additional fonts under the AFPL which bars commercial use.[26][32] It includes URW++ versions ofGaramond (Garamond No. 8),Optima (URW Classico),Arial (A030),Antique Olive, andUnivers (U001),Clarendon,Coronet,Letter Gothic, as well as URW Mauritius and a modified form ofAlbertus known as A028. Combined with the base set, they represent a little more than half of the standard PostScript 3 font complement.
A miscellaneous set includingCyrillic,kana, and fonts derived from the free Hershey fonts, with improvements by Thomas Wolff (such as adding accented characters).
The Ghostscript fonts were developed in the PostScript Type 1 format but have been converted into the TrueType format.[27][26] As a result, a user can install and use the Ghostscript fonts via most modern software. Furthermore, the Ghostscript fonts are used as parts of various open source applications, e.g., the Linux version ofGIMP depends onGraphviz which in turn depends on the Ghostscript fonts.[33][34] Finally, multiple open source font projects used glyphs from the Ghostscript fonts, e.g., the Latin characters ofGNU FreeFont are based onNimbus Mono L,Nimbus Roman No9 L, andNimbus Sans L.[35] The TeX Gyre fonts are also based on 8 out of the 10 original Ghostscript typeface families.[36] The Garamond font has additionally been improved upon.[37]
^raph (2006-06-07)."Ghostscript leading edge is now GPL!". Archived fromthe original on 2016-10-03. Retrieved2021-03-19."I have some great news to report. The leading edge of Ghostscript development is now under GPL license, as is the latest release, Ghostscript 8.54."
