PPLOT --- CAD program for printing integrated circuits in .cif format
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"pplot" is a program which was originally written as a nice printer 
interface to the Berkeley tools "magic" (now in version 6.4).  It
appears to have grown out of the less-evolved "cifplot" (original
program which came with the Berkeley tools) and "cif2ps" (a slight
update on the original).

"pplot" attempts to make a plot which is uncluttered and easy to
interpret.  It does this by using a search algorithm to find the edges
of each CIF layer, and then renders the entire layer at once, drawing
a border around it.  The result is much more coherent than the usual
plot method of drawing each CIF rectangle as it appears in the CIF
output.

I have made a number of updates on pplot in the past few years (1991-1994).
These include:
   1) A robust CIF parser routine which accepts much, much more than the
	limited CIF output of "magic"
   2) Improved layer patterns which make viewing on a printer much easier
   3) A color interface for printing on color printers (see below)
   4) Debugged PostScript header
   5) Encapsulated PostScript capability
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INSTALLATION
------------

1) Edit Imakefile and make sure that the directory names are set properly
   for your system (e.g., CAD_LIB_DIR = ~cad/lib/pplot/).  Check that the
   printer spooler type ("lp" for SysV systems, "lpr" for BSD systems) is
   set correctly for your system.  Check the other definitions;  you
   probably won't need to change any of them.

2) Do, in the following order:

	xmkmf
	make export
	make depend
	make

3) Install the programs using

	make install

   This should install the binaries, scripts, and the library files.
   Use
	make clean

   to clean up the directories after everything is installed.

4) Find a CIF file and test it out.

NON-POSTSCRIPT PRINTER OPTIONS
------------------------------

Since the advent of the cheap color inkjet printer, color printing has
become an option for many people.  Color PostScript is not an option
on the cheaper models of these printers (yet).  However, it is true
that if you have Ghostscript on your system, you can set up a large
number of color printers to take color PostScript.

You will need the latest version of Ghostscript, and take care when 
editing the configuration file to include the device drivers for the
color printer which you have.  For example, I have an HP-560C color
printer, so I edited "unix-gcc.mak" and set

      DEVICE_DEVS=x11.dev cdj550.dev

this gives me access to GhostScript output in X11 (the default), plus the HP
color deskjet 550 (same driver as for the 560).  A number of other printer
types are available, such as laserjet.dev, and so forth.

Compile ghostscript with these device drivers installed.

Option 1)  look at the shell script "cifplot-color2".  This can be set
   up to run ghostscript on the file and create a new output file in .hpl,
   which is a binary file that can be lpr'd directly to the printer.

Option 2)  set up your /etc/printcap file such that the entry for your
   printer uses an input file running a shell script which in turn
   runs ghostscript.  For instance, I have my printer attached to
   prokofiev.ece.jhu.edu.  The /etc/printcap file for that machine
   contains the following entry:

      cps|colorps:\
        :lf=/var/spool/dj560c/log:\
        :lp=/dev/lpt0:\
        :mx#0:\
        :sd=/var/spool/dj560c:\
        :if=/var/spool/dj560c/ps2pcl:\
        :sh:

   The shell script /var/spool/dj560c/ps2pcl looks like the following 
   (don't forget to give it executable permission):

      #!/bin/csh -f
      /usr/bin/gs -q -sDEVICE=cdj550 -sOUTPUTFILE=- -sBitsPerPixel=32 \
           -dDepletion=1 -

   Consequently, when I type "lpr -Pcolorps chip1.ps" to plot the color
   image of my chip, the lpr command runs it first through the filter,
   which executes ghostscript and creates the HP-compatible binary.
   Instant PostScript printer, no extra cost!
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