pappl(1)

💖 pappl 💖

okay bestie, sit DOWN, because we're talking about pappl — that's the printer application framework, fr fr. This is page pappl(1) from the manual, and it's about to be your new obsession. 🖨️✨

---

🌸 LIBRARY 🌸

It's the Printer Application Framework, aka libpappl, and you pull it in like this:

pkg-config --cflags --libs pappl

that's it, that's the whole vibe. 🫶

---

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <pappl/pappl.h>

one include, bestie. that's the whole entrance fee. 💅

---

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

So PAPPL is a simple C-based framework/library for developing CUPS Printer Applications, and lowkey that's the recommended replacement for printer drivers. Not me casually being the future of printing. 😌 It's sufficiently general purpose to support literally any kind of printer or driver that can be used on desktops, servers, and in embedded environments. Versatile queen. 👑

PAPPL embeds a multi-threaded HTTP / IPP Everywhere™ server and provides callbacks for a variety of events, which lets a GUI or command-line application interact with both:

• the local user that is running the Printer Application, and
• any network clients that are submitting print jobs, querying printer status and capabilities, and so forth.

both of them. at the same time. it's giving main character energy, ngl. 🦋

PAPPL provides a simple driver interface for raster graphics printing, and developers of CUPS Raster drivers will readily adapt to it — like, it'll feel familiar immediately, iykyk. PAPPL can also be used with printers that support vector graphics printing, although you'll have to develop more code to support them. (yeah. more code. 😭 the vector girlies have to work harder, sorry.) Drivers provide configuration and capability information to PAPPL, and PAPPL then calls the driver to print things as needed.

And here's the part that ate: PAPPL automatically supports printing of:

• JPEG
• PNG
• PWG Raster
• Apple Raster
• "raw" files

to printers connected via USB and network (AppSocket/JetDirect) connections. slay. 🔥 Other formats can be supported through "filter" callbacks you register — so if your fave format isn't on the list, you can literally just build it. DIY icon behaviour. 💅

---

🎀 SEE ALSO 🎀

go read these next, bestie, they're all part of the lore:

• pappl-client(3)
• pappl-device(3)
• pappl-job(3)
• pappl-log(3)
• pappl-mainline(3)
• pappl-makeresheader(1)
• pappl-printer(3)
• pappl-resource(3)
• pappl-system(3)
• https://www.msweet.org/pappl

---

💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

Copyright © 2019-2020 by Michael R Sweet. 🫶

PAPPL is licensed under the Apache License Version 2.0 with an (optional) exception to allow linking against GPL2/LGPL2 software (like older versions of CUPS), so it can be used freely in any project you'd like. no cap, any project. See the files LICENSE and NOTICE in the source distribution for more information.

---

ok that's the whole page, go forth and print things 💖

and that's a wrap, gorgeous — this was pappl(1), dated 2020-10-25, from pappl, and yes it says pappl(1) at the bottom too because consistency is iconic. bye bestie, ily! 🌈⭐💖