PDF Reference (2nd Edition) - Softcover

Adobe Systems Inc; Incorporated, Adobe Systems

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0201615886 ISBN 13: 9780201615883

Publisher: Addison-Wesley, 2000

Synopsis

This book/CD-ROM package describes the Portable Document Format (PDF), the native file format of the Adobe Acrobat family of products. It is the first publication of the specification that is completely self- contained, including precise documentation of the imaging model from PostScript along with all of the PDF-specific features combined in version 1.3 of the PDF standard. Explains the architecture of PDF, presents the PDF syntax at the object, file, and document level, and covers graphics operators, fonts, and interactive features. The CD-ROM contains the text of the book in PDF. For application developers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About this title

About the Author

Adobe Systems Incorporated, founded in 1982, is a leading provider of graphic design, publishing, and imaging software for Web and print production, and the second-largest desktop software company in the world. The company builds award-winning software solutions for Web and graphic designers, professional publishers, document-intensive organizations, business users, and consumers. 0201615886AB09252001

From the Back Cover

The official guide to the Portable Document Format! This revised and expanded book from Adobe Systems describes the Portable Document Format (PDF), the native file format of the Adobe® Acrobat® family of products. These products enable users to exchange and view electronic documents easily and reliably, independently of the environment in which they were created. PDF builds on the PostScript® page description language, layering a document structure and interactive navigation features on PostScript's underlying imaging model. Aided by the explosive growth of the Internet, and with well over 100 million copies of the Acrobat Reader application distributed around the world, PDF has become the de facto standard for electronic document exchange. Since the PDF specification was published in 1993, updates have been available from Adobe via the Web. However, this book is the first publication of the specification that is completely self-contained, including the precise documentation of the imaging model from PostScript along with all the PDF-specific features combined in version 1.3 of the PDF standard. This comprehensive specification has been extensively reorganized and revised to ensure that it is complete and accurate. Book Highlights:

* Explains the overall architecture of PDF and the imaging model it shares with the PostScript language
* Presents the PDF syntax at the object, file, and document level
* Includes coverage of graphics operators, fonts, rendering, interactive features, and document exchange
* Lists all the operators used in describing the visual content of a PDF document
This authoritative and up-to-date book is an indispensable resource for application developers building PDF generator applications that create PDF files directly. It is also the best source for information needed to write PDF consumer applications, which read existing PDF files and interpret or modify their contents. The enclosed CD-ROM contains the entire text of this book in PDF. 0201615886B04062001

From the Inside Flap

The origins of the Portable Document Format and the Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) product family date to early 1990. At that time, the PostScript(R) page description language was rapidly becoming the worldwide standard for the production of the printed page. PDF builds on the PostScript page description language by layering a document structure and interactive navigation features on PostScript's underlying imaging model, providing a convenient, efficient mechanism enabling documents to be reliably viewed and printed anywhere. The PDF specification was first published at the same time the first Acrobat products were introduced in 1993. Since then, updated versions of the specification have been and continue to be available from Adobe via the World Wide Web. This book is the first version of the specification that is completely self-contained, including the precise documentation of the underlying imaging model from PostScript along with the PDF-specific features that are combined in version 1.3 of the PDF standard.

Over the past seven years, aided by the explosive growth of the Internet, PDF has become the de facto standard for the electronic exchange of documents. Well over 100 million copies of the Acrobat Reader application have been distributed around the world, facilitating efficient electronic access to and sharing of information. In addition, PDF is now the industry standard for the intermediate representation of printed material in electronic prepress systems for conventional printing applications. As major corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions streamline their operations by replacing paper-based workflow with electronic exchange of information, the impact and opportunity for the application of PDF will continue to grow at a rapid pace. Adobe offers a collection of PDF-based applications, the Adobe Acrobat products, that provide a broad range of capabilities for its customers. Adobe Acrobat provides the basic tools to create and enhance documents prepared by essentially any software product on the popular operating system platforms. The Acrobat Reader, available free of charge for downloading from myriad Web sites (including Adobe), is frequently bundled with consumer products to provide paperless documentation that customers can view on-line or print to paper. Acrobat Capture converts paper documents into PDF format, using state-of-the-art character recognition combined with a highly compressed representation of graphics, enabling the conversion of legacy information into electronic form. A significant number of third-party developers and systems integrators offer customized enhancements and extensions to the core family of products.

The emergence of PDF as a de facto standard for electronic information exchange is the result of concerted effort by many individuals in both the private and public sectors. Without the dedication of Adobe employees, our industry partners, and our customers, the widespread acceptance of PDF could not have been achieved. We thank all of you for your continuing support and creative contributions to the success of PDF.

Chuck Geschke and John Warnock
March 2000 0201615886P04062001

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

PREFACE The origins of the Portable Document Format and the Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) product family date to early 1990. At that time, the PostScript(R) page description language was rapidly becoming the worldwide standard for the production of the printed page. PDF builds on the PostScript page description language by layering a document structure and interactive navigation features on PostScript's underlying imaging model, providing a convenient, efficient mechanism enabling documents to be reliably viewed and printed anywhere. The PDF specification was first published at the same time the first Acrobat products were introduced in 1993. Since then, updated versions of the specification have been and continue to be available from Adobe via the World Wide Web. This book is the first version of the specification that is completely self-contained, including the precise documentation of the underlying imaging model from PostScript along with the PDF-specific features that are combined in version 1.3 of the PDF standard. Over the past seven years, aided by the explosive growth of the Internet, PDF has become the de facto standard for the electronic exchange of documents. Well over 100 million copies of the Acrobat Reader application have been distributed around the world, facilitating efficient electronic access to and sharing of information. In addition, PDF is now the industry standard for the intermediate representation of printed material in electronic prepress systems for conventional printing applications. As major corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions streamline their operations by replacing paper-based workflow with electronic exchange of information, the impact and opportunity for the application of PDF will continue to grow at a rapid pace. Adobe offers a collection of PDF-based applications, the Adobe Acrobat products, that provide a broad range of capabilities for its customers. Adobe Acrobat provides the basic tools to create and enhance documents prepared by essentially any software product on the popular operating system platforms. The Acrobat Reader, available free of charge for downloading from myriad Web sites (including Adobe.com), is frequently bundled with consumer products to provide paperless documentation that customers can view on-line or print to paper. Acrobat Capture converts paper documents into PDF format, using state-of-the-art character recognition combined with a highly compressed representation of graphics, enabling the conversion of legacy information into electronic form. A significant number of third-party developers and systems integrators offer customized enhancements and extensions to the core family of products. The emergence of PDF as a de facto standard for electronic information exchange is the result of concerted effort by many individuals in both the private and public sectors. Without the dedication of Adobe employees, our industry partners, and our customers, the widespread acceptance of PDF could not have been achieved. We thank all of you for your continuing support and creative contributions to the success of PDF. Chuck Geschke and John Warnock March 2000

Edition details

• Publisher: Addison-Wesley
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0201615886
• ISBN 13: 9780201615883
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 704