Re: misc/50116: MKREPRO: PostScript files include time stamp

[John Nemeth <jnemeth%cue.bc.ca@localhost>]

On Aug 5,  7:05am, David Holland wrote:
} Subject: Re: misc/50116: MKREPRO: PostScript files include time stamp
} The following reply was made to PR misc/50116; it has been noted by GNATS.
} 
} From: David Holland <dholland-bugs%netbsd.org@localhost>
} To: gnats-bugs%NetBSD.org@localhost
} Subject: Re: misc/50116: MKREPRO: PostScript files include time stamp
} Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2015 06:49:35 +0000
} 
}  On Tue, Aug 04, 2015 at 09:25:01AM +0000, John Nemeth wrote:
}   >  }   >  How about a postprocessing step that just does 'grep -v ^%%CreationDate:'?
}   >  }  
}   >  }  Will that break the file? I suppose probably not.
}   >  
}   >       "%" is the PostScript comment indicator.  From "PostScript Language
}   >  Reference Manual  Second Edition":
}   >  
}   >  %%CreationDate:	<textline>
}   >  
}   >  		The comment indicates the date and time the document was
}   >  		created.  Neither the date nor time need be in any standard
}   >  		format.  This comment is meant to be used purely for
}   >  		informational purposes, such as printing on banner pages.
}   >  
}   >  In other words, leaving it out won't break the file.  Hopefully there
}   >  aren't any tools that demand it.  If there is, the tool is probably
}   >  broken anyways.
}  
}  Yes, except that at least some programs examine or check the comment
}  at the beginning of a postscript file to determine if it is, in fact,
}  a postscript file.
}  
}  One possible way for this change to go wrong is that lpr and/or
}  printers stop recognizing the files as postscript and print the
}  postscript as text... probably this is not going to be an issue with
}  just removing CreationDate. I hope.

      Many PostScript documents will start with this line:

%!PS-Adobe-3.0

However, they are only allowed to do so if they conform to the
Docuement Structuring Convention.  A shortcut in recognizing
PostScript documents would be to look for "%!" as the first two
characters.  Blowing up because "%%CreationDate: " is missing is
just plain broken.  BTW, a line starting with "%%" indicates a
special Document Structuring Convention comment.

}-- End of excerpt from David Holland