Running Adobe's 1991 PostScript Interpreter in the Browser
Key takeaways
- The HP C2089A Post Script Cartridge Plus , a 1991 add-on for the Laser Jet II/III, adds Post Script Level 2 support through Adobe s own reference interpreter (version 2010.118) on a 2 MB ROM.
- Thirty-five years on, that ROM is still a current Post Script implementation: it renders the language correctly, and the language hasn t changed.
- retro-ps takes that ROM, emulates the M68K it ran on, fakes the LaserJet mainboard around it, and runs the result on the command line — or in the browser at pagetable.com/retro-ps.
The HP C2089A Post Script Cartridge Plus , a 1991 add-on for the Laser Jet II/III, adds Post Script Level 2 support through Adobe s own reference interpreter (version 2010.118) on a 2 MB ROM.
Thirty-five years on, that ROM is still a current Post Script implementation: it renders the language correctly, and the language hasn t changed. We have Ghostscript today, but this is Adobe s own reference implementation! Old code is not always retro code: Why not use it productively today?
retro-ps takes that ROM, emulates the M68K it ran on, fakes the LaserJet mainboard around it, and runs the result on the command line — or in the browser at pagetable.com/retro-ps. Drop a .ps file onto the page; the cart s own rasterizer renders it client-side. There is no server.