Programming DEC LQP02/LQP03 printers

From: CLASSICCMP_at_trailing-edge.com <(CLASSICCMP_at_trailing-edge.com)>
Date: Sun Jun 4 09:13:46 2000

>While I'm on the subject, I see that the Terminals and Printers Handbook
>1983-84 entry for the LQP02 says that it prints "32 char/s
>(letter-quality, Shannon text)". Does "Shannon text" mean anything to
>anyone?

Maybe this just shows that I'm too much of a crypto geek, but anyway:

"Shannon text" means that the letters are distributed in a way typical
for English-language plain text. i.e. the typical ETAOIN... distribution.
Depending on the context, it may also imply a "typical" distribution of
word lengths too.

This actually matters for chain printers (where you can choose a subset
of letters that go on the print chain and get better performance), but it's
not such a big deal for dot-matrix or laser printers which tend to print
at the same speed (until something overheats, at least) no matter what.

-- 
 Tim Shoppa                        Email: shoppa_at_trailing-edge.com
 Trailing Edge Technology          WWW:   http://www.trailing-edge.com/
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Received on Sun Jun 04 2000 - 09:13:46 BST

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