[cups.general] Can CUPS pass through the printer status somehow

[Michael Sweet]

Ambrose Li wrote:
> On 13/12/06, Michael Sweet <mike at easysw.com> wrote:
>> Ambrose Li wrote:
>> > Maybe this is a "feature" request, but I wonder if CUPS can somehow
>> > pass through the remote printer's status. This must be doable, at least
>> > for some backends, because all lpr-based systems do such a thing.
>>
>> No, just Berkeley LPD and LPRng, and that is because they don't do
>> local queuing for remote printers.
> 
> This doesn't sound right. I have never seen any lpd-based printer
> (e.g., HP printers) not having their queues reported by any Unix's lpd
> system. Otherwise I would not have been shocked when I switched to
> CUPS.

LPD and LPRng treat network printers connected via LPD as remote LPD
servers, thus you are getting the remote queue status *on the printer*
when you run lpq.

> I distinctly remember seeing some lpq command (forgot which Unix)
> displaying *both* the local queue and the remote queue at the printer.
> So I am absolutely sure what I saw is not because "they don't do local
> queuing for remote printers".

Local queuing is still done for non-LPD printers.

>> The LPD backend waits for a final status byte from the remote end
>> (required but not always implemented), and IPP polls until the
>> printer reports the job is completed.
> 
> This has nothing to do with the status byte or anything that deals with
> the actual printing itself, but what the printing system does when the
> user requests "what is in the queue".

THE LPD BACKEND DOES NOT EXIT UNTIL IT GETS CONFIRMATION FROM THE
REMOTE SERVER THAT THE JOB HAS BEEN RECEIVED.  Thus, the job will
stay queued until the printer says the job has been handled.  Thus
the job will show up in the lpq/lpstat output until the job has been
handled by the printer.

-- 
______________________________________________________________________
Michael Sweet, Easy Software Products           mike at easysw dot com
Internet Printing and Publishing Software        http://www.easysw.com