RFC 1179 (rfc1179) - Page 1 of 14

Line printer daemon protocol

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Network Printing Working Group                 L. McLaughlin III, Editor
Request for Comments:  1179                         The Wollongong Group
                                                             August 1990


                      Line Printer Daemon Protocol

Status of this Memo

   This RFC describes an existing print server protocol widely used on
   the Internet for communicating between line printer daemons (both
   clients and servers).  This memo is for informational purposes only,
   and does not specify an Internet standard.  Please refer to the
   current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol Standards" for the
   standardization state and status of this protocol.  Distribution of
   this memo is unlimited.

1. Introduction

   The Berkeley versions of the Unix(tm) operating system provide line
   printer spooling with a collection of programs: lpr (assign to
   queue), lpq (display the queue), lprm (remove from queue), and lpc
   (control the queue).  These programs interact with an autonomous
   process called the line printer daemon.  This RFC describes the
   protocols with which a line printer daemon client may control
   printing.

   This memo is based almost entirely on the work of Robert Knight at
   Princeton University.  I gratefully acknowledge his efforts in
   deciphering the UNIX lpr protocol and producing earlier versions of
   this document.

2. Model of Printing Environment

   A group of hosts request services from a line printer daemon process
   running on a host.  The services provided by the process are related
   to printing jobs.  A printing job produces output from one file.
   Each job will have a unique job number which is between 0 and 999,
   inclusive.  The jobs are requested by users which have names.  These
   user names may not start with a digit.

3. Specification of the Protocol

   The specification includes file formats for the control and data
   files as well as messages used by the protocol.






McLaughlin
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