cups-1.1.18

Introduction to CUPS

Download location (HTTP):       http://www.cups.org/software.html
Download location (FTP):        ftp://ftp.easysw.com/pub/cups/1.1.18/cups-1.1.18-source.tar.bz2
Version used:                   1.1.18
Package size:                   3.3 MB
Estimated Disk space required:  21 MB

The Common UNIX Printing System ("CUPS") is a print spooler and associated utilities. It is based on the "Internet Printing Protocol" and provides printing services to most PostScript and raster printers.

CUPS depends on:
GhostScript-7.05.5 (for non-postscript printers)
CUPS will utilize:
libjpeg-6b, libpng-1.2.5 and libtiff-3.5.7

Installation of CUPS

Install CUPS by running the following commands:

./configure &&
make &&
make install

Installation command explanations

The basic default behavior of the installation is appropriate for LFS systems. CUPS files are placed in /usr/bin, /usr/sbin, /var and /etc/cups.

CUPS Configuration

Configuration of CUPS is dependent on the type of printer and can be complex. Generally, postscript printers are easier. For detailed instructions on configuration and use of CUPS, see http://www.cups.org/documentation.php. The Software Administrators Manual and Software Users Manual are particularly useful.

During the install, cups created the startup file /etc/rc.d/init.d/cups. The file works, but you may want to change it to a more conventional LFS startup file:

cat > /etc/rc.d/init.d/cups << "EOF"

#!/bin/sh
# Begin $rc_base/init.d/cups

# Start or stop the CUPS server based upon the first argument to the script.

source /etc/sysconfig/rc
source $rc_functions

case $1 in
    start)
           echo "Starting CUPS Printserver..."
           loadproc /usr/sbin/cupsd
           ;;
    stop)
           echo "Stopping CUPS Printserver..."
           killproc cupsd
           ;;

    reload)
           echo "Reloading CUPS Printserver..."
           reloadproc /usr/sbin/cupsd
           ;;

    restart)
           $0 stop
           sleep 1
           $0 start
           ;;

    status)
           statusproc cupsd
           ;;

    *)
           echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|reload|restart|status}"
           exit 1
           ;;
esac

# End $rc_base/init.d/cups startup script.
EOF

The CUPS install also copies the initialization script to the /etc/rc.d/rc{0,2,3,5} directories. You may want to delete those files and add symbolic links to /etc/rc.d/init.d/cups.

Contents

CUPS provides:

/usr/sbin/lpc - line printer control program

/usr/sbin/cupsd - common unix printing system daemon

/usr/sbin/accept - accept jobs sent to a destination

/usr/sbin/reject - reject jobs sent to a destination

/usr/sbin/cupsaddsmb - export printers to samba for windows clients

/usr/sbin/lpadmin - configure cups printers and classes

/usr/sbin/lpinfo - show available devices or drivers

/usr/sbin/lpmove - move a job to a new destination

/usr/sbin/cupstestppd - test conformance of ppd files

/usr/bin/lpq - show printer queue status

/usr/bin/lpr - print files

/usr/bin/lprm - cancel print jobs

/usr/bin/cancel - cancel jobs

/usr/bin/disable - start printers and classes

/usr/bin/enable - start printers and classes

/usr/bin/lp - print files

/usr/bin/lpoptions - display or set printer options and defaults

/usr/bin/lpstat - print cups status information

/usr/bin/lppasswd - add, change, or delete digest passwords

/usr/bin/cups-config - get cups api, compiler, directory, and link information