IBM Advanced Function Printing (AFP)
Encyclopedia
Advanced Function Printing (AFP) is a document format originally defined by IBM to drive its printers and support the typical form printing on laser printers.
The original tool to produce this format and to drive the IBM printers was the so called PSF (Print Service Facility), which is still until today found in IBM mainframes. It is driven by the input data to be printed as well as the definitions on how to place the data on the page, the so called PAGEDEF and FORMDEF.
This service also allowed to have electronic forms to print on, named OVERLAYS.
PSF is not only able to format the documents, but also to drive AFP or, more precisely, IPDS printers. IPDS stands for Intelligent Print Data Stream. It is a bidirectional format where the software is constantly in control of the printer and knows at all times the status of the pages sent to the printer, making it convenient for high volume production printers, that print 100 pages or more within a minute.
IBM also offered the PSF software to drive the IPDS printers using the AFP format not only on the mainframe, but on all of the their platforms, so there were PSF/390 (for the OS/390 mainframe), PSF/6000 (for the RS/6000 AIX9), PSF/400 (for the AS/400) and PSF/2 running under OS/2. Unfortunately, all of these behaved slightly differently, and IBM renamed PSF then into InfoPrint Manager.
Included with the PSF tools is ACIF
(AFP Conversion and Indexing Facility) that allows to produce the AFP documents as a file in order to keep them and print them later, as well as adding and index to the document, very similar to Bookmarks in PDF, used for archiving purposes.
AFP originates in the mid 1980s, when storage space was still an expensive commodity, so it was designed to be very small, which is why still today it is a very popular format to manage high volumes of documents, such as in banking, telecommunication and insurance companies. The format originates from the MVS
environment, so it typically uses the EBCDIC
based codepages. As with all page description languages (like PostScript
, PDF, and PCL
), it is necessary to use a viewer in order to display the pages.
One of the more notable features of AFP printers is that output data can be placed at any addressable point on a page. This capability is called all points addressability (APA). APA
gives AFP prints the freedom to create output anywhere on a page, as opposed to being limited to just line and character positions.
The original tool to produce this format and to drive the IBM printers was the so called PSF (Print Service Facility), which is still until today found in IBM mainframes. It is driven by the input data to be printed as well as the definitions on how to place the data on the page, the so called PAGEDEF and FORMDEF.
This service also allowed to have electronic forms to print on, named OVERLAYS.
PSF is not only able to format the documents, but also to drive AFP or, more precisely, IPDS printers. IPDS stands for Intelligent Print Data Stream. It is a bidirectional format where the software is constantly in control of the printer and knows at all times the status of the pages sent to the printer, making it convenient for high volume production printers, that print 100 pages or more within a minute.
IBM also offered the PSF software to drive the IPDS printers using the AFP format not only on the mainframe, but on all of the their platforms, so there were PSF/390 (for the OS/390 mainframe), PSF/6000 (for the RS/6000 AIX9), PSF/400 (for the AS/400) and PSF/2 running under OS/2. Unfortunately, all of these behaved slightly differently, and IBM renamed PSF then into InfoPrint Manager.
Included with the PSF tools is ACIF
ACIF
ACIF stands for AFP Conversion and Indexing Facility.-Definition:AFP Conversion and Indexing Facility is a batch application development utility that lets you create documents by formatting line data , XML data, MO:DCA-P print files, and unformatted ASCII files and then print them with IBM...
(AFP Conversion and Indexing Facility) that allows to produce the AFP documents as a file in order to keep them and print them later, as well as adding and index to the document, very similar to Bookmarks in PDF, used for archiving purposes.
AFP originates in the mid 1980s, when storage space was still an expensive commodity, so it was designed to be very small, which is why still today it is a very popular format to manage high volumes of documents, such as in banking, telecommunication and insurance companies. The format originates from the MVS
MVS
Multiple Virtual Storage, more commonly called MVS, was the most commonly used operating system on the System/370 and System/390 IBM mainframe computers...
environment, so it typically uses the EBCDIC
EBCDIC
Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code is an 8-bit character encoding used mainly on IBM mainframe and IBM midrange computer operating systems....
based codepages. As with all page description languages (like PostScript
PostScript
PostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
, PDF, and PCL
Printer Command Language
Printer Command Language, more commonly referred to as PCL, is a page description language developed by Hewlett-Packard as a printer protocol and has become a de facto industry standard. Originally developed for early inkjet printers in 1984, PCL has been released in varying levels for thermal,...
), it is necessary to use a viewer in order to display the pages.
One of the more notable features of AFP printers is that output data can be placed at any addressable point on a page. This capability is called all points addressability (APA). APA
All Points Addressable
All Points Addressable , in the context of a video monitor, dot matrix or any display device consisting of a pixel array, refers to an arrangement bits or cells which can be individually manipulated, as opposed to rewriting the whole array every time a pixel changes.Generally, text modes are not...
gives AFP prints the freedom to create output anywhere on a page, as opposed to being limited to just line and character positions.