[sane-devel] new SANE hpoj backend

[David Paschal]

Henning Meier-Geinitz wrote:
> Could you add a version number in brackets like "(0.12)"? This is the
> usual way to make clear that the backend is nor included in the SANE
> distribution. Wouldn't it be better to add the names of all currently
> supported scanners as it was done in the hp backend? Quite some users
> just search for their Scanners name and may not find it easily (or
> doen't even know that it's a "multifunction pheriphal").
Hi, Henning.  I was hoping for a fairly generic entry with links to my
project's main and supported-devices pages to get more specific information.
I update my website whenever new models come out or whenever I release a
new version of the software, and those events tend not to be synchronized
with SANE releases, which is when the SANE supported-devices page is
updated from the information in the latest .desc files.  If hpoj.desc
were more specific, then there would be periods of time when the web
version of it would be stale.  I noticed that several other backends'
entries also lack a version number, so it certainly isn't alone.  :-)
How about if I put something like "(external)" for the version?  For the
model field, I could be more specific about the names of supported product
lines, such as "Most HP OfficeJet, LaserJet, and PSC multi-function
peripherals", which, although more verbose, might catch people's attention
better, and then they could click on the link to see exactly which models
were supported at that time.

Michael Piotrowski wrote:
> I guess it boils down to how you define
> the various device types.  I'd say that for SANE, a "multi-function
> device" could be defined as a device that implements a scanner and
> (optionally) other functions, which might include other ways for
> capturing images (e.g., fax).
Even that might be problematic for my situation.  Some HP MFPs also have
photo-card readers; some of these (PSC 950, OfficeJet D series) have
scanners, while others (PhotoSmart printers) do not, but I would still
consider them multi-function since they can also print (and they use
more or less the same storage protocols).  I'm considering eventually
either adding a photo-card-reader source to the hpoj backend (along with
a fax-receive source) or writing a gPhoto2 backend, and for the former
case your definition of "multi-function" wouldn't be quite accurate.
(FWIW currently I have photo-card access through mtools, but I'm looking
to provide additional interface choices.)

David