[scribus] batch mode option for scribus a la gimp script-fu-server

[Farid Elyahyaoui]

not sure whether this mail got through so trying again.


Hi all,

I saw that there is a long standing feature request for a command line
version of Scribus to be able to create pdf's in a batch mode
(http://bugs.scribus.net/view.php?id=238). Our company now has a student that
could invest a couple of months development time in such a feature. What we
are thinking of is something like gimp's script-fu-server.
see:
http://www.linux-mag.com/id/973
http://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-filters-script-fu.html
and
  http://net-fu.sourceforge.net/

In short: with script-fu-server you can write command's to a unix port which
is read by gimp and executed.
The idea is to extend scribus such that it can read (python?) commands from a
port which will be executed. Scribus should be started with a new command
line option:
scribus --batch 10008

the integer is the port number from where the commands are read.
Additionally we could add a "--no-interface" option to stop the gui from
being shown and also switch of rendering of the document to speed up things.
(An alternative would be to start scribus with the display set to a virtual
display using Xvfb.)

I would appreciate it if someone from the development team could give us
hints about :
-would such a modification be possible within a couple of weeks time-frame?
-where in the code we should make these modifications.?
-what are the pitfalls? (thread safety etc. although we would be happy if
scripts could be executed one at a time)
-could someone from the development team be reachable in case of questions?
(i'll be the mentor of the student myself but need someone for complex
questions to contact)

Thanks in advance,
Farid

   About your Scribus program:
     Version: 1.3.7svn
     Prebuilt/Compiled: Prebuilt
     Build Date:
   Your operating system and CPU:
     Type: Linux
     Version: opensuse 10.1
     CPU type: 32bit (Intel/AMD - i386)
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