Using the Library
Working with XpdfPS
The XpdfPS library uses an opaque handle (typePDFHandle
) to represent a PDF file. Multiple PDF files
can be open simultaneously (each with its own handle).
Any program that uses the library must include the XpdfPS header file:
Using XpdfPS in a multithreaded application
In a multithreaded application, thepdfInitLibrary
function must
be called before any other functions are called. Unlike in
single-thread applications where this is optional, the
pdfInitLibrary
call is required in multithreaded
applications. Each PDF handle must be used by only one thread. Given
that constraint, all XpdfPS functions (other than
pdfInitLibrary
) are thread-safe.
Compiling & linking on Windows
The XpdfPS library is supplied as a DLL (XpdfPS.dll
)
and an import library (XpdfPS.lib
).
The following instructions are for Microsoft Visual C++ 6. Similar steps should work for other development environments.
- Add the include file directory: in the "Project Settings" dialog,
under the "C/C++" tab, in the "Preprocessor" category, add the library
include file directory (
....\XpdfPS\include
). - Add the import library: in the "Project Settings" dialog, under
the "Link" tab, in the "General" category, add the library
(
....\XpdfPS\lib\XpdfPS.lib
). - Either add the library directory (
....\XpdfPS\lib
) to your executable search path, or copyXpdfPS.dll
into the same directory as your application's executable.
Compiling & linking on Linux
The XpdfPS library is supplied as a shared library (libXpdfPS.so
).
When compiling C or C++ code that uses the XpdfPS library, you'll
need to supply a "-I
" flag pointing to the directory
containing the XpdfPS includes. When linking, you'll need to supply
a "-L
" flag pointing to the directory containing the
XpdfPS library, and a "-lXpdfPS
" flag to link with
the library.
Before running the application, make sure that the XpdfPS
library directory is on the library search path. This this can be
done either by setting the LD_LIBRARY_PATH
environment
variable or by editing the system-wide /etc/ld.so.conf
configuration file.
Compiling & linking on Mac OS X
Using XpdfPS on OS X is very similar to using it on Linux. The shared library has a different extension (libXpdfPS.dylib
), and you'll need to set
the DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH
environment variable.
Example code
The XpdfPS library distribution includes two sample programs,getPDFInfo.c
and getAllPDFInfo.c
, located in
the examples
directory. These programs demonstrate the
use of the various XpdfPS functions.
To build on Linux, edit the included Makefile and set the
XPDFLIBDIR
, XPDFINCDIR
, and LIB
variables according to the instructions inside the Makefile. Then run
"make
".
To build on Windows, create a Visual C++ project, as described above.