From owner-freebsd-questions  Wed Jul 19 19:25:50 1995
Return-Path: questions-owner
Received: (from majordom@localhost)
          by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.11/8.6.6) id TAA03394
          for questions-outgoing; Wed, 19 Jul 1995 19:25:50 -0700
Received: from genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au (genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au [129.127.96.120])
          by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.11/8.6.6) with ESMTP id TAA03385
          for <questions@freebsd.org>; Wed, 19 Jul 1995 19:25:47 -0700
Received: from msmith@localhost by genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au (8.6.9/8.6.9) id MAA09714; Thu, 20 Jul 1995 12:08:48 +0930
From: Michael Smith <msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au>
Message-Id: <199507200238.MAA09714@genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au>
Subject: Re: FreeeBSD 2.0.5 (fwd)
To: jackson@cs.odu.edu (Hal Jackson)
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 1995 12:08:47 +0930 (CST)
Cc: questions@freebsd.org
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.90.950719133851.503A-100000@flashflood.cs.odu.edu> from "Hal Jackson" at Jul 19, 95 01:40:01 pm
Content-Type: text
Content-Length: 1273      
Sender: questions-owner@freebsd.org
Precedence: bulk

Hal Jackson stands accused of saying:
> 
> 
> Can you help with a FreeBSD 2.0.5 printing issue?
> 
> I can't figure out why /dev/lp
> is needed by lpr. The device file is not created by installing, nor
> by running /dev/MAKEDEV, nor is it even on the "live filesystem" CD #2
> in the CD package.

/dev/lp is the "default" BSD printer device.  It's often installed as
a symbolic link to the "real" printer device.

> How would one go about using lpr/lp? I have a valid printcap and all;
> lpr -Pcanon produces valid output (my printer name is "canon").

If you want to make the canon the default printer, add "lp" to the 
list of names in its printcap entry.

> I tried to see if lpd could use a different device file, but it insists
> on /dev/lp, which doesn't seem to exist.

You're possibly being confused by "lp", the name of the default printer,
and "/dev/lp", the default printer device.

-- 
]] Mike Smith, Software Engineer        msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au    [[
]] Genesis Software                     genesis@atrad.adelaide.edu.au   [[
]] High-speed data acquisition and                                      [[
]] realtime instrument control          (ph/fax) +61-8-267-3039         [[
]] My car has "demand start" - Terry Lambert                            [[