Print Spooler (lp) Feature TransitionFuture Solaris releases will replace the SVR4 print spooler (lp). A new distributed print spooling capability will be provided in its place. The new spooler will be upwardly compatible with existing commands, and the existing print spooler will continue to be supported until it is replaced.
The printing commands specified in the SVID (lp, lpstat, cancel) will continue to be supported. In addition, some of the other minor lp interfaces will be available to provide compatability with the new spooler. However, compatability with the other lp interfaces will be discontinued. Applications should use the interfaces specified in the SVID to ensure continued operation during the transition.
The BSD compatability interfaces that are currently provided (lpr, lprm, lpq) will continue to be supported in future releases. The SVR4 printing protocol will no longer be supported. The BSD protocol will be used for printing interoperability with existing Solaris systems and other SVR4-based systems. To simplify the transition, customers are advised to configure clients of Solaris 2.x based print servers as if the print server was a BSD system.