Adobe InDesign CS Development (1)

Adobe InDesign software is based on a new open object-oriented architecture that can be highly scalable, thus greatly optimizing the development cycle and enabling Adobe to quickly launch the platform. The open system establishes a core that third-party developers and system integrators can provide custom magazines, advertising designs, catalogs, retailer design studios, and newspaper publishing programs.

Adobe InDesign is a brand-new, announced program for art typography, provided to image designers, product packers, and prepress specialists. InDesign contains hundreds of features that have been brought up to a new level, covering creativity, precision, and control over features not found in many of today's publishing software.

Adobe InDesign integrates several key technologies, including image, font, print, and color management technologies that are now owned by all Adobe professional software. Through these programs Adobe provides the industry's first ability to achieve consistent screen and print capabilities. In addition, Adobe InDesign also includes support for Adobe PDF, allowing digital works based on PDF.

Adobe InDesign is Adobe's professional desktop publishing software and was once known as the "Quark killer." How much do you know about this software's R&D background? Here's a brief introduction to the whole process of InDesign from concept formation to product development.

When Adobe acquired Aldus in 1994, one of its main goals was to introduce a typesetting software on its product line. This software should be able to create a complex layout of text and images, the layout is beautiful, stylish, clear images. It should be the cornerstone of the publishing revolution. Prior to 1994, Adobe had no such software, which was inconsistent with its leading position in the industry.

David Prati, president and chief operating officer of Adobe’s former application software division, admits: “Our acquisition of Aldus is mainly to get a typesetting software.” In addition to the best-selling software PageMaker from Aldus, Adobe also learned that There are many details that should be known in the graphic arts and publishing process to better work with Adobe's other applications, such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and of course, Acrobat first.

However, there is a problem that is facing: PageMaker is not Adobe's solution.

PageMaker is a solid piece of software, but the world ignores it. Professional designers and high-end equipment companies have long distanced PageMaker from using QuarkXPress. Quark's QuarkXPress has already won customers, including the world's largest publishers. The software has features such as easy operation and accurate control of typesetting, and the architecture is extensible, allowing users to set their own software according to their needs. The actual situation of publishing and typesetting is also changing. With the rise of the Web, every page that is well-arranged for printing and publishing usually needs to be made into a page that can be published on the Web; this requires the use of other software and technologies, and requires the same amount of labor. . Professional content creators are looking for a piece of software that allows them to use their own image library and easily transition from one medium to another - also known as "transmedial publishing." This is very different from the publishing industry that PageMaker was born.

Unfortunately, PageMaker is almost impossible to recapture high-end users. PageMaker's technological foundation is old and dilapidated. Since 1990, PageMaker's core code has barely been modified. Since PageMaker's architecture does not support seamless links with add-ons, new features have to be added to the software in a grafting fashion. Over time, add-ons are often written in different programming styles, which makes PageMaker a software tower. If you change one of the software's errors (not to mention adding a new feature), it is possible that the rest of the software is not functioning properly. From a software perspective, no one knows which parts of PageMaker are still working. The software engineers that first improved PageMaker left Aldus before the merger and it was impossible to revisit what they did in this software.

Warlock commented that PageMaker said: "It's the underlying code is confusing. It's difficult to modify any part." In order for PageMaker to compete with QuarkXPress to meet the ever-changing needs of the market, Adobe will need to comprehensively trim PageMaker. , or even re-register a trademark. It may be easier to push it down and rewrite the code. (Note: Warlock was one of the founders of Adobe Systems, and in 1982, he co-founded Adobe with Jessica.)

As early as 1990, a technical team at Aldus had begun secretly working for the next generation of PageMaker. The seven-person team considered in-depth one question: If you start again from scratch, what would you expect from PageMaker? They have expanded the software's framework structure, which is more scalable than its opponents provide. QuarkXPress allows specific features to be added to the software as plug-ins -- Quark calls XTensions -- but the large code blocks used by the core program make the plug-in less flexible to collaborate with. The design philosophy of PageMaker's next-generation version is to make the entire software out of the modular architecture, which makes it easier to add, remove, or update certain features.
Because PageMaker's R&D team is often dispatched to other parts of the company to “guide the work,” they have never had the opportunity to practice ideas at Aldus. However, a large group of technical personnel on Adobe's side, including Volkor, took a look at the software that was still under development before it merged with Aldus in 1994. What they were seeing was deeply intriguing. It was clear that Adobe had to obtain this unfinished software and developer and eventually develop it. At the time, PageMaker could play a role in market share until the new typesetting software was ready. However, this phase takes much longer than expected.

(to be continued)