Overview
ISO/IEC 10175-2:1996 - "Information technology - Text and office systems - Document Printing Application (DPA) - Part 2: Protocol specification" defines the access protocol for the Document Printing Application (DPA). It specifies the abstract syntax of the DPA access protocol, how that protocol implements the DPA abstract service (defined in Part 1), the mapping of DPA operations onto underlying OSI services, and the conformance requirements for implementers. The standard targets distributed office environments where electronic documents are sent to shared or geographically dispersed printers and print-servers.
Key Topics and Requirements
- Abstract syntax definition: Formal specification of DPA protocol elements used to express printing requests, queries and job control.
- Protocol model: How the DPA abstract-service is realized between application entities (AEs) in an OSI environment using presentation services.
- Use of underlying service elements: Concrete realization described using:
- ROSE (Remote Operations Service Element - ISO/IEC 9072) for request/reply operations
- RTSE (Reliable Transfer Service Element - ISO/IEC 9066) for reliable transfer
- ACSE (Association Control Service Element - ISO/IEC 8649) for association management
- Mapping rules: Specification of how DPA operations map to ROSE/RTSE/ACSE primitives and ASN.1 abstract-syntax encodings (referenced standards such as ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825).
- Conformance criteria: Statements, static and dynamic requirements for implementations to claim conformance with the DPA access protocol.
- Interoperability focus: Support for arbitrary document formats, with special orientation to SPDL (ISO/IEC 10180) for faithful rendering.
Applications and Who Uses It
- Printer and print-server vendors implement ISO/IEC 10175-2 to provide standardized network print services and ensure interoperability in distributed office systems.
- Software developers of print management, job-scheduling, and enterprise document workflow solutions use the protocol mapping and abstract syntax to integrate with compliant devices.
- System integrators and network architects apply the standard when designing multi-vendor printing environments, shared printing services, or geographically distributed document production workflows.
- Standards bodies and test labs use the conformance rules to validate implementations and certify interoperability.
Related Standards
Keywords: ISO/IEC 10175-2:1996, Document Printing Application, DPA access protocol, protocol specification, ROSE, ACSE, RTSE, SPDL, print-server, ASN.1, conformance, distributed office.