1PostScript

1PostScript is not an official standard in its own right; the term is sometimes used informally to refer to PostScript Level 1, the original version of the PostScript page description language developed by Adobe Systems in the 1980s. Because there is no widely recognized specification named "1PostScript," most sources treat it as a casual reference to the first generation of PostScript features and limitations.

PostScript itself is a stack-based, postfix programming language that describes page content for printers. It combines programming constructs with a page description; programs can define graphics, text, and images that are rendered by an interpreter in the printer or in software. In Level 1, the language provides basic graphics operators such as moveto, lineto, curveto, closepath, newpath, stroke, and fill, as well as clipping and simple path construction. It uses a graphics state including the current transformation matrix, line width, color, and font selection. Text is drawn with operators that place strings at current coordinates, while coordinates and transformations govern the layout.

Historically significant, Level 1 formed the foundation for PostScript-based printing in the late 1980s, notably in Apple’s LaserWriter. It was later expanded in Level 2 and Level 3 to support more sophisticated imaging, color handling, and data types. Although largely superseded in modern workflows by PDF, PostScript Level 1 remains relevant for understanding the origins of printer languages and the design of device-independent page descriptions.