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The document provides an overview of Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF), highlighting its role as a standard for reliable and platform-independent document representation. It outlines the structure of a PDF file, which includes a header, body, cross-reference table, and trailer, and emphasizes the importance of understanding the PDF format for dynamic document generation. Additionally, it mentions the open standard maintained by ISO and references the official specification and Adobe's comprehensive guide.

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8 views1 page

Annotation Import

The document provides an overview of Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF), highlighting its role as a standard for reliable and platform-independent document representation. It outlines the structure of a PDF file, which includes a header, body, cross-reference table, and trailer, and emphasizes the importance of understanding the PDF format for dynamic document generation. Additionally, it mentions the open standard maintained by ISO and references the official specification and Adobe's comprehensive guide.

Uploaded by

0fcx9
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PDF Succinctly

Introduction

Adobe Systems Incorporated's Portable Document Format (PDF) is the de facto


standard for the accurate, reliable, and platform-independent representation of a
paged document. It's the only universally accepted file format that allows pixel-perfect
layouts. In addition, PDF supports user interaction and collaborative workflows that
are not possible with printed documents.

PDF documents have been in widespread use for years, and dozens of free and
commercial PDF readers, editors, and libraries are readily available. However, despite
this popularity, it's still difficult to find a succinct guide to the native PDF format.
Understanding the internal workings of a PDF makes it possible to dynamically
generate PDF documents. For example, a web server can extract information from a
database, use it to customize an invoice, and serve it to the customer on the fly.

The PDF Standard

The PDF format is an open standard maintained by the International Organization for
Standardization. The official specification is defined in ISO 32000-1:2008, but Adobe
also provides a free, comprehensive guide called PDF Reference, Sixth Edition,
version 1.7.

Chapter 1 Conceptual Overview


We'll begin with a conceptual overview of a simple PDF document. This chapter is
designed to be a brief orientation before diving in and creating a real document from
scratch.
A PDF file can be divided into four parts: a header, body, cross-reference table, and
trailer. The header marks the file as a PDF, the body defines the visible document, the
cross-reference table lists the location of everything in the file, and the trailer provides
instructions for how to start reading the file.

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