Ghostscript vs WeasyPrint

Overview

Ghostscript

Stacks12

Followers20

Votes0

WeasyPrint

Stacks38

Followers29

Votes0

GitHub Stars8.3K

Forks765

Ghostscript vs WeasyPrint: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Ghostscript and WeasyPrint are both tools that can be used to manipulate and convert documents, especially for use on the web. However, they have some key differences that set them apart from each other.

Supported File Formats: Ghostscript has a wider range of supported file formats compared to WeasyPrint. Ghostscript can handle PostScript, PDF, EPS, and many other formats, while WeasyPrint focuses primarily on CSS and HTML documents. This difference in supported file formats makes Ghostscript more versatile when it comes to document conversion and manipulation.
Command Line Interface: Ghostscript is primarily a command line tool, which means that it can be used in automated environments and integrated into scripts. On the other hand, WeasyPrint provides a Python library that can be integrated into web applications and used programmatically. This difference in interface makes Ghostscript more suitable for automated conversions and WeasyPrint more suitable for web development scenarios.
Rendering Engine: Ghostscript uses its own rendering engine to convert and manipulate documents, while WeasyPrint relies on the underlying web browser engine, such as Gecko or WebKit. This difference in rendering engine can lead to variations in how documents are rendered and formatted by the two tools. Ghostscript's rendering engine may provide more control and reliability in certain scenarios, while WeasyPrint's reliance on web browser engines allows for better support of advanced web features.
License: Ghostscript is released under the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL), which means that any modifications or custom versions of the tool must also be released under AGPL. WeasyPrint, on the other hand, is released under the BSD license, which allows for more flexibility in how the tool is used and customized. This difference in license can have implications for developers who want to create custom versions or integrate the tools into their own projects.
Community and Support: Ghostscript has been around for many years and has a large and active community of users and contributors. This means that there are many online resources, forums, and tutorials available for help and support. WeasyPrint, although it also has a community of users, might not have the same level of resources and support available. This difference in community and support can be a factor to consider when choosing between the two tools.
Platform Compatibility: Ghostscript is widely available and can run on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. WeasyPrint, being a Python library, can also run on multiple platforms, but might require additional dependencies and configurations. This difference in platform compatibility can affect how easy it is to install and use the tools on different systems.

In Summary, Ghostscript and WeasyPrint differ in terms of supported file formats, command line interface, rendering engine, license, community support, and platform compatibility. These differences can impact the usability and suitability of the tools for different use cases.

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Advice on Ghostscript, WeasyPrint

Cesar

Jun 24, 2020

Needs advice

Users are uploading huge PDF files of more than 100MB on our platform. We are creating several tools to manage those files, but keeping the raw file will eat up space, as we are handling several of them. After upload, they will be mainly keep stored for future use.

I am looking for a tool to compress and optimize those PDFs, like a library or an external API that can process that for us.

Thanks

20.8k views20.8k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Ghostscript	WeasyPrint
It is a suite of software based on an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and PDF page description languages. Its main purposes are the rasterization or rendering of such page description language files.	It is a visual rendering engine for HTML and CSS that can export to PDF. It aims to support web standards for printing. It is free software made available under a BSD license.
-	URLS; PDF; HTML; Fonts; CSS
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 8.3K
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 765
Stacks 12	Stacks 38
Followers 20	Followers 29
Votes 0	Votes 0
Integrations
PHP Ruby Java	Python Heroku Zapier Dropbox Windows Linux DocGen macOS

What are some alternatives to Ghostscript, WeasyPrint?

DocRaptor

DocRaptor makes it easy to convert HTML to PDF and XLS format. Choose your document format, select configuration options and make an HTTP POST request to our server. DocRaptor returns your file in a matter of seconds. We provide extensive documentation and examples to get you started, and our API makes it easy to use DocRaptor to generate PDF and Excel files in your own web applications.

Pandoc

It is a free and open-source document converter, widely used as a writing tool and as a basis for publishing workflows. It converts files from one markup format into another. It can convert documents in (several dialects of) Markdown, reStructuredText, textile, HTML, DocBook, LaTeX, MediaWiki markup, TWiki and many more.

Inkfluence AI

Plan, write, and publish books, PDF guides, workbooks, and audiobooks with AI workflows. Customize branding and export instantly.

Reliable PDF API

PDFGate offers a fast and reliable PDF API for developers. Create, process, and manage PDFs at scale with simple, powerful tools.

2dto3D

Upload any image and get a downloadable 3D model in minutes. AI-powered image to 3D conversion with professional quality GLB files. Built by people who actually use 3D tools.

Pixellize

Fast & free online image converter and editor. Resize, compress, and transform images easily with no sign-up required.

PDF.js

It is a Portable Document Format (PDF) viewer that is built with HTML5. It is community-driven and supported by Mozilla Labs. The goal is to create a general-purpose, web standards-based platform for parsing and rendering PDFs.

Typ

It is a simple typesetting application. Turn plain Markdown into a formatted PDF, ready for print. Focus on content, not formatting.

pdfmake

pdfmake, client/server side PDF printing in pure JavaScript.

wkhtmltopdf

wkhtmltopdf and wkhtmltoimage are command line tools to render HTML into PDF and various image formats using the QT Webkit rendering engine. These run entirely "headless" and do not require a display or display service.

Related Comparisons

Ghostscript vs WeasyPrint: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Supported File Formats: Ghostscript has a wider range of supported file formats compared to WeasyPrint. Ghostscript can handle PostScript, PDF, EPS, and many other formats, while WeasyPrint focuses primarily on CSS and HTML documents. This difference in supported file formats makes Ghostscript more versatile when it comes to document conversion and manipulation.
Command Line Interface: Ghostscript is primarily a command line tool, which means that it can be used in automated environments and integrated into scripts. On the other hand, WeasyPrint provides a Python library that can be integrated into web applications and used programmatically. This difference in interface makes Ghostscript more suitable for automated conversions and WeasyPrint more suitable for web development scenarios.
Rendering Engine: Ghostscript uses its own rendering engine to convert and manipulate documents, while WeasyPrint relies on the underlying web browser engine, such as Gecko or WebKit. This difference in rendering engine can lead to variations in how documents are rendered and formatted by the two tools. Ghostscript's rendering engine may provide more control and reliability in certain scenarios, while WeasyPrint's reliance on web browser engines allows for better support of advanced web features.
License: Ghostscript is released under the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL), which means that any modifications or custom versions of the tool must also be released under AGPL. WeasyPrint, on the other hand, is released under the BSD license, which allows for more flexibility in how the tool is used and customized. This difference in license can have implications for developers who want to create custom versions or integrate the tools into their own projects.
Community and Support: Ghostscript has been around for many years and has a large and active community of users and contributors. This means that there are many online resources, forums, and tutorials available for help and support. WeasyPrint, although it also has a community of users, might not have the same level of resources and support available. This difference in community and support can be a factor to consider when choosing between the two tools.
Platform Compatibility: Ghostscript is widely available and can run on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. WeasyPrint, being a Python library, can also run on multiple platforms, but might require additional dependencies and configurations. This difference in platform compatibility can affect how easy it is to install and use the tools on different systems.

Ghostscript vs WeasyPrint

Overview