Information Presentation Facility
| Company type | Software platform |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software |
| Products | IPF markup language, IPF Compiler (IPFC) |
Information Presentation Facility (IPF) is a platform designed for delivering online help and hypertext content on IBM OS/2 operating systems, also denoting the markup syntax employed to author IPF materials. Derived from IBM's BookMaster and the Generalized Markup Language, IPF shares similarities with HTML 3.0 but incorporates enhanced capabilities. This flexibility enables document creation using almost any word processing software. The language comprises 45 fundamental commands.
The IPF Compiler (IPFC) transforms IPF source files into INF or HLP formats, which differ from the WinHelp files utilized in Microsoft Windows. OS/2 provides a native viewer for these files, while additional viewers exist for other platforms.
Example 1 - IBM
An illustration of IPF markup from IBM's Information Presentation Facility Programming Guide:
.* This is a comment line
:userdoc.
:title.Endangered Mammals
:h1 res=001. The Manatee
:p.
The manatee features a wide, flat tail and two forelegs resembling flippers. It lacks hind legs.
Its large upper lip is divided into two parts, functioning like fingers to guide food into the mouth.
Bristly hairs extend from the lips, and small eyes, nearly concealed within its skin, offer limited vision.
:euserdoc.
Example 2 - PM123 User's Manual
:lm margin=2.:font facename=Helv size=24x10. :p.:hp8.Welcome to PM123 !:ehp8. :font facename=Helv size=16x8. :p.:p. Greetings and welcome to the realm of digital audio on OS/2. You have selected the premier MPEG-audio player available for OS/2! PM123 has been under development since early 1997 and stands as the most sophisticated player on this platform. New functionalities include: .br :ul compact. :li. Additional skin options for extensive personalization. :li. A graphical :hp2.equalizer:ehp2., featuring pre-amplification and band mute controls. :li. Plugin support, including :hp2.spectrum analyzer:ehp2. and :hp2.oscilloscope:ehp2.. :li. :hp2.Playlist Manager:ehp2. to simplify playlist handling. :li. Improved HTTP streaming compatibility with URL and M3U playlists. :li. Recursive addition of directories. :li. Command-line interface and remote control support. :li. Various overall enhancements to the player. :eul. .br .br :p.
IPF Usage Status
Although IPF continues to be utilized in the most recent iteration of OS/2, ArcaOS, its use outside this environment is uncommon. Several applications facilitate reading or authoring IPF documents:
- HTMIPF: Tool converting HTML into IPF
- HyperMake: Documentation generator supporting multiple formats
- IPF Editor: Commercial editing software
- UDO: Open source tool for generating documentation in various formats
- VyperHelp: Open source editor and converter for IPF
- The documentation generator (fpdoc) included with Free Pascal can also produce OS/2 IPF files
Help Viewers
- The original VIEW.EXE program designed for OS/2
- NewView v2.x, an open-source initiative with its source code hosted at Netlabs
- The IDE of Free Pascal supports multiple help file formats, including the INF format native to OS/2
- The fpGUI Toolkit features DocView, an INF file viewer initially adapted from NewView v2.x; INF serves as the official help documentation format for the fpGUI Toolkit
- Resources and documentation about the INF/HLP file format provided by Marcus Gröber