Printing device, printing method, and program product therefor

Abstract

Diverse initiator modules, member modules, and terminator modules are provided to actualize various functionalities of a printer in various combinations of these modules. A data processing path controller DPC arranges a sequence of plural modules to execute a selected printing process. Each module is not informed of the structures of the other modules in combination or the details of the processing executed by the other modules. Each module that allows a relevant module to read data therefrom and each module that allows a relevant module to write data therein are designed to respectively have a specific function for the data reading and a specific function for the data writing. In response to a call from the data processing path controller DPC, these modules transfer pointers of the corresponding functions to the individual relevant modules and accordingly allow the individual relevant modules to read data therefrom and write data therein. This arrangement of the invention ensures consistency of an additional functionality, which is to be newly incorporated in the printer, with multiple existing functionalities.