IPP Attributes

For each object instance, there is a set of supported attributes and values that describes a specific implementation of that object.

An object's attributes and values include the following information about that object:

• State

• Capabilities

• Features

• Job processing functions

• Default behaviors

• Default characteristics

Each attribute that defines an object is included in a set. This set of attributes for a specific object includes all of the attributes that the object could potentially support. For attributes that are labeled as REQUIRED, each object must support the attribute. If an attribute is labeled OPTIONAL, then each object may support the attribute.

Printer attributes are divided in to two groups:

job-template

These attributes describe the supported job processing capabilities and defaults for the Printer object.

printer-description

These attributes include identification, state, location, and references to other sources of information about the Printer object.

Examples of configurations that support a Printer object include the following:

• Output device with no spooling capabilities

• Output device with a built-in spooler

• Print server that supports IPP, with one or more associated output devices where the following applies:

  • Might or might not be capable of spooling jobs

  • Might or might not support IPP

The characteristics of a Job object are also described by its attributes.

Job attributes are grouped into two groups:

• job-template – These attributes are supplied by you or the print client. The attributes include job processing instructions that are intended to override any Printer object defaults or instructions that might be embedded within the document data.

• job-description – These attributes include the following information about the Job object:

  • Identification

  • State

  • Size

Note that the print client supplies some of these attributes, while the Printer object generates others. An implementation can support multiple documents per Job object, but it must support at least one document per Job object.

In IPP, Version 1.0 and Version 1.1, a document is not modeled as an IPP object. Therefore, the document has no object identifier or associated attributes. All job processing instruction are modeled as Job object attributes. These attributes are called Job Template attributes. These attributes apply equally to all documents within a Job object.

IPP objects have relationships that are maintain persistently along with the persistent storage of the object attributes.

For task related information, see Setting Up the Internet Printing Protocol and Administering Printers by Using the Internet Printing Protocol (Task Map).