gsnd

gsnd [options] [file ...]

-sSOUNDDEVICE=device_name
    Specifies the name of the sound device to use for audio output. This allows directing the PostScript-generated sound to a particular hardware or virtual audio interface.

[generic Ghostscript options]
    gsnd supports many of the standard options available for the main Ghostscript interpreter (gs). These options can control aspects like memory allocation, debugging output, error handling, and other interpreter-specific behaviors.

[file ...]
    One or more PostScript language files to be interpreted. If no files are specified, gsnd reads the PostScript code from standard input (stdin).

gsnd is an obscure and largely deprecated utility, historically associated with early versions of Ghostscript and the X Window System. Its primary purpose was to interpret PostScript code and generate sound output from it directly to an available sound device. This functionality allowed PostScript programs to describe and control sound generation, leveraging PostScript's capabilities as a versatile page description language. However, it is not a standard or commonly available Linux command in modern distributions, and its specialized functionality has been largely superseded by contemporary audio APIs and toolkits. It typically reads PostScript input from named files or standard input, processing it to produce audio output. Its relevance is primarily historical, showcasing early attempts at direct software-controlled audio synthesis from programmatic descriptions.

gsnd is an extremely niche and largely obsolete command. It is not part of standard modern Linux distributions and its functionality for interpreting PostScript directly to sound is rarely, if ever, used today. Its availability is limited to very old or specialized systems, and modern audio APIs and tools offer far more flexible and robust ways to handle sound and audio programming. Users looking for sound playback or generation capabilities in modern Linux environments should use tools like aplay, sox, or programming libraries for audio.

gsnd emerged as a component during the early development of Ghostscript and the X Window System. It represents a historical approach to audio synthesis, leveraging the descriptive power of PostScript. Its development dates back to a period (likely the 1990s) when direct hardware interaction and low-level system programming were more common for specialized multimedia tasks, preceding the widespread adoption of standardized, high-level audio APIs like ALSA or PulseAudio. It has not seen active development or widespread use for many decades, remaining largely a curiosity in computing history.

gs(1), aplay(1), sox(1)