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write a CUPS backend - generate PS

Hi,

In our workflow we want to start from a file with a certain file format (e.g. a word document) and transform it to a PostScript file, which we will then transform to a PDF file by using Acrobat Distiller (Acrobat Distiller will be called by using Apple Events).
So we don't want to generate a printed paper but we want a pdf which we get by converting the postscript file.

As a newbie to CUPS, I have some questions about the use of CUPS on Mac OS X.

I suppose that the transformation from a certain fileformat to PS will be handled by the filters of CUPS and that we just need to write a backend. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
I wrote a small shell script and installed it in /usr/libexec/cups/backend. I tried to execute it from the command line and then I have he following problem:
$DEVICE_URI
is not specified, and it is not clear to me how this $DEVICE_URI should be known.

I also know that a printer should be added (I tried it on http://localhost:631/printers).
I thought I had to make a printer which had a device uri that starts with "file:" as I want to transform the input to a ps (and not a pdf or something else), but I didn't found how to do it.

So for the moment it is not very clear to me where exactly I need to start.

My questions are
- With which device uri do I have to add a printer? Do I need to change things in the /etc/cups directory?
- How must we make it clear that we want to generate a PS file from the given input file?
- What settings are needed so that when I print, my backend is activated?
- What must be done to activate the filters for transforming the file to a PostScript file?

Please can you give me some help for my problem?

Thanks,
Leen
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