Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!henry From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: net.text Subject: Re: DVI question Message-ID: <4755@utzoo.UUCP> Date: Sat, 8-Dec-84 21:10:05 EST Article-I.D.: utzoo.4755 Posted: Sat Dec 8 21:10:05 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 8-Dec-84 21:10:05 EST References: <256@zinfandel.UUCP>, <1671@umcp-cs.UUCP> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 22 > They are most emphatically *not* the same. DiTroff's ``device > independent'' output is different for each device; I think it's > misnamed; it should be called ``device specific'' output. ... > > TeX's output is precisely the same for every device; in fact, TeX > itself doesn't care *what* device will eventually be used. ... I hate to tell you this, but even TeX has to care about the output device. Things like character widths affect line breaks, and widths are seldom the same from one device to another. The use of device- independent units of measurement is a red herring; the quality of the output is still going to be poor if the formatter has the wrong idea about what device the stuff is headed for. This does not alter the answer to the original question: while both formatters use an intermediate code whose *format* is device-independent (although its contents aren't), the two formats are related only in intent. They're not the same. Anyone who claims they are has probably gotten confused over the similar terminology. -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry