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Subject: dvi.ps
Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2020 16:50:58 -0700
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I have some questions about use of TeX with PostScript. One of my
questions is if there is a way to automatically decide which METAFONT
mode is needed based on the contents of the page device dictionary? (I
can add a command-line argument to override this and specify it by
yourself instead, but a default should also be needed. I can also add a
command-line argument to not render any text on the page; this can be
used if you want to render the text using a separate program.) Of course
resolution can be figured easily enough, and that can be used for the
purpose of pixel rounding and other purposes (and also to find .pk files
with the extension given the resolution, if you are just given a directory
name rather than using kpsewhich).

My intention is mainly that TeX can be used for text, and then you can
use PostScript for diagrams, but you could also use PostScript codes to
decide how the DVI file is processed in other ways too.

For a diagram, you could for example write \special{(fig1.ps) run} in your
TeX file, and then when that special is encountered, it will execute the
contents of the PostScript file fig1.ps, which presumably draws a diagram
(and it would have access to any fonts used in the document; in addition
to the TeX fonts, the diagram could also use PostScript fonts if wanted;
furthermore, if you needed to pass other information from TeX, then you
could add that to the beginning of the special text so that they will be
on the operand stack and available for the PostScript code to use).

When I have something, then I will post it, although my initial question
still stands; I want to know if it is even possible to determine it
automatically in this way (assuming that you used -sDEVICE= to select the
proper kind of output device that you are using). (If not, then it isn't
too bad; I can just require it to be specified manually, which I would
allow even if automatic is possible too, anyways.)

(Note that I use Plain TeX; I do not use LaTeX.)

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