Re: dvi.ps

From	Peter Flynn <peter@silmaril.ie>
Newsgroups	comp.text.tex, comp.lang.postscript
Subject	Re: dvi.ps
Date	2020-06-05 22:53 +0100
Message-ID	<hjvt67Fu5pfU1@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References	<1591312531.bystand@zzo38computer.org>

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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On 05/06/2020 00:50, news@zzo38computer.org.invalid wrote:
> 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?

The METAFONT mode is used with Type 3 (bitmap) fonts to specify how many 
dots per inch (horizontally and vertically) are needed for the current 
output device (ie phototypesetter, graphic display terminal, etc). If a 
Type 3 font (in METAFONT terms, a .mf file creating a .gf file) is 
needed and a bitmap (a .nnnnpk file) does not yet exist for the 
requested resolution, METAFONT will be called to generate it. As most 
output devices nowadays have resolutions so far in excess of anything 
whose dots your eyes can reasonably be expected to resolve, the METAFONT 
mode is largely obsolescent: at some stage, TeX distributions set to 
some default value like HP LaserJet 600×600 but I think nowadays 
METAFONT has a setting called 'modeless' (I may be wrong on this: it's 
been many decades since I needed to know, and texmf.cnf is singularly 
unforthcoming).

People do still use Postscript — some printers still have platemaking 
equipment whose RIP only accepts Postscript — but most output is now 
PDF. Type 3 fonts are still very much around, but with a few elderly 
exceptions, font technology in print production has long moved on. A 
number of popular numeric and drawing packages still apparently produce 
EPS output (my old favourite stats package, P-Stat, among them), but 
it's easy to convert the EPS to PDF for embedding in a [La]TeX document.

> 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.

It's certainly possible.

> For a diagram, you could for example write \special{(fig1.ps) run} 
[snip]

You certainly could.

> 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.)

The value is probably stored somewhere but I don't know where.

Peter

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dvi.ps news@zzo38computer.org.invalid - 2020-06-04 16:50 -0700
  Re: dvi.ps luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2020-06-04 18:16 -0700
    Re: dvi.ps news@zzo38computer.org.invalid - 2020-06-04 19:50 -0700
      Re: dvi.ps luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2020-06-04 23:57 -0700
  Re: dvi.ps ken <ken@spamcop.net> - 2020-06-05 08:02 +0100
    Re: dvi.ps news@zzo38computer.org.invalid - 2020-06-05 10:07 -0700
      Re: dvi.ps ken <ken@spamcop.net> - 2020-06-05 18:29 +0100
  Re: dvi.ps Peter Flynn <peter@silmaril.ie> - 2020-06-05 22:53 +0100
    Re: dvi.ps news@zzo38computer.org.invalid - 2020-06-05 20:13 -0700

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