Device independent file format: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

The '''device independent file format''' ('''DVI''') is the output [[file format]] of the [[TeX]] [[typesetting]] program, designed by David R. Fuchs and implemented by [[Donald E. Knuth]] in 1982.<ref name="DVItype">{{cite web | author = Donald E. Knuth | author-link = Donald E. Knuth | title = DVItype | version = Version 3.6 | date = December 1995 | url = http://www.ctan.org/pkg/dvitype | format = [[WEB]] source code; extract full documentation using [[WEAVE]] | access-date = 2008-05-07 }}</ref> Unlike the TeX markup files used to generate them, DVI files are not intended to be [[human-readable]]; they consist of [[binary file|binary data]] describing the visual layout of a document in a manner not reliant on any specific [[image format]], [[computer monitor|display hardware]] or [[computer printer|printer]]. DVI files are typically used as input to a second program (called a DVI ''driver'') which translates DVI files to graphical data. For example, most TeX software packages include a program for previewing DVI files on a user's computer display; this program is a driver. Drivers are also used to convert from DVI to popular [[page description language]]s (e.g. [[PostScript]], [[portable document format|PDF]]) and for printing.