Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!rutgers!ucsd!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!haven!ncifcrf!lhc!adm!smoke!gwyn From: gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: troff, C/A/T and dvi ? Message-ID: <13360@smoke.BRL.MIL> Date: 16 Jul 90 16:14:19 GMT References: Organization: U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory, APG, MD. Lines: 27 In article stef@zweig.sun (Stephane Payrard) writes: >Where I can find a complete definition of the C/A/T format? Presumably you would have to get the C/A/T programmer's manual from Wang. Somebody (possibly Henry Spencer) once posted a UNIX manual entry that described the format sufficiently for use in designing otroff postprocessors. >What is the relationship between the C/A/T format and the dvi format. There isn't any. There do exist programs that translate from one to the other. >Do every possible troff (ATT troff, Berkeley troff...) called by "troff >-t ..." line command emit always C/A/T format (if yes, read instead >"always the same C/A/T format")? No, in fact modern troff produces a device-independent text format that requires postprocessing for whatever device you happen to want the image displayed on. Old versions of troff, known as otroff to those using modern troff, either directly open /dev/cat or else, with the -t option, send C/A/T codes to the standard output. New troff (sometimes known as ditroff to those using old troff) always sends to standard output; -t is not needed. If you need to adapt troff to some new device, I highly recommend starting with modern troff as found in the Documenter's WorkBench package (also sold with enhancements by various third-party VARs).