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From: pedz@bobkat.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.text
Subject: Re: A question about TeX fonts
Message-ID: <501@bobkat.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 30-Jan-87 12:26:08 EST
Article-I.D.: bobkat.501
Posted: Fri Jan 30 12:26:08 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 3-Feb-87 02:23:28 EST
References: <1551@utastro.UUCP>
Reply-To: pedz@bobkat.UUCP (Pedz Thing)
Organization: Digital Lynx, Inc; Dallas, TX
Lines: 24
Keywords: downloading, tfm


There is a set of file referred to as tfm files.  Many of these are
preloaded into TeX when it is built so it may be possible not to
actually have them on the system when you run TeX.  In either case,
these files inform TeX what each character size is and some other
information for a particular font.  There is a tfm file for each
design size for a font (like cmr10.tfm) but not for each scaled size.
See the TeX book for what the difference between design size and
scaled size.

TeX produces the dvi file without knowing what printer it is going to.
Thus it does not know or care if the fonts are actually hardwired into
the printer or downloaded.  This is where the dvi to ``insert favorite
printer name'' driver comes in.  In the dvi file, there is basically a
command which says, "Put character n from font f scaled by m at x and
y."  The driver must know where font f is, if it must be downloaded,
how to down load it, and where to find it on the machine.  I think you
can get a little more insight by looking at the output of dvitype.
Thats basically it.

-- 
Perry Smith
pedz@bobkat
{ti-csl,infotel}!pollux!bobkat!pedz