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From: patwood@unirot.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.text,comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: NROFF drivers
Message-ID: <482@unirot.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 3-Apr-87 18:48:04 EST
Article-I.D.: unirot.482
Posted: Fri Apr  3 18:48:04 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 5-Apr-87 06:28:29 EST
References: <799@cooper.UUCP> <2215@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Reply-To: patwood@unirot.UUCP (Patrick Wood)
Organization: Pipeline Associates, Inc.
Lines: 11
Xref: utgpu comp.text:618 comp.unix.questions:1611 comp.unix.wizards:1656

Sorry, but an nroff driver table is not an "a.out".  In versions of nroff
before DWB 2.0, it is a binary file, but not in a.out format.  Nroff reads
this file (doesn't link or load it) into its internal data structures when
it starts up.  In DWB 2.0, there is a dinroff (device independent nroff)
that reads an ASCII file containing basically the same information that
was present in the old nroffs' binary file.  Note that the actual operation
of nroff wasn't changed in DWB 2.0; it's simply easier to write driver tables
for it now.

Pat Wood
bellcore!phw5!phw