Re: [2.96.1] problem: latex generates pdf rather than dvi

David Kastrup <[email protected]> wrote:

> [email protected] (Frank Küster) writes:
> 
> > Thomas Esser <[email protected]> schrieb:
> > 
> > > So, I guess that it is some other package or the document itself
> > > that sets \pdfoutput=1.
> > 
> > I guess there might be tons of documents around that do some insane
> > checks whether they are run by pdflatex, and switch to \pdfoutput=1
> > in this case. This is of course buggy, however I think it would be
> > good to offer a short workaround, that allows the creation of dvi
> > files with such buggy documents. Not everybody has fun debugging
> > other people's TeX code...
> > 
> > Either an option to pdflatex, or something like a dvilatex that really
> > uses $prefix/bin/tex.
> 
> Perhaps some package `dvi' that will first set \pdfoutput to 0, then
> set all possibly relevant control sequences to \undefined?
> 

Yes, that would certainly fix the example I was having trouble with,
which assumed that \pdfoutput would be \undefined.

However, let me suggest that nobody should have to invoke a command called
"dvilatex" in order to get latex to produce dvi output.  If anything,
people should have to invoke a command called "pdflatex" in order to get
latex to produce pdf output.  (Just as now.)  Perhaps a change in the
behavior of these commands could be made, but only after a long transition
period please. 

  -- Dave