At 11:39 +0000 1998/12/15, Sebastian Rahtz wrote:
>Hans Aberg writes:
> > Depends: In DVI, such links are shipped out using \special, when converted
> > to PS, it must be put into a similar box, which later is converted
> > correctly to PDF. If people sit down and work it out correctly, it may
> > work, but it is a fragile procedure, as it hangs on a chain of extensions
>I have maintained a LaTeX package since 1995 which manages this
>process, supporting half a dozen different backends. Believe me, its not
>fragile (ok, its not unbreakable!). The bits of it that relate
>to TeX->DVI->PS->PDF are reliable, well-understood, and supported.
>
> > On the other hand, if the format from the beginning understands links (like
> > PDF), there is no doubt that it will work if the format converted to also
> > understands links.
>the PostScript which is fed to Distiller or ps2pdf understands
>links. so there you go. read up on the pdfmark operator, if you are
>interested

So are you saying that pdfTeX is wholly unnecessary, as this works just as
well?

It seems to contradict your earlier statements about pdfTeX.

By the way, can pdf display everything taht a WWW browser can (say
interactive Java byte-code)?

  Hans Aberg
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