I have the following code that works just fine when I compile with pdflatex, but does not work right with latex. In the second case, the lines are fine (at least to my eyes) but all labels are written in (0,0), superimposed one to the other.
In either case, compiling ends with no errors.
Running on Debian Sid, pgfversion 2.10, pdfTeX 3.1415926-2.4-1.40.13 (TeX Live 2012/Debian). Any help is greatly appreciated.
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw (0,0) arc (0:360: 1.1cm and 1.1cm);
\draw[line width = 2pt] (0,0) arc (0:70: 1.1cm and 1.1cm);
\draw (3,.6) -- (8,.6);
\draw[line width = 2 pt] (3,.6) -- (5,.6);
\draw (3 cm, .56cm) -- (3 cm, .65cm) node[anchor=north] {$0$};
\draw (8 cm, .56cm) -- (8 cm, .65cm) node[anchor=north] {$L$};
\draw (5 cm, .56cm) -- (5 cm, .65cm) node[anchor=north] {$\ell$};
\draw (3,-.6) -- (8,-.6);
\draw[line width = 2 pt] (4.5,-.6) -- (6.5,-.6);
\draw (3 cm, -.56cm) -- (3 cm, -.65cm) node[anchor=north] {$0$};
\draw (8 cm, -.56cm) -- (8 cm, -.65cm) node[anchor=north] {$L$};
\draw (4.5 cm, -.56cm) -- (4.5 cm, -.65cm) node[anchor=north] {$\frac{L-\ell}{2}$};
\draw (6.5 cm, -.56cm) -- (6.5 cm, -.65cm) node[anchor=north] {$\frac{L+\ell}{2}$};
\end{tikzpicture}
\documentclassor\usepackage{hyperref}with option[pdftex]). Nowadays, driver detection is automatic so not specifying one allows you to compile with the engine you want. – Philippe Goutet Sep 09 '12 at 06:37