Before LaTeX editors were invented, how did plain TeX authors output their code?

Asked Aug 07 '21 at 22:41

Active Aug 07 '21 at 22:41

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"Output" doesn't just mean PDF files. It could also mean PostScript or plain paper (made from trees).

This might seem like a goofy question, but I couldn't find the answer with a search engine. The Wikipedia page for TeX has been less than helpful. It explains the developmental history of TeX, but it doesn't name the app(s) that people used to turn plain TeX into output.

asked Aug 07 '21 at 22:41

adrianmn1110

Your question isn't very clear. Do you mean how people used to run TeX without the editor, or how did they look at the output? – Phelype Oleinik Aug 07 '21 at 22:45
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people used the same program as now, tex turns a tex document into dvi then a dvi driver such as dvips turns dvi into postscript. An editor is not really involved at all, other than writing the source file. – David Carlisle Aug 07 '21 at 22:47
@Phelype Oleinik : How did they look at and produce the output? – adrianmn1110 Aug 07 '21 at 22:48
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https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/109758/how-was-tex-output-visualised-on-screen-back-in-the-day – David Carlisle Aug 07 '21 at 22:48
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there were full screen dvi viewers from the very earliest days, so the process was not that different to now – David Carlisle Aug 07 '21 at 22:50
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@DavidCarlisle : Yup, that answers it. I gave you an upvote on every response. Thanks. – adrianmn1110 Aug 07 '21 at 22:54

Before LaTeX editors were invented, how did plain TeX authors output their code?

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