Re: latex *pk files in /var?

[Alan Shutko <ats@acm.org>]

Marcelo Chiapparini <chiappa@uerj.br> writes:

> after running xdvi I noted that several *pk files appeared in
> /var/spool/texmf/pk/ljfour/public/cm. Why this? 

The Computer Modern fonts (the default latex fonts) are in Metafont, a
scalable font language developed by Knuth to go with TeX.  In order to
display those characters, xdvi and dvips run metafont to create pk
fonts, which are bitmaps at a certain resolution and associated with a
certain device.

Since this can take some time, those bitmaps are cached in
/var/spool/texmf/pk, so the next time you view a document using the
same fonts, the bitmaps don't have to be generated.

(This is a bit of a simplification, but it's good enough for most work.)

-- 
Alan Shutko <ats@acm.org> - In a variety of flavors!
Pure drivel tends to drive ordinary drivel off the TV screen.