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The tree of files can be given to for processing with the command
latex root
takes no command line options at all-all controls associated
with the running of the program are presented to the program via the
input text file.
is a very `chatty' program (it is designed with inter-operating
system portability in mind, and this occasionally shows!), but since it
generally takes several seconds to complete a run even for a short document,
this is no bad thing. The on-screen output for a 25-page document,
consisting of about ten source files
whose root is root.tex will look something like this:
This is TeX, C Version 2.9 (no format preloaded)
(root.tex
LaTeX Version 2.09 <25 Jan 1988>
(/usr/lib/tex/inputs/report.sty
Document Style `report' <5 Feb 88>.
(/usr/lib/tex/inputs/rep11.sty) (/usr/lib/tex/inputs/titlepage.sty))
(/usr/lib/tex/inputs/a4wide.sty (/usr/lib/tex/inputs/a4.sty))
No file root.aux.
[0] (abstract.tex [0]) (intro.tex [1] [2] [3] [4]) [5] [6] (method.tex [7]
[8] [9] [10] [11]) [12] (results.tex [13] [14] [15] [16]) [17] (disc.tex
[18] [19]) [20] (conc.tex) [21] (acks.tex) [22] (refs.tex) [23] (root.aux
(abstract.aux) (intro.aux) (method.aux) (results.aux) (disc.aux) (conc.aux)
(acks.aux) (refs.aux))
Output written on root.dvi (25 pages, 80896 bytes).
Transcript written on root.log.
Most of this is irrelevant to the casual user of , and can safely
be treated merely as comforting output to convince the user that
is actually doing something. In case of problems with documents, however,
it is generally useful to have an idea what is going on.
First, 
and announce themselves (remember that is
just with a somewhat more usable `front-end' bolted on) and then
uses the \documentstyle{} directive from the top of the
root file to choose which style files to read, and reports on the list it
chose. Next, it works its way through the tree of files which make up the
document, laying out pages as it goes. Each file is announced as it is
encountered, and output of each page is reported as it occurs by the
appearance of the page number in square brackets. The output from
is sent to root.dvi. As works its way through the document,
it makes itself `notes' about the positions of various elements such as
figures, section headings, page counts, etc., in order to ease reprocessing
and resolution of forward label references later.
These are saved in the various
`.aux' files mentioned in the commentary. The report
`No file root.aux' is not an error message-it merely means that
this is the first time has seen the file root.tex, and thus
root.aux has not been created as yet.
Next: The .dvi (DeVice-Independent)
Up: Running and dvips
Previous: Running and dvips