The
device independent file format (
DVI) is the output
file format of the
TeX typesetting program, designed by David R. Fuchs and implemented by
Donald E. Knuth in 1982. Unlike the TeX markup files used to generate them, DVI files are not intended to be
human-readable; they consist of
binary data describing the visual layout of a document in a manner not reliant on any specific
image format,
display hardware or
printer. DVI files are typically used as input to a second program (called a DVI
driver) which translates DVI files to graphical data. For example, most TeX software packages include a program for previewing DVI files on a user's computer display; this program is a driver. Drivers are also used to convert from DVI to popular
page description languages (e.g.
PostScript,
PDF) and for printing.