(web2c.info)Initial and virgin

Memory dumps

Three programs

3.5.1 Initial and virgin
------------------------

The TeX, Metafont, and MetaPost programs each have two main variants,
called "initial" and "virgin".  As of Web2c 7, one executable suffices
for both variants, and in fact, the `ini...' executables are no longer
created.

  The initial form is enabled if:
  1. the `-ini' option was specified; or

  2. the program name is `initex' resp. `inimf' resp.  `inimpost'
     (these variants are no longer typically installed); or

  3. the first line of the main input file is `%&ini';
       otherwise, the virgin form is used.

  The "virgin" form is the one generally invoked for production use.
The first thing it does is read a memory dump (Note: Determining the
memory dump to use), and then proceeds on with the main job.

  The "initial" form is generally used only to create memory dumps (see
the next section).  It starts up more slowly than the virgin form,
because it must do lengthy initializations that are encapsulated in the
memory dump file.

Dirfile and infopages generated Sat Dec 3 02:07:54 2005