dvipdfm

dvipdfm is a converter that transforms files in the TeX Device Independent file format (DVI) into the Portable Document Format (PDF). It is a command-line utility commonly used in conjunction with the TeX typesetting system. DVI files are an intermediate output format generated by TeX engines like TeX and LaTeX, which describe the page layout and content in a device-independent manner. dvipdfm takes these DVI files and processes them to create a PDF document that can be viewed and shared across different platforms.

The conversion process involves dvipdfm reading the DVI file, interpreting its commands related to characters, fonts, and graphics, and then rendering them into the PDF structure. It supports various features necessary for creating high-quality documents, including font embedding, color, hyperlinks, and image inclusion. The tool is known for its speed and efficiency, making it a popular choice for generating PDFs from TeX-based documents. dvipdfm is part of the broader ecosystem of tools used to produce publications, academic papers, and other documents using TeX. It is often used as an alternative to other DVI-to-PDF converters like dvips combined with a separate PDF distiller.