🚀 go-pugleaf

I have what may seem like a dumb question but I have begun to wonder due
to the discussion on TeX vs. TROFF.  We use TeX with an apple laserwriter.
We have all of the normal fonts.  I was told that it is irrelevant
what fonts you use with TeX since that only effects the dvi file and
its concept of the interletter/interword spacing.  Thus, the metrics
(whatever those are) are used but since the laserwriter has hard-loaded
fonts (4 I believe) that those fonts, in a variety of sizes, is all
you can really get.  Now people are talking about using their own fonts
and downloading them.  What really does happen?  Does TeX use the hardwired
fonts, its own, some combination of each, what?  If it helps the discussion
any, we use dvi2ps to spool the stuff off to the laserwriter.

How about a (limited amount of a) generalized discussion of TeX and fonts
and how they are used by different devices.  Since I am sure there are
others out there who don't understand this stuff, why don't you post
your answers to the net, but try not to duplicate one another.

Thanks in advance for the discussion.
-- 
 Anita Cochran  uucp:  {noao, ut-sally, ut-ngp}!utastro!anita
                arpa:  anita@astro.as.utexas.edu  
                snail: Astronomy Dept., The Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712
                at&t:  (512) 471-1471