[texhax] XeTex and MusiXTeX

[David Carlisle]

On Fri, 24 Aug 2018 at 17:57, Rodolfo Medina <rodolfo.medina at gmail.com> wrote:

> > Presumably because it's not just a matter of "showing" an
> > eps. A Postscript *processor* is needed.
>
> Not needed with eps images...?

You need a postscript interpreter to convert eps to pdf but as the `E`
implies, an EPS file is an "encapsulated" self-standing chunk of
PostScript which can be converted by an external call to ghostscript.
which is how xetex (xdvipdfmx), or pdftex include eps.

But if you use dvips specials to insert literal postscript code into
the postscript that is being generated by dvips then if you use
another driver the syntax of the \special is probably not understood,
and if it is understood, there is in general no place to insert a call
to a postscript interpreter.  This is why pstricks only really works
with classic tex and not with pdftex or luatex, and only in restricted
cases with xetex.  The \specials here are no doubt similar.

David