Currently, the system first compiles to DVI and then converts to PS, and finally to the final requisite PDF format.
This is a very outdated procedure, that greatly increases the possible number of errors and makes it much less likely to obtain successful PDF compilations.
Instead, pdfLaTeX or LuaLaTeX should be used to directly produce PDFs from LaTeX input. Ideally, like any modern build system, this would use a script like makelatex, that includes support for BibTeX, BibLaTeX, glossaries, etc. preventing any user intervention or (error-prone) custom LaTeX workarounds.
If implemented, this idea will substantially increase the success rate of PDF compilations, providing increased value to users and publishers alike.
It would also be a great benefit to allow make-files to re-define the compilation process.
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