What is meant by you can't design an Otto engine without an ignition system, or maybe I should ask. What is an ignition system?
The Otto cycle includes both normal petrol and diesel systems, Diesels don't have an electrical system for ignition. They compress the charge so that it's temperature becomes hot enough to ignite the diesel, when it is injected.
Diesel power is controlled by the amount and timing of injected fuel, whereas petrol power is controlled by the amount of air in the charge and the ratio of petrol to air. The old diesels had a bad reputation for sooty exhaust, which was caused by injecting more diesel than the engine could burn with that air.
Old diesels also did run slowly and when Perkins introduced a high speed diesel it was still less than 3000rpm.
Over the years i have come to prefer diesels for their ease of operation. No worries with electric ignition, nor with a carburettor, but they are not generally designed for what we need to pull an aircraft along.
A friend of mine has flown the twin Diamond with diesels and liked it, but there are not many of them around.