TeXhax Digest Thursday, December 18, 1986 Volume 86 : Issue 13
<TEX>TEXHAX13.861218
Editor: Malcolm Brown
Today's Topics:
TeX DVI formats
Ifnum non-bug! (TeXhax issue #7 from Stephan Bechtolsheim)
LaTeX captions
LaTeX captions -- addendum
Re: TeX DVI formats
DVI Driver for IBM 3279 graphics terminal
Re: German hyphenation
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Date: Tue, 9 Dec 86 13:10:09 EST
>From: Mark Scherfling <mrs2%gte-labs.csnet@RELAY.CS.NET>
To: texhax@su-score.csnet, unix-text@washington.csnet
Subject: TeX DVI formats
Sorry for the question that must appear over and over
again. But....
Is there any documentation on the DVI files generated
from TeX. I'm interested in writing a conversion program
to print these files on our IBM 3820 laser printers.
Thanks in advance.
-- Mark
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>From: mcvax!ruuinfvax!piet@seismo.CSS.GOV
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 86 18:14:47 +0100
To: texhax@score.stanford.edu
Subject: Ifnum non-bug! (TeXhax issue #7 from Stephan Bechtolsheim)
The stated behaviour of \if..\fi is not a bug!!
Page 208 of The TeXbook says that you should always put a blank space after
a numeric constant. The reason is that TeX tries to read as far as possible
to gather digits of a number. The \if and \fi, as well as the false (not
evaluated) parts of it just disappear. This makes it possible to say something
like \x = 1\ifnum y=1 2\else 3\fi 4\relax
setting x to either 124 or 134. (Note that the space after \fi disappears
because it terminates a control sequence). \relax differs from \fi because
the former does reach TeX's stomach whereas \fi disappears in TeX's gullet.
In the given example the second \ifnum gets evaluated while reading the number
1, i.e. before the assignment \x=1 has been done.
Try also this one:
\newcount\x
\x=0
\ifnum\x=0 \x=1\fi
\ifnum\x=1 \x=2\fi
3
\write16{x = \the\x}
\end
Compare also exercise 27.4.
Regards,
Piet van Oostrum
Dept of Computer Science
University of Utrecht
Budapestlaan 6
Postbus 80.012
3508 TA Utrecht
The Netherlands
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Date: Wed, 10 Dec 86 15:55:04 pst
>From: Kamal Al-Yahya <kamal@hanauma.STANFORD.EDU>
To: TeXhax@score.stanford.edu
Subject: LaTeX captions
Does this file run with your latex? Removing the \sqrt in the caption
makes it work with our latex. Putting the \sqrt back, it dosn't work!!
Is this a bug in \caption?
We have latex version 2.09 released 4 Nov. 1985.
\documentstyle[11pt]{article}
\begin{document}
This is a test for figure captions.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\label{bug}
\vspace{3in}
\caption{Why doesn't this caption work if we have $\sqrt{x^2+z^2}$?}
\end{figure}
\end{document}
The log file is over 100 lines so I am not sending it. But here is a portion:
! Argument of \@caption has an extra }.
<inserted text>
\par
<to be read again>
}
\addcontentsline ...\protect \contentsline {#2}{#3
}{\the \@temptokena }}}}\@...
\@caption ... the#1\endcsname }{\ignorespaces #2}}
\par \begingroup \@parboxr...
l.8 ... caption work if we have $\sqrt{x^2+z^2}$?}
I've run across a `}' that doesn't seem to match anything.
For example, `\def\a#1{...}' and `\a}' would produce
this error. If you simply proceed now, the `\par' that
I've just inserted will cause me to report a runaway
argument that might be the root of the problem. But if
your `}' was spurious, just type `2' and it will go away.
Runaway argument?
\@captype {\@sqrt }\def \@tempb {\@@sqrt }\futurelet \@tempc \@ifnch \ETC.
! Paragraph ended before \@caption was complete.
<to be read again>
\par
<to be read again>
}
\addcontentsline ...\protect \contentsline {#2}{#3
}{\the \@temptokena }}}}\@...
\@caption ... the#1\endcsname }{\ignorespaces #2}}
\par \begingroup \@parboxr...
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Date: Thu, 11 Dec 86 13:32:16 pst
>From: Kamal Al-Yahya <kamal@hanauma.STANFORD.EDU>
To: TeXhax@score.stanford.edu
Subject: LaTeX captions -- addendum
Yesterday, I sent a question about why \sqrt won't work in
\caption{ }. I now have the answer: \sqrt is a fragile command
that had to be preceded by \protect. It is mentioned in p. 170 of
the LaTeX manual.
The confusing part was the messages in the log file, which gave
no indication to the problem.
If you think the question and answer are trivial please delete both
of them from TeXHax digest.... or else please post both of them.
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Mail-From: TEXGUESTS created at 12-Dec-86 03:46:09
Date: Fri 12 Dec 86 03:46:09-PST
>From: TEX Guests <TEXGUESTS@Score.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Re: TeX DVI formats
To: mrs2%gte-labs.csnet@RELAY.CS.NET
In-Reply-To: Message from "Mark Scherfling <mrs2%gte-labs.csnet@RELAY.CS.NET>" of Tue 9 Dec 86 20:34:29-PST
A complete description of the TeX DVI file was published in TUGboat
(the newsletter of the TeX Users Group), vol 3, no 2, pp 14-19. This
also appears in vol B of Knuth's Computers & Typesetting, TeX: The Program.
Finally, a model program using DVI files is DVITYPE.WEB.
-- barbara beeton
p.s. incidentally, for information on whether a DVI-to-3820 program
already exists, you might get in touch with Dean Guenther, the TUG
site coordinator for IBM (VMS); he's at Washington State University,
Guenther@WSUVM1 on Bitnet.
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Date: Fri, 12 Dec 86 14:12:19 -0200
>From: mcvax!ariadne!sstelios@seismo.CSS.GOV (Stelios Sartzetakis)
To: texhax@score.stanford.edu
We are using TeX for processing Greek text. We have an 8-bit character
set (ASCII+Greek), Unix tty drivers, editors etc., and we map the upper
128 characters to the tex math-greek fonts.
1. Does anyone know if there is a modern Greek font set that we can
use instead?
2. Is there any better way to use TeX with such an extended alphabet?
We are still experimenting, so any comments are welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Stelios Sartzetakis
UUCP: ...mcvax!ariadne!sstelios |Post: Institute of Computer Science
| Research Center of Crete
Phone: 30 81 229368,221171 ext20| P.O.Box 1385
| Heraklio, Crete
Telex: 262389 CCI GR | Greece, 711 10
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Date: Fri, 12 Dec 86 07:15:46 PST
>From: <VUMALKI@weizmann.bitnet>
Reply-To: VUMALKI%WEIZMANN.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu
To: TeXhax@score.stanford.edu
Subject: DVI Driver for IBM 3279 graphics terminal
Received: by WEIZMANN (Mailer X1.23) id 2617; Fri, 12 Dec 86 09:43:15 +02
Date: Fri, 12 Dec 86 09:18:30 +0200
>From: Malka Cymbalista <VUMALKI@WEIZMANN>
Subject: DVI Driver for IBM 3279 graphics terminal
To: TeXhax@score.stanford.edu
cc: 29284843%wsuvm1.bitnet@wiscvm.wisc.edu
We are running TeX on an IBM 3081 under CMS Rel 4. There are two
ways to view TeX output on a 3279 (or 3179-G or Memorex) graphics
terminal:
1. Someone here wrote a driver that sends a DVI file to the 3279.
Since it was written in the days before Metafont, it uses 200 dpi PXL
files which is all we had at the time. Because these PXL files are a
much higher resolution than the terminal, the output looks beautiful (nice
and big and clear) however, you cannot see the whole width of a page
at once. You jump around on the page using the PF keys.
So it's fine to look for a specific problem, but you can't
really get an idea of the layout of the page. We are in the midst now
of converting to TeX version 2.0 and we have not yet gotten to the 3279
although I don't expect any problems. Since we now have Metafont running,
I am toying with the idea of creating lower resolution fonts.
Since this is a home grown product, I can send it to anyone who wants it.
2. We also use IBM's IVF (Image View Facility) together with GDDM and
CDPF to view any file prepared for the 4250 electro erosion printer
on the screen. DVI4250 which comes on the TeX tape, converts a DVI
file to LIST4250 output which can then be viewed using IVF. The advantage
of this method is that you can see the whole width of the page. The
big disadvantage is that it is VERY VERY slow (especially when there
are alot of users on the system) so I don't like to use it. Also,
you must have IVF, GDDM and CDPF in order to use it.
I'll be happy to answer any further questions. Malki
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Date: Wed, 10 Dec 86 10:59:29 MEZ
>From: Z3000PA%AWITUW01.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU (Hubert Partl - Techn.
Subject: Re: German hyphenation
At the meeting of the German TeX useres in Heidelberg in October 1986,
the following items regarding German hyphenation were anounced:
1. Bernd Schulze is no longer with the University of Bonn
but with the AGFA Company.
2. The German hyphenation patterns by Bernd Schulze are widely
used in German speaking countries, but they have several
disadvantages. One of them is that they need more memory space
than is provided in the original version of TeX, which meens that
they cannot be used in MicroTeX or PCTeX.
3. Norbert Schwarz at the Ruhr University in Bochum (Germany) has
developed another set of German hyphenation patterns, which is
better (in linguistic terms) AND smaller than the Schulze patterns.
Schwarz's pattens need even less space that the English ones, so
they can be easily used in any implementation of TeX.
4. Joachim Lammarsch at the University of Heidelberg (Germany) is now
the contact person for all german speaking TeX users. He follows
Bernd Schulze in this function. His BITNET address is
$33 at DHDURZ1
My I add a question: Has anyone plans for a marriage of the bilingual
TeX software (Canada) with the German hyphenation patterns of Norbert
Schwarz (Germany)? I would be very interested in such a product,
because it would enable German hyphenation both by automatic hyphenation
AND by inserting German words (with Umlaute and Scharp S) into the
\hyphenation command.
Hubert Partl, Technical University of Vienna.
Z3000PA at AWITUW01 .BITNET
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