UKTeX V89 #04 Friday 27 January 1989
Determining the document style
LaTeX error parser for GNU Emacs
re: merging MF fonts with PostScript fonts
Meeting GUTenberg
Plain/raw tex: tolerance & pretolerance - how critical are they ?
TeXmag character set
KTalk publishing companion
questions in UKTeX
Editor Peter Abbott
My thanks to Max Calvani (Italy) for TeXmag V2N6 the original of which
never arrived (but see article later on in this issue).
I am looking for troff -> TeX filters, converters or whatever they are
called. Can anyone help please.
Latest TeXhax in the Archive is #04
Latest TeXmag in the Archive is V2N6
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Date: Fri, 20 Jan 89 16:55 EST
From: "Jerry Leichter (LEICHTER-JERRY@CS.YALE.EDU)" <LEICHTER@arpa.yale-eng-venus>
Subject: Determining the document style
X-VMS-To: IN%"ABBOTTP%aston.ac.uk@NSS.Cs.Ucl.AC.UK",ALIEN
Adrian Clark would like to know if a LaTeX style option can determine the
style file it is being used with and adjust its behavior accordingly.
There appears to be no way to do this. The \documentstyle command is very
simple - about 3 lines of code or so - and it never saves the name of the
style file anywhere: It uses its parameter directly in an \input. So any
such information would have to be provided by the base style files themselves,
which could of course define an appropriate macro. But the standard ones
don't.
It would probably be possible to find some parameter or set of parameters
which is set in some recognizable way which is different in the different
standard files - the secnumdepth counter is a good start - but I wouldn't
recommend it.
-- Jerry
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From: "Mark J. Hewitt" <mjh@uk.co.kernel>
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 89 07:26:34 (GMT)
Message-Id: <25449.8901230726.marvin@kernel.co.uk>
Subject: LaTeX error parser for GNU Emacs
A little while ago, one {\em Tim Bradshaw\/} from Southampton placed an
entry in this forum describing an error parser for LaTeX which ran
inside GNU emacs. This sounds rather interesting, and I have tried
several times to contact Tim (are you out there?!) without success. Did
this ever find its way into the archive? Does anybody have it? Tim:
Could you send me a copy if you see this please (apologies to Peter
Abbott for making this request in so public a forum).
Mark J. Hewitt
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From: Mario Wolczko <mario@uk.ac.man.cs.r3>
Message-Id: <28647.8901231307@r3.cs.man.ac.uk>
Date: Mon,23 Jan 12:43:57 1989
Cc: rusty%edu.berkeley.garnet@edu.berkeley.violet
Subject: re: merging MF fonts with PostScript fonts
>> Also, they'll want their fonts to reach as wide an
>> audience as possible, and I'm suggesting that PostScript is more
>> likely to be their chosen medium.
>
> In your last sentence you're confusing the the issue of the output
> format produced by metafont as opposed to its user interface. If
> metafont produced its fonts in postscript would that make you any
> happier? (Probably not.)
Sorry for any confusion ... I never assumed that a font designer would
work with raw PostScript, but use a "higher-level" tool. Thus, you
are correct to say that we should be comparing GF with PostScript, and
Metafont with tool X. Of course, if X=Metafont, so much the better
(and yes, that would make me deliriously happy :-). But for the
moment, Metafont and GF seem to be a tightly-bound pair. Anyone know
of a printer that accepts GF directly?
> Further, if such an editor generated a PostScript
> description, I could use that symbol in many more applications than if
> it were in a GF file.
>
> Again, in your last sentence you are confusing the format of font
> files with a font designing program's user interface.
The point is, by capturing a logo in PostScript, you can do all sorts
of interesting things with it in the PostScript world (scale, rotate,
fill, clip,...) that are precluded by having it in GF format. Lots of
packages can import PostScript, lots of printers can execute it
directly. The same cannot be said of GF.
> Personally, I should think that logos would be easier to do with
> metafont, especially the ones that are geometric since metafont is
> such a geometry toolbox. A lot of dingbats are probably easier to do
> with metafont; look at Zapf Dingbats, all those stars, arrows, and
> such. I would also think that modifying an existing font would be
> easier with metafont.
I respect your preferences; I'm not suggesting that MF be banned! But
I find the Metafont book daunting, and would not recommend investing
the effort to learn Metafont just to design a logo.
Mario
______ Dept. of Computer Science Internet: mario@ux.cs.man.ac.uk
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Date: Lundi 23 Janvier 1989 a 18H
From: UCIR001@EARN.FRORS31
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Reply-to: UCIR001@EARN.FRORS31
Subject: Meeting GUTenberg
- -------------------- -------------------
Last CALL for PAPERS ** 1 week deadline ** GUTenberg's Meeting
- -------------------- -------------------
GUTenberg's meeting will be held at PARIS in may, 16-17 1989.
(GUTenberg is the TeX Users Group of French speaking people).
Main topic : "How include graphics within TeX output?"
This topic starts with graphics made in TeX (with LaTeX/PicTeX)
continues with the \special TeX command and ends with METAFONT,
POSTSCRIPT, etc.
This is a very large subject opened to all aspects of graphics/methods
and all micro/mini/maxi computers.
Official language is French but English speakers are very welcome
(immediate translation is on consideration).
Abstracts (less than one page) must be sent to: UCIR001@FRORS31.BITNET
before one week. Acceptance will be notified next week.
Bernard GAULLE (GUTenberg president)
PS: Besides traditional paper sessions, two tutorials will be
organized (one for TeX/LaTeX beginners and one about METAFONT).
Conference proceedings will be published after the conference
in "Cahiers GUTenberg".
The preliminary program will be sent to all people that will send
me their network and postal address.
SUMMARIZED DEADLINES :
Abstract : This week
Acceptance : Next week
Preliminary AGENDA : February 28th
Full paper due : April 15th
Congress : May 16-17 PARIS
- -------------------- -------------------
Last CALL for PAPERS ** 1 week deadline ** GUTenberg's Meeting
- -------------------- -------------------
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Date: 23-JAN-1989 18:33:45 GMT
From: CHAA006@UK.AC.RHBNC.VAXB
Subject: Plain/raw tex: tolerance & pretolerance - how critical are they ?
Sender: JANET"CHAA006@UK.AC.RHBNC.VAXB" <CHAA006@UK.AC.RHBNC.VAXB>
Reply-to: Philip Taylor (RHBNC) <P.Taylor@Uk.Ac.Rhbnc.Vaxb>
Originally-to: $UK-TEX,$TEX-HAX
Mailer: Janet_Mailshr V3.3 (14-Dec-1988)
When setting text to a narrow measure, the Plain defaults for tolerance and
pre-tolerance are rarely adequate. Occasionally I adjust their values by trial
and error until I get the lowest possible values consonant with `correctly'
filled lines (no overfull \hbox es); however, I wonder if this effort is
justified ? Has anyone written a general \setparagraph macro, which performs
a binary search on \tolerance and \pretolerance ?
** Phil.
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From: Mr. A. O. V. Blanc <YMUMAL@uk.ac.umist.central-services.prime-a>
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 89 15:56:32 GMT
Message-Id: <$TDFQDGJXBTFJ at UMPA>
Subject: TeXmag character set
Thanks very much for the latest issue of TeXmag.
I notice that the characters hat (^) and tilde(~) have been
corrupted respectively to tilde (~) and percent(%).
This means that hat can be recovered easily, but tilde cannot.
Yours,
A. V. Le Blanc, UMRCC
+++Editor - The copy sent by Max Calvani came via EARN which accounts for
the corruption. I have since had a copy from Max via the SPAN network on
which I have an account. The copy in the archive should be OK. +++
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Date: Mon, 23 Jan 89 10:42:25 GMT
From: Sebastian Rahtz <spqr@uk.ac.soton.cm>
Subject: KTalk publishing companion
the K-Talk converter from Wordperfect to TeX works (otherwise you
could sue them!). But there is 'working' and there is 'working in a
worthwhile way'. K-Talk generates plain TeX, and has a header definining
a set of macros which it uses - what use is that to the sensible majority
who want some kind of generic markup?
i have almost no respect for Wordperfect (because of its ridiculously
unhelpful use of function keys), but I am sure its an excellent editor. why not use it as such, and generate ASCII files (which I am sure it can do) with
the (few) embedded commands that something like LaTeX uses? the exercise
of all italics and bold being converted to TeX seems so trivial as to be
not worth the candle. Or could not someone write a printer driver for
wordperfect (like Flynn's for PC-Write) which, when you do a 'print to file'
generates TeXery instead of Epson codes or whatever? Anyway, it all seems
easier than a complicated conversion program.
sebastian rahtz
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From: Sebastian Rahtz <spqr@uk.ac.soton.ecs>
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 89 17:13:56 GMT
Message-Id: <1493.8901261713@hilliard.ecs.soton.ac.uk>
Subject: questions in UKTeX
a) the source for BibTeX 0.99c is at Aston where one (might) expect
to find it, in [PUBLIC.SCORE.BIBTEX]. It is well worth upgrading
b) Phil Taylor optimistically asks for an uptodate Unix dvi2ps. As
has been said many times in texhax, the whole thing is a mess, with
everyone and his sister having their own versions. And it isnt helped
by this business over what PS tfms to use, and what mappings. If I
were Phil, I'd use James Clark's DVITOPS, since it is at least cleanly
written and incorporates good PostScript practice; as an example of
what to avoid, the dvi2ps we use here can generate rounding errors in
its relative positioning of characters, which means rules are not always
right. James Clark absolutely positions each letter.
The dvi2ps which Mario Wolcsko (spelling?) uses in his PSLATEX
directory at Aston would be a start if you want to enter the awful
world of the original Unix dvi2ps.
sebastian rahtz
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