UKTeX Digest Friday, 19 Apr 1991
Volume 91 : Issue 16
Today's Topics:
Tib
Re: Primary device-independent representation for graphs
emTeX Font librarys
AMS Blackboard font.
Re: AMS Blackboard font.
Font arrangements in directory trees
reflectedabout and EmTeX Metafont
RE: PK -> HP PCL
MSBM10
RE: MSBM10
Problem with Levy's Greek under MF V2.7 (VMS)
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------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 91 11:45:51 +0000
From: RHORNE%UK.CO.COMPULINK.CIX@UK.AC.UKC
Subject: Tib
At a UKTeX meeting some time ago Sebastian Rahtz talked about the
bibliographic program 'Tib'. It seemed ideal for my sort of work
since it would enable me for example to put the title of a legal case
in the text of my written work and its reference as a footnote. Dave
Osborne kindly sent me the sources from the Archive on disc.
In his original Article (TUGboat Volume 7 (1986) No 3 p. 138.) J.C.
Alexander wrote---
"The source langauge of Tib is standard C...some attention has been
paid to portability. A day was spent with Nelson Beebe ... going over
changes necessary to bring it up on a non-Unix system."
Hmm. It is certainly not written in ANSI-C and even in pcc mode my
compiler failed to understand a lot of the code.
However with a lot of help from others I have managed to get Tib
working on an Acorn Archimedes and it does exactly what I want it to
do.
Other people here have expressed some interest in it after seeing
what it can do but they use MS-DOS machines. Is there a version that
works under MS-DOS? Or on the Mac or Amiga?
Roger Horne
7 New Square
Lincoln's Inn
London WC2A 3QS
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 20:16:25 -0500
From: AAS%AU.OZ.UQ.CC@UK.AC.EAN-RELAY
Subject: Re: Primary device-independent representation for graphs
> (a) in theory, could someone write a dvi-to-printer
> command that allowed a \special which specified a file of CGM code
> [with the dvi-to-printer command doing any conversion e.g. to EPS]
> (b) if so, is there any prospect that anyone will actually write such
> software?
It has already been done, by the Pittsburg Supercomputer Center as a part
of their GPLOT CGM processor project. An additional irony is that GPLOT
can output Postscript renditions of CGM files, so you have a bet either way.
I've been impressed with the results under VAX/Ultrix with DECWindows and
with a tektronics 4207 (in color!) The documentation for adding new
device drivers is quite good, Hershey-derived stroke fonts and TeX pk fonts
are supported within the graphics, and the author is currently investigating
support for Adobe type 1 fonts.
I append excerpts from the PSC documentation describing GPLOT/GTEX together
with ftp availability.
Warning: the source tar files are huge (2 Mb or so compressed).
- --------- ---------
GPLOT is a CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile) processor. CGM files come
in 3 flavours, Binary (dominant form), Clear Text (human readable), and
Character (more compact than Clear Text, but only 7 bits used per byte)
encodings. GPLOT will interpret and create Binary and Clear Text files,
I have not yet had requests for character encoding.
GTEX is a companion TeX DVI interpreter, it uses the same device
drivers as GPLOT but is much smaller and simpler.
GPLOT and GTEX are entirely in C, and will compile and run under UNIX
(BSD, ULTRIX, UNICOS) or VMS, there is a heavy use of #ifdefs.
Where to get files (note new addresses !):
There is an anonymous FTP available on CALPE.PSC.EDU (128.182.66.148),
a vaxstation running ULTRIX, with both a tar file and a src directory.
For VMS users there is an anonymous FTP on B.PSC.EDU (128.182.66.102)
and A.PSC.EDU (128.182.66.105), our VAX 8810 front ends. The source
files are in TEX$ROOT:[GPLOT] with a backup file GPLOT.BAK, block size
2048 and a full set of .pk fonts (if you want them) are in
TEX$ROOT:[PK...].
- --------- ---------
Alex A Sergejew <aas@cc.uq.oz.au>
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 91 15:39:57 +0000
From: NER034@UK.AC.TEES-POLY.PRIME-A
Subject: emTeX Font librarys
I have reciently recieved a copy of emTeX from the Aston arcive. Complete
with the lj_*.fil font library files. However I require my system to
print on both an IBM Proprinter (requiring p6_* font librarys) and an
Epson LQ-850 (requirining the fx_* font librarys). My problem is this ---
where can I obtain the relevent font librarys. Or can I make them using the
MetaFont files provided. If so, how ?
P.s., I am also *Vary* new to TeX/MF so no big words please !
Peter Knaggs
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
! School of Comp. & Maths., ! Janet: NER034 @ uk.ac.tees-poly !
! Teesside Polytechnic, ! Bitnet: NER034 % tp.ac.uk @ UKACRL !
! Middlesbrough, ! Internet: NER034 % tp.ac.uk @ cunyvm.cuny.edu !
! Cleveland, England. TS1 3BA ! Uucp: NER034 % tpoly.ac.uk @ ukc.uucp !
!-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------!
! It is not enough to do the right thing; one must also do it the right way. !
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 91 17:34:39 +0000
From: R.A.REESE@UK.AC.HULL
Subject: AMS Blackboard font.
I have been asked several times for the R and I with double
uprights and not found them. I've now been advised they are in a
font MSBB10 from AMS, but this isn't in the archive (correction -
I can't find it in the 00directory.list file). Does anyone know about
this font, or the required characters? How does MSBB10 relate to
MSBM10, and why is MSAM10 missing (given 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)?
Allan Reese.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 09:17:41 +0000
From: CCZDAO@UK.AC.NOTTINGHAM.CCC.MIPS
Subject: Re: AMS Blackboard font.
In message 00000342 of 17 Apr 91 17:55:13 GMT,
R.A.REESE@UK.AC.HULL said:
> I have been asked several times for the R and I with double
> uprights and not found them. I've now been advised they are in a
> font MSBB10 from AMS, but this isn't in the archive
No, the Blackboard Bold uppercase alphabet (and lowercase `k')
is in font msbm10,
[tex-archive.amstex2.amsfonts.sources.symbols]msbm10.mf
> Does anyone know about
> this font, or the required characters?
> How does MSBB10 relate to
> MSBM10, and why is MSAM10 missing (given 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)?
It's not; you'll find msam10.mf in the same directory, along with the
5-, 6-, 7-, 8- and 9-point versions you mention.
- --dave
David Osborne (pp Aston TeX Archive group)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 08:33:41 +0000
From: ZLSIIAL@UK.AC.MANCHESTER-COMPUTING-CENTRE.CMS
Subject: Font arrangements in directory trees
I am sorry to have had to miss the recent UK-TUG meeting in
Nottingham (on TeX in the Unix environment). One subject
which I hoped to discuss with other TeX administrators is
the potential directory structure for font bitmaps.
When we first got a TeX for a Unix system, it was a free
but 'shrink-wrapped' distribution from our manufacturer.
The directory structure for font bitmaps was something
like this:
/usr/lib/tex/fontbits/laser/300/cmr5.pk
cmr6.pk
360/cmr5.pk
cmr6.pk
where the fonts are arranged by their available sizes.
I have always been puzzled by this arrangement, and when
I recompiled the whole system myself, I changed all the
dvi utilities to use instead this arrangement:
/usr/lib/tex/fontbits/laser/cmr5/300pk
360pk
cmr6/300pk
360pk
which is in fact easier to integrate into the search
algorithms in which one also looks for cmr5.300pk, for
example. We have now been using this system quite
happily for about two years. It is easier for users to
find what fonts are available.
Is there any argument for having the old arrangement
(other than the fact that at the moment the existing
versions of most dvi tools are written that way)?
A. V. Le Blanc
ZLSIIAL@uk.ac.mcc.cms
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 15:19:39 +0700
From: CHA001@UK.AC.LANCASTER.CENTRAL1
Subject: reflectedabout and EmTeX Metafont
I have been trying to use the Metafont in EmTeX to create the MUSIC16
font using the MUSIC16.MF file and its appendices in
[TEX-ARCHIVE.FONTS.MTEX]. Presumably this has worked correctly with
other Metafont versions because some created fonts exist.
The problem lies with those characters that use the reflectedabout
instruction e.g. the alto clef and downward quavers, semiquavers etc.
The reflectedabout portions are apparently not drawn although further
investigations reveal that the required shapes are actually erased, i.e.
the pen writes white instead of black.
This happens with both MF.EXE and MF286.EXE. Is it a bug in this
particular version of Metafont; a change in the language definition
since the music font was designed or ... ? Can anyone suggest a
workaround other than the forcing technique of rewriting the code to
avoid the need for reflectedabout.
A search of other .MF files suggests that reflectedabout is rarely used;
the standard fonts certainly do not use it so it is possible noone has
come across this problem before. While reasonably coherent in
TeX and LaTeX I am a complete novice in Metafont. Help required.
Alan Thomson
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 13:14:00 +0000
From: CBTS8001%IE.UCC.IRUCCVAX@UK.AC.EARN-RELAY
Subject: RE: PK -> HP PCL
BooBoo time, I'm afraid. I mentioned a .PK to HP's PCL converter.
No such thing, I'm afraid...finger trouble on my part. What I have
is the HP softfont to .PK converter (ie the other way round) from
Arbortext (came with my DVIHP) and a PD one from Simtel-20.
Sorry for the foul-up. Hope I didn't raise too many people's expectations!
///Peter
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 14:52:00 +0000
From: R.A.REESE@UK.AC.HULL
Subject: MSBM10
I've printed a table of MSBM10. It contains capital letters made up
partly of double lines. However, the usual printed character for
the Real field is, I think, a fairly bold R with a thin vertical
line left of the main vertical. Similarly, I for the Imaginary field
is a bold I with a parallel thin line.
The characters in MSBM10 look more like outline capitals for
display use. Is this an American convention?
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 15:43:29 +0000
From: CA_ROWLEY@UK.AC.OPEN.ACS.VAX
Subject: RE: MSBM10
> The characters in MSBM10 look more like outline capitals for
> display use. Is this an American convention?
No,its just a particular designers interpretation of the idea: I have
yet to meet a mathematician, etc who likes them.
chris
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 91 15:46:43 +0000
From: TEX@UK.AC.CRANFIELD.RMCS
Subject: Problem with Levy's Greek under MF V2.7 (VMS)
Yesterday I wanted to create one of Levy's Greek fonts at a
magnification that we hadn't got, so ran my original DCL command
procedure to do the job.
MF then burped on any of the characters containing the iota subscript;
the problem was that the variable iota_dp was undefined. Now in
GRBASE.MF is a definition along the following lines (I'm typing this
from memory):
> let old_font_setup = font_setup;
> def font_setup =
> define_whole_vertical_pixels(acc_ht,circ_ht,Circ_ht,iota_dp);
> old_font_setup;
> enddef;
The individual parameter files, such as GRREG10.MF define the values of
the `sharped' units, such as iota_dp#. The generator file GREEK.MF
starts off with:
> mode_setup;
> font_setup;
By adding suitable message commands, and showtoken font_setup, I have
determined that font_setup truly does get redefined, and that mode_setup
and font_setup are called as above; however, the action of mode_setup
appears to have the side-effect of redefining font_setup back to its
original setting, which accounts for iota_dp (and acc_ht, etc., for that
matter) being undefined.
Has anyone any idea _why_ this is happening: I'm pretty sure it didn't
work that way under V2.0 of MF (although I might be thinking back to
pre-V2). Incidentally, the effect is the same whether I run it with a
plain base, or with cmbase preloaded. Could it be that CMBASE.MF is
being reread in some way, or by some other mechanism redefining
font_setup.
Any clues would be gratefully received!! Also confirmation (or
otherwise) that it also happens with other implementations of MF.
Brian {Hamilton Kelly}
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------------------------------
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End of UKTeX Digest [Volume 91 Issue 16]
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