UKTeX Digest Friday, 23 Nov 1990 Volume 90 : Issue 41 Today's Topics: Testing for numeric-only input program.sty for typesetting algorithms Underlined keywords PhD Thesis regulations on line spacing Updated versions of LPLAIN.TEX and SPLAIN.TEX Levy's Cweb system ported to MS-DOS and VAX/VMS 7-bit encodings Typsetting fractions Where can I find a manual for Rokicki's DVIPS program? Is there a DVI driver for 24-pin printers for Unix? Thesis Regulations Moderator: Peter Abbott (Aston University) Editor: David Osborne (University of Nottingham) Contributions: UKTeX@uk.ac.aston Administration, subscription and unsubscription requests: UKTeX-request@uk.ac.aston UKTeX back issues: stored in the Aston archive, in the directory DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.UKTEX.90] TeXhax back issues:stored in the Aston archive, in the directory DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.TEXHAX.90] Latest TeXhax: #72 TeXMaG back issues: stored in the Aston archive, in the directory DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.TEX-MAG] Latest TeXMaG: V4 N6 E d i t o r ' s N o t e Apologies for the distribution difficulties with UKTeX in the last week. I have moved the distribution list to a new mail system which meant that many people did not receive issue 41 last week. Accordingly, I am re-sending issue 41, and issue 42 will be sent as usual tomorrow. If you DID receive this issue last week, I'm sorry for the inconvenience of a duplicate copy. --Ed. ------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Nov 90 11:20:22 +0000 From: C20249@UK.AC.POLY-SOUTH-WEST.PRIME-A Subject: Testing for numeric-only input Back in March, I wrote to you asking for help with a TeX/LaTeX query. I have still not had any acknowledgment or reply. Can you please help? Here is my query: I am writing a LaTeX "program" and need your help. I am using \typein to prompt the user to enter a "number" via the terminal. Then I set a counter to the value of the "number" read in. \typein[\mynumber]{Please type a number} \setcounter{mycounter}{\mynumber} What I would like to do is to insert some TeX logic (before setting the counter) to check the validity of the "number" entered (it should consist of a sequence of digits 0-9 only) and to prompt the user again if it contains anything else. I have scoured the TeXbook looking for anything that might appear to be useful or relevant, but I'm not a TeXpert and my search was fruitless. Please can you help. Many thanks. Barry Good - --- Barry Good, Computing Service, POLYTECHNIC SOUTH WEST, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, U.K. Telephone: Plymouth (0752) 233912. Outside UK: +44 752 233912. Fax: (0752) 233922. POLYTECHNIC SOUTH WEST Brunel University (External user) JANET: either B.GOOD@UK.AC.PSW Barry.John.Good@UK.AC.BRUNEL or C20249@UK.AC.PSW.PA xxxxbjg@UK.AC.BRUNEL.CC EAN: B.GOOD@PSW.AC.UK xxxxbjg@CC.BRUNEL.AC.UK EARN/BITNET: B.GOOD%PSW.AC.UK@UKACRL xxxxbjg%CC.BRUNEL.AC.UK@UKACRL INTERNET: As for EARN/BITNET, replacing @UKACRL by @CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Nov 90 15:01:29 +0000 From: MARTIN.WARD@UK.AC.DURHAM Subject: program.sty for typesetting algorithms Here's an update to my LaTeX style file for typesetting programs and algorithms in my favourite style without having to type in endless tabbing commands. Each line is set in math mode so all the indentation and spacing is done automatically. The notation |variable_name| can be used within normal text, maths expressions or programs to indicate a variable name. Use \origbar to get a normal | symbol in a program. The commands \A, \B, \R, \T and \Z typeset the corresponding bold letter with the next object as a substript (eg \S1 typesets {\bf S$_1$} etc). They now cope with primes as well, (eg \S'''). The program.sty file can be easily edited to reflect your favoured style. See the program-demo.tex file for examples. Note that I use the new ``font selection'' mechanism, if you don't there are two lines to change in program.sty - search for FONTSEL to find them. Martin. JANET: Martin.Ward@uk.ac.durham Internet (eg US): Martin.Ward@DURHAM.AC.UK or if that fails: Martin.Ward%uk.ac.durham@nfsnet-relay.ac.uk or even: Martin.Ward%DURHAM.AC.UK@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU BITNET: IN%"Martin.Ward@DURHAM.AC.UK" UUCP:...!mcvax!ukc!durham!Martin.Ward { Martin's contributions are archived at Aston as files PROGRAM.STY and PROGRAM.TEX in directory [TEX-ARCHIVE.LATEX.CONTRIB] program-demo.tex was renamed to PROGRAM.TEX in the archive --Ed. } ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Nov 90 11:49:30 +0000 From: MARTIN.WARD@UK.AC.DURHAM Subject: Underlined keywords In my program typesetting macros I used the following to typeset a bold underlined keyword (taken from the TeXbook answer to exercise 18.26): % Keyword style (works in any mode): \def\keyword#1{\ifmmode\underline{\smash{\mbox{\bf #1}}}\else $\underline{\smash{\mbox{\bf #1}}}$\fi} Recently I stumbled on \underbar (in Appendix B of the TeXbook), with this macro my \keyword macro can be written: % Keyword style (works in any mode): \def\keyword#1{\mbox{\underbar{\bf #1}}} This small change _more_than_halved_ the running time for LaTeX on a 7 page document consisting mostly of algorithms! ie 336 expansions of the first definition of \keword took 30 seconds longer than 336 expansions of the second on my SUN 3/80. It must be the \smash which is taking the time, so the moral of this story is: don't \smash lots of things if there's another way to do it! Martin. (Martin.Ward@uk.ac.durham) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 90 09:30:00 +0000 From: TEX@UK.AC.CRANFIELD.RMCS Subject: PhD Thesis regulations on line spacing In UKTeX Digest Volume 90 : Issue 40 of Friday, 16 Nov 1990, David_Rhead@vme.nott.ac.uk wrote: > I've been mailed by Brian Wylie (bjnw@uk.ac.ed.castle), who is in dispute > with the Edinburgh Postgraduate Office about his thesis line-spacing. > He's produced his thesis with standard LaTeX line-length and inter-line > spacing (which would thus be acceptable to a typographic designer). Their > initial reaction was to tell him to reformat, rebind and resubmit. [...] > If you have any evidence from other places, preferably in the form of > specific regulations that have a "form of words" to cater for typeset > (rather than typewritten) theses, he would be pleased to receive it. My colleague, Niel Kempson, has recently submitted his thesis to the Cranfield Institute of Technology. He writes: > I'm pleased to let you all know that Cranfield accepts theses prepared with > LaTeX. They've accepted an unmodified "report" style. All that they seem > to be worried about is that the margins are wide enough for binding. The > rules specifically recommend *single* spacing to save on "xerographic > reproduction costs". Brian {Hamilton Kelly} +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + JANET: tex@uk.ac.cranfield.rmcs + + BITNET: tex%uk.ac.cranfield.rmcs@ac.uk + + INTERNET: tex%uk.ac.cranfield.rmcs@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk + + UUCP: ...!mcvax!rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk!tex + + OR ...!ukc!rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk!tex + + Smail: School of Electrical Engineering & Science, Royal Military + + College of Science, Shrivenham, SWINDON SN6 8LA, U.K. + + Phone: Swindon (0793) 785252 (UK), +44-793-785252 (International) + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Nov 90 14:30:08 +0000 From: TEX@UK.AC.CRANFIELD.RMCS Subject: Updated versions of LPLAIN.TEX and SPLAIN.TEX In message <9011191725.AA03100@smiley.stanford.edu> of Mon, 19 Nov 90 09:25:11 PST, kolk@edu.stanford.smiley (Dan Kolkowitz) wrote: > I've updated the splain.tex and lplain.tex files in ftp/tex/latex. These updated files, used to generate preloaded versions of SLiTeX and LaTeX, respectively, have been placed in the UK TeX Archive at Aston as [tex-archive.latex]splain.tex and [tex-archive.latex]lplain.tex. They were written by Frank Mittelbach, and may be used with TeX V3.n AND with pre-V3 versions of TeX also. Therefore it is not necessary to retain old versions of the files in case one might want to revert to pre-V3 TeX. They may be obtained by NIFTP (username PUBLIC, password PUBLIC, and specify the full file specification, including directory), or by sending a message to , containing the following: > FILES > [tex-archive.latex]%plain.tex (without the > signs, naturally). Brian {Hamilton Kelly} ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Nov 90 16:24:48 +0000 From: TEX@UK.AC.CRANFIELD.RMCS Subject: Levy's Cweb system ported to MS-DOS and VAX/VMS On the UK TeX Archive at Aston University, directory [tex-archive.web.cweb] contains the sources for building Silvio Levy's CWEB system (a WEB suite which uses C as the programming language, and TeX as the typesetting language) under Unix; this includes a bootstrapping version of Ctangle which permits one to get Cweave, etc., working. Originally this was accompanied by a file VMS.CH which purported to port Cweb onto VAX/VMS: however, Vax-C has been revised since Levy released this, and further changes were necessary to get the system working under VMS. The original VMS.CH has threfore been deleted, and a new subdirectory [tex-archive.web.cweb.vms] added to hold the files for bootstrapping CWEB onto VMS, and the change files to make this Ctangle and Cweave. In addition, I have ported CWEB to MS-DOS (under Borland's Turbo-C V1.5). This was a *major* undertaking, because of clashes between identifiers used in ANSI-standard function prototypes in Borland's libraries and constants defined in the .web files. Other very extensive changes were required to handle the large data structures, which exceed the 64kB segment limit of the PC architecture. However, it's all working eventually, and the files required for bootstrapping it, and the change files, will be found in [tex-archive.web.cweb.ms-dos]. For both of the above ports, the majority of the files of the Unix distribution will also be required. To get started, fetch the file [tex-archive.web.cweb]00readme.txt from Aston, either by NIFTP (username PUBLIC, password PUBLIC), or by sending mail to , with the body of the message consisting of the two lines: FILES [tex-archive.web.cweb]00readme.txt This file will tell you which other files will be required to be fetched to have a working version of CWEB under Unix, VMS or MS-DOS. Brian {Hamilton Kelly} ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Nov 90 21:37:18 +0000 From: GTOAL@UK.AC.EDINBURGH.COMPUTER-SCIENCE.TARDIS Subject: 7-bit encodings I throw my rather substantial weight and less substantial influence behind Dominik :-) ... to introduce a new 7-bit encoding format would be shooting ourselves in the foot. I have exchanged binary files with many sites abroad - often through bitnet - and the standard 'xxencode' works beautifully (not the misnamed new program which was called xxencode for a short time I might add). Phil Taylor explained to me why a new program is wanted - it is because a 7-bit encoded binary file cannot be properly reconstituded on VMS without some extra information. Well, I can think of two solutions: 1) Add *extra* vms information *BEFORE* a normal kosher xxencode file (or after it of course, but not *in* it) 2) Since we only have a small fixed number of file types in the archive where this is a problem (tfm, pk, gf, pxl?) we could write a 'fixup' command which converted a stream_lf or ra binary file to the appropriate record format. Apart from those file types mentioned, I recommend that all other files in the archive are line-based text files which should get through most ftp implementations with their line-stucture preserved. By the way, I ported Wayne Sullivan's sudeco some time back; unless he has put a lot of work into it since then, it had no strong advantages over xxencode and several disadvantages in the way it handled filenames. Graham [PS Personally I prefer btoa but that's only because I don't approve of storing filenames in the file -- they're not portable either!] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Nov 90 08:51:36 -0000 From: P.ABBOTT@UK.AC.ASTON Subject: Typsetting fractions I wrote the following code \newcommand{\myfrac}[2]{{\scriptsize\raisebox{.6ex}{#1}% \kern-.01em\raisebox{.3ex}{/}{#2}}} to typset fractions when using Times Roman postscipt font. I did not want to use mathamatical functions in LaTeX. I now need fractions when using Baskerville font. The problem is now that the fraction is too wide and if I use a smaller size then problems occur between 1/2 and 3/4. Any help on producing fractions that are pleasingto the eye in Baskerville would be appreciated. Peter ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Nov 90 11:14:44 +0000 From: SCHUMANN%ERSMV1.DNET.NASA.GOV%NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK@UK.AC.CRANFIELD.RMCS Subject: Where can I find a manual for Rokicki's DVIPS program? Does anyone know of any user guide for Rokicki's DVIPS program. I can't seem to locate one on the archive, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. I'm trying to VMSise it at the moment but the work is low priority and I don't know when it will be finished. Rob ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Nov 90 15:06:49 +0000 From: CUDAT@UK.AC.WARWICK.CU Subject: Is there a DVI driver for 24-pin printers for Unix? We are looking for a utility to print DVI files on Epson 24-pin printers. The printers we have in mind are the LQ-1500 and the LQ-2500. The computers involved are Sun3's and Sun4's running Unix. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd be very pleased. - -- Jim Hicks, Computing Services, Warwick University, Coventry, England. CV4 7AL Office: Coventry (STD O2O3) 523262 On JANET: cudat@UK.AC.WARWICK.CU ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Nov 90 12:29:00 +0000 From: PJH1@UK.AC.YORK.VAXB Subject: Thesis Regulations In the light of the revised British Standard, the 'advent of typesetting'(!) and the fact that our regulations were last fully revised in the '70s, the University of York has decided to revise its regulations for the presentation of theses. A small working party has been set up to fast track the revision so that they can become mandatory next academic year (such unseemly haste!!!). In the light of experiences already aired here ... have any other Universities tackled this problem - and are they willing, either through this forum or confidentially direct to me, to let me know what changes they have made or tried and what the experience of their new regulations has been in practise? I will happily produce a summary of the results (mentioning no names when so requested!) if this will be an aid to others about to embark on this course. Thank you, Peter J Halls PJH1@York ------------------------------ UK TeX ARCHIVE at ASTON UNIVERSITY *** FTP access *** Host: uk.ac.aston.tex username: public password: public *** Files of interest *** [tex-archive]00aston.readme [tex-archive]00directory.list [tex-archive]00directory_dates.list [tex-archive]00directory.size [tex-archive]00last30days.files *** Media distributions *** Washington Unix tape (28 March 1990) TeX 2.993(==3.0), LaTeX 2.09, Metafont 1.9 (2.0) Unix 4.2/3BSD & System V. Tar 1600bpi, blockfactor 20, 1 file. Send one 2400' tape with return labels AND return postage. VMS backup of the archive requires two 2400' tapes at 6250bpi. VMS backup of TeX 2.991 plus PSprint requires one tape. Exabyte 8mm tapes: same formats available as 1/2in tapes. The following tapes are available: SONY Video 8 cassette P5 90MP, MAXCELL Video 8 cassette P5-90, TDK Video 8 cassette P5-90MPB OzTeX (for Macintosh): Send 10 UNFORMATTED 800K disks with return postage. emTeX (for MS-DOS): Send 11 UNFORMATTED 720K 3.5" disks or 12 UNFORMATTED 5.25" disks with return postage. *** Postage rates: (cheques made payable to Aston University) *** 0.5" tapes: UK: 2.50 pounds sterling (one tape), 5.00 (two tapes). Europe: 5.00 pounds sterling (one tape), 9.00 (two tapes). Outside Europe please enquire. 8mm tapes: UK: 1.00 pound sterling. Europe: 2.00. DC600A cartridges: UK: 1.00 pound sterling. Europe: 2.00. Diskettes: UK: 1.00 pounds sterling. Europe: 2.00. *** Postal address *** Peter Abbott, Computing Service, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET End of UKTeX Digest *******************