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author | Norbert Preining <norbert@preining.info> | 2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900 |
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committer | Norbert Preining <norbert@preining.info> | 2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900 |
commit | e0c6872cf40896c7be36b11dcc744620f10adf1d (patch) | |
tree | 60335e10d2f4354b0674ec22d7b53f0f8abee672 /usergrps/uktug/baskervi/5_3/clark.tex |
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diff --git a/usergrps/uktug/baskervi/5_3/clark.tex b/usergrps/uktug/baskervi/5_3/clark.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..925dc6464d --- /dev/null +++ b/usergrps/uktug/baskervi/5_3/clark.tex @@ -0,0 +1,148 @@ +\newcommand{\sgml}{\textsc{sgml}} +\title{A.N.Other's Gleanings} +\author{} +\begin{Article} +\section{Framed, or a boojum?} +In the latest Nesletter of the BCS eletronic publishing specialist +group, my colleague Conrad Taylor points out the following: ``it +strikes me as odd that people often choose for \emph{electronic} +publishing a tool named after the quark, since an electron is, of +course, a lepton -- just as a muon is -- and nary a quark goes into +making one up.'' We can carry this a little further by noting one of +the many definitions of Frame: ``concoct a false charge or +accusation'', or even recalling that ``the Word was with God''. But as +someone who has to state that he ``works in latex'', it is dangerous +to bandy these words about. On the other hand, you do get invited to +some very interesting parties\dots\ What is in a name anyway? I have +to admire the sheer chutzpah of naming your product after a zone in an +industrial park in Swindon. Trivial Pursuit question: to which vastly +under-rated electronic publishing package do I refer? + +\section{Lettres} +I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the uniform and high standard +of the \emph{Lettres Gutenberg}, the newsletter of our French sister +organisation. In fact, you have to admire them even more when you +appreciate that they produce not only this excellent newsletter, but a +journal which easily stands shoulder to shoulder with \TUB. Our recent +joint meeting on Portable Documents was paralleled by a very similar +meeting of theirs in Nanterre. Many of the papers presented appeared +in \emph{Cahier GUTenberg 19}, making a rather interesting contrast +with those published in the last edition of \BV. The future holds +similar excitements: next is a special edition on character encoding +(it will be difficult to inject excitement into this dry topic, but if +it can be done, it will be done); and in early June, the annual +conference takes/took place. This picks up the theme of electronic +documents and their distribution once more. Slipping the magic words +`Internet' `World Wide Web' and `Acrobat' into your programme is a +sure-fire way of packing the halls. I wish them much success: I have +many pleasant memories of events organised by GUTenberg: I commend +their meetings to you, and urge you to demonstrate your commitment to +the progressive forces in Europe by taking the train to their next +meeting. + +\section{To be taken daily} +A copy of Kopka \& Daly's \emph{A Guide to \LaTeXe} arrived the +other day. I have long been an admirer of the first edition of this +book. The second edition, which, as its new title implies, reflects +the \LaTeXe\ standard, maintains the former high level. I think it +fairly neatly bridges the gap between Lamport's rather terse account +and the uneven whirlwind tour of thousands of packages in the `three +men and a dog' tome which unleashed the new release upon us. I find it +intriguing that in a book of over 500 pages, less than 300 are given +directly to \LaTeXe, and 200 to appendices. The book is published by +Addison-Weley, ISBN 0-201-42777-X. + +\section{Web} +As the World Wide Web continues its inexorable conquest of the world, +let's stand back for a moment and see how \TeX\ fits in. First, look +at its origins. Consider the primitive nature of the early HTML +`standard'. Can you guess why it was so brain dead? If you look at it +closely, you'll see that apart from its hypertext anchors, its two +main features were tons of headings and various types of list +structures. In fact, it was modelled closely on \texttt{texinfo}, a +variant \TeX-macro package used chiefly by the Free Software +Foundation afficionados. Consider too what stroke of chance it was +that led Tim Berners-Lee to sit down with one of \textsc{cern}'s tribe +of \sgml{} people for coffee one morning. Sheer luck (or genius) which +has done more for the street credibility of \sgml{} than years of +conferences in exotic climes and hob-nobbing with the +militarly-industrial complex. Consider also what might have happened +if it had been Michel Goossens who had that fateful cup of coffee with +Tim. The world would now be beating a path to the door of \LaTeX. Or +would it? Nevertheless, \LaTeX\ is re-appearing within HTML +developments. The new `standard', very much still in draft, includes +maths and tables. There is a test-bed available, called \emph{Arena} +which will allow you to see what is planned. The encoding of maths is +essentially that of \LaTeX. And surprisingly, the encoding of tables +looks currently just like \LaTeX\ too -- I say surprisingly since +\texttt{tbl} is more powerful and equally stable. + +\subsubsection{The Trojan horse option} +I wonder though if we are not missing a real opportunity. While +Acrobat, or \texttt{pdf}, is now an `official' \textsc{mime} type +(implying that it can be happily included on the Web, and browsers can +be configured to handle it in a standardised way), \texttt{dvi} has +not yet made it to this status. Consider that Acrobat readers are +available for Sun machines running Solaris (and Motif), and not for +the other myriad of Unix boxes. What is present on almost every Unix +box? Why, \TeX\ and \LaTeX, and therefore something like \texttt{xdvi} +which will display \texttt{dvi} files. Acrobat is therefore not quite +as widely available as we would like (only Solaris, Mac and Windows), +while \TeX\ and \LaTeX\ are not as widespread as we would like on Mac +and Windows (it's not that people can't afford the disk space, since +you can hardly buy a machine these days with less than 500Mbyte of +disk, but rather that the installation is still such a pig). The Unix +piece of the problem is simple, since downloading a \texttt{dvi} file +over the Web would mererly fire up \texttt{xdvi} or some similar +previewer. With Windows, the situation is more difficult. If we had a +nice simple installation of a previewer which could use Multiple +Master fonts, a \texttt{dvi} \textsc{mime} type might be a success. +All I'm talking about is a previewer, not the whole \TeX/\LaTeX\ +installation. Using Adobe's Multiple Master fonts appeals to me as a +way of piggy backing off their technology, and also means that in font +terms, it can do at least anything that Acrobat can. Of course, we +have to change the name of \texttt{dvi}, since it is a registered +trade mark (of Intel?) for digital video\dots One advantage is that +all the archives of scientific papers created using \TeX, \LaTeX\ or +\texttt{groff} are available no matter what platform you use. It would +also be a very open standard, with no whiff of proprietary +machinations. It's so obvious that someone is bound to have done it +already. + +\section{Deathwish 1996} +Am I alone in thinking that there are some odd decisions being made on +the location of TUG conferences? The notion of going to Florida in the +summer didn't appeal to me (although I appreciate that there may have +been a sub-text which somehow equated TUG and Disneyworld), but next +year's conference location outdoes this: Russia. At least I think +that's what they said. Maybe it will really be in Moscow (that's a wee +place in Ayrshire). With at least two TUG members in Russia, it +promises to be an unforgettable meeting. + + +\section{Another famous Belgian} + +You will remember the parlour game where you were challenged to name +ten famous Belgians (it isn't really that difficult). There is now an +eleventh! Michel Goossens of \emph{Companion} fame will be President +of TUG. This makes three non-US Presidents in a row, neatly +confounding any claims that it is solely a US organisation. Someone +unkindly remarked upon the similarity between Michel and Tin-tin, but +apart from the dogs and the nationality I can't see this. Perhaps we +should be told. + +\section{Thank you} + +This edition of \BV\ carries an announcement of the elevation of M +Clark to Honorary Membership of the group. In a rare interview MC told +me how deeply moved he was by this singular honour, all the more so, +he said, since the committee at that time had been populated by a +large number of people who he held in high regard. He went on to say +that one of the things he enjoyed most about the \TeX\ (and \LaTeX) +world was the comradeship and good fellowship which characterised +it. Almost without exception, \TeX\ people helped one another, and did +so in a friendly and concerned way. If anything, they were sometimes +too nice, he added with a twinkle in his eye (too many bottles of Cab +Sov). He asked your correspondent to convey his heartfelt thanks to +all those involved. +\end{Article} |