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diff --git a/info/digests/texhax/txh/pavel1.txh b/info/digests/texhax/txh/pavel1.txh new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..1b11ecb3bf --- /dev/null +++ b/info/digests/texhax/txh/pavel1.txh @@ -0,0 +1,778 @@ + 6-Jan-87 14:26:26-PST,19188;000000000000 +Return-Path: <mcvax!nplpsg!jrp@seismo.CSS.GOV> +Received: from seismo.CSS.GOV by SU-SCORE.ARPA with TCP; Tue 6 Jan 87 14:24:36-PST +Received: from mcvax.UUCP by seismo.CSS.GOV (5.54/1.14) with UUCP + id AA12122; Tue, 6 Jan 87 17:26:41 EST +Received: by mcvax.cwi.nl; Tue, 6 Jan 87 23:09:20 +0100 (MET) +Received: from nplpsg.uucp by eagle.Ukc.AC.UK with UUCP id a011462; + 6 Jan 87 21:59 GMT +Received: from suna by suna.psg.npl.co.uk; Tue, 6 Jan 87 21:36:58 GMT +To: TeXhax@score.stanford.edu, unix-tex@ward.cs.washington.edu +Subject: TeX V troff +Return-Receipt-To: mcvax!psg.npl.co.uk!jrp@seismo.CSS.GOV +Date: Tue, 06 Jan 87 21:36:56 GMT +Message-Id: <3417.536967416@psg.npl.co.uk> +From: John Pavel <mcvax!nplpsg!jrp@seismo.CSS.GOV> + + +Here is a slightly more readable version of the paper that I sent out at +the end of last year. + +It was processed with the dvidoc program available from ken@rochester.arpa. + + +John Pavel +----snip--------snip--------snip--------snip--------snip--------snip---- + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Document Preparation: + + Some Notes on TeX and troff + + + John Pavel + National Physical Laboratory + Division of Information Technology and Computing + Protocol Standards Group + + 1.15 dated 86/12/23 at 11:38:13 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Abstract + + This document gives a short comparison of +various features of the text formatters troff +and TeX. + Any opinions expressed here are the personal +opinions of the author. + The document is, at present incomplete. The +main features lacking are +1. A good bibliography; + +2. A list of sources; + +3. Some conclusions. + + + + + + +Contents + +1The Formatters 2 + 1.1troff ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 2 + 1.2TeX :: ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 2 + +2Cost 3 + 2.1troff ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 3 + 2.2TeX :: ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 3 +3Markup Codes 3 + 3.1troff ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 3 + 3.2TeX :: ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 4 + 3.3Macro Packages ::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 4 + +4Driving Output Devices 6 + 4.1troff ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 6 + 4.2TeX :: ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 7 + +5User Interface 8 + 5.1troff ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 8 + 5.2TeX :: ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 8 +6Fonts 8 + 6.1Restrictions ::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 9 + +7Typesetting Mathematics 9 + 7.1troff and eqn :::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 9 + 7.2TeX :: ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 9 +8Tables, Lines and Boxes 9 + 8.1troff and tbl :::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 9 + 8.2TeX :: ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: : 9 + +9Graphics 10 + 9.1troff ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: :10 + 9.2TeX :: ::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: :10 + +1Documentation 11 +1Other Utilities 11 + 11.Slide Preparation ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: :11 + 11.Program Grinding : ::::: :::::: ::::: ::::: :11 + 11.Bibliographic Citation : :::::: ::::: ::::: :12 + + + + + + + 1 + + + + + + +1 The Formatters + +The two computerised text formatting systems +considered in this note are TeX and troff . + + +1.1 troff + +troff was developed by Ossanna and is available +only on Unix1 systems (which runs on almost +all machines known to man. ). It is probably +less sophisticated than TeX, but has very +nice preprocessors for tables, mathematics and +figures. + + +1.2 TeX +TeX was developed at Stanford by Donald Knuth. +It runs on almost all machines known to +man, including the VAX2 (under both ULTRIX3 + +(4.2bsd) and VMS4), Sun, IBM PC5, the big +IBM VMCMS7 machines, and the Macintosh8 . It +can produce exquisite results, particularly for +mathematics. It is especially skillful at +line-, paragraph-, and page-break selection. + There is a TeX Users Group with over 1000 +members. It publishes a semi-annual journal +---------------------- + 1Unix is a trademark of AT&T Bell +Laboratories. + 2VAX is a trademark of Digital Equipment +Corporation. + 3ULTRIX is a trademark of Digital Equipment +Corporation. + 4VMS is a trademark of Digital Equipment +Corporation. + 5IBM PC is a trademark of International +B6VMniss aactrademarkncoofoInternational Business +Machines, Incorporated. + 7CMS is a trademark of International Business +Machines, Incorporated. + 8Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, +Incorporated. + + + 2 + + + + + + +2 Cost + +2.1 troff + +troff comes as part of any Unix system. A +more recent version called ditroff is available +part of a package of tools called the +Documentor's Work Bench (DWB) at an extra cost +of about $3,000. + + +2.2 TeX + +The Unix version of TeX is available for the +cost of a magnetic tape. + + +3 Markup Codes + +Both TeX and troff operate on formatting +commands embedded in the source text. This +makes it easy to + + ?transfer documents using electronic mail; + ?use the full power of the available text + manipulation tools for transforming the + input. + + +3.1 troff + +The majority of troff markup codes consist +mainly of two-letter dot-prefixed commands +starting at the beginning of a line. For +example, + +This text appears on one page. +.bp +Starts a new page. +.sp 3i +leaves a three inch gap. + +Blank lines can be used to break paragraphs and + indented ones force indentation. + + + 3 + + + + + + +3.2 TeX + +The majority of TeX markup codes are backslash- +prefixed words. Braces, or brackets enclose +arguments and contexts. For example, + +Text entry is free format. + +However, a blank line starts off a new paragraph, +which, in the default mode, produces no ex- +tra vertical +spacing, but a some extra indentation, just like in a +proper book. + +{\em The text in these braces will be empha- +sised.} While +this following text will not. + +\centerline{The text in this argument will be centered} + When formatted, this produces + + Text entry is free format. + However, a blank line starts off a new + paragraph, which, in the default mode, + produces no extra vertical spacing, but + a some extra indentation, just like in a + proper book. + The text in these braces will be + emphasised. While this following text + will not. + The text in this argument will be centered + + +3.3 Macro Packages +Both TeX and troff operate on very low-level +commands. A number of macro packages exist for +both systems to allow the user to express his +formatting requirements at a "higher" level. +In general, a macro cannot be distinguished +from a more primitive command. + + + + + + + 4 + + + + + + +3.3.1 troff + +-ms: This basic package is almost universally +available with troff , which makes it attractive +when portability of marked texts is important. +It is very simple to use. Although it is +fairly restricted in scope, it suffices for the +majority of papers and memos. + +-me: This package comes only with the bsd + +systems. It is also fairly simple (probably +about the complexity of Pages). It is cleaner +than the -ms macros in the sense that if you do +have a slightly unusual requirement and need to +descend into troff you are much less likely to +upset the -me. + +-mm: This relatively recent package comes only +with System V Unix systems and is, in some +sense, the future standard one to be used with +troff. It is much more extensive than the -ms +macros and allows easier "tuning" of document +appearance. + + +3.3.2 TeX +LaTeX: This is an excellent general-purpose +macro, suitable for articles, reports, letters, +books, etc. LaTeX is straightforward to +use, although it can be frustrating if you +want to drop into "manual override". A +document can then be formatted according to a +specified "style" without altering the source +text. A number of basic styles, as well as +styles for some well-known computing journals +such as CACM, are available. LaTeX has good +support for indexing and cross-referencing. It +is rapidly becoming the standard TeX macro +package. + + +AMS-TeX : This is similar to LaTeX, but biased +more towards mathematicians (AMS stands for the + + + 5 + + + + + + +American Mathematical Society). + + +texinfo: This is a public-domain macro package +for producing program documentation. It is +a lot less powerful than any of the packages +previously mentioned but, as well as the +possibility of typeset output, tree-structured +documentation packages may be produced. + + +4 Driving Output Devices + +In both cases, the user types in a marked +up document, processes it using TeX or troff, +producing an output file which can be used +to drive a huge variety of output devices, +including the Sun screen. + + +4.1 troff +troff has a sister program called nroff which +accepts exactly the same input as troff but is +designed to drive fixed-width character devices +such as daisy-wheel printers. Configuring +a new type of printer is straightforwardly +achieved by completing a table. + troff drivers are available also available +from the suppliers of the major laser printer +suppliers. For example, + + ?Imagen (8/300, 12/300), + + ?Apple (LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus), + + ?HP (Laserjet and LaserJet Plus), + ?QMS (800 or 1200 Lasergrafix printers), + + ?Xerox laser printers. + Configuring troff itself for a new typesetter +is a significantly more difficult task. +Drivers are known to exist for the + + ?Mergenthaler Linotron 202, + + + 6 + + + + + + + ?Wang CAT, + + ?Autologic APS-5, + and the + + ?Monotype Lasercomp +typesetters. + ditroff output may be previewed on a +Tektronix 4014 terminal. + + +4.2 TeX + +Configuring TeX for a new device is also a +fairly involved task. However, many more such +drivers exist than for troff. For example, + + ?Epson, IBM, Toshiba, Okidata dot matrix + printers, + ?IBM PC with + + -- Hercules Graphics Card, + -- IBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter, + + -- Tecmar Graphics Master Card, + ?AT&T 6300 PC (no card required), + + ?Olivetti M24 PC (no card required), + + ?vt100s terminals, + ?the laser printers mentioned above and the + Data Products LNZ-2660, + + ?Linotype L100 and L300 phototypesetters. + + It is known that John Wiley & Sons, +Addison-Wesley and Springer-Verlag will accept +and assist in the publication of books and +articles typeset using TeX. + + + + + + + + 7 + + + + + + +5 User Interface + +5.1 troff + +troff is completely non-interactive. A small +number of error messages can arise, but +most errors are discovered by looking at the +formatted output, usually by running through +nroff to the VDU screen. This turns out to be +less of a problem in practise than it might at +first sound. + + +5.2 TeX + +TeX complains and stops upon finding a syntax +error in the input, allowing the user to take +take simple remedial action (e.g., by inserting +the correct spelling of a command, or by asking +TeX to ignore a number of subsequent tokens). + + +6 Fonts + +The available fonts depend on the output +device. A number of devices use the +public domain Computer Modern fonts designed by +Donald Knuth with METAFONT. This font family +comprises some 75 different fonts in the common +sizes in the range 5 to 72 points. TeX +can magnify these to provide an even greater +variety. Many, many mathematical symbols, +accent marks and other symbols are available. +Cyrilic and OCR (Optical Character Recognition) +fonts are also available for TeX. + In the unlikely event of being unable find +a suitable special character, the expert may +resort to METAFONT. There are also various +public domain pixel-based character generators. +These facilities are probably most likely to be +required only for logo design, however. + + + + + + 8 + + + + + + +6.1 Restrictions + +Older versions of troff allow no more than four +different styles of font per document (e.g., +roman, bold, italic and special). There are no +such restrictions in TeX or ditroff. + + +7 Typesetting Mathematics + + +7.1 troff and eqn +troff has a preprocessor called eqn which al- +lows the "pronounceable" entry of mathematical +equations. It was designed to be easy to +use for typist and casual users, assuming +that they have an elementary comprehension of +mathematics. It produces reasonable results. + + +7.2 TeX + +TeX has a built-in mathematics mode. It is +slightly more cryptic than eqn. For users +setting a lot of mathematics, requiring perfect +results, there is only TeX. + + +8 Tables, Lines and Boxes + +8.1 troff and tbl + +troff has a preprocessor called tbl which +permits very easy composition of tables. It +can even be used for the production of simple +line diagrams. This is one of troff 's +strongest features. + + +8.2 TeX +TeX has built-in alignment facilities. These +are very powerful, but much more frightening +and verbose than tbl. However, LaTeX provides + + + + 9 + + + + + + +table drawing facilities which are almost as +good as tbl. All manner of lines and boxes are +also possible. + + +9 Graphics + +Neither troff nor TeX were designed for the +production of sophisticated artwork and this is +certainly an area of weakness. + + +9.1 troff + +The Documentor's Workbench has several ditroff +preprocessors: + +pic: which allow easy descriptive of line + figures comprised of lines, arrows, circles + and ellipses. +ideal: is similar to pic, but uses simultaneous + equations and co-ordinates to determine the + positions of points. ideal can also specify + dashed circles and shaded regions. + +grap: is a preprocessor for pic for designed for + producing graphs. It is highly spoken of. + + +9.2 TeX + +LaTeX has an picture sketching facility with +similar capabilities to pic. However, it is +much harder to use, since the user has to +perform more of his own calculations. It +should eventually be possible to incorporate +pictures from the Macintosh into TeX output. + TeX packages for typsetting representa- +tions of organic molecules and other semi- +sophisticated graphics also exist. + + + + + + + 10 + + + + + + +10 Documentation + +Both troff and TeX are extensively documented. +A wider choice of textbook is available for +troff, since it is much older. + + +11 Other Utilities + + +11.1 Slide Preparation + +11.1.1 troff +troff has no special facilities for producing +slides. However, it is possible to use a +normal macro package and large point sizes with +reasonable success. + ditroff comes with a set of macros (-mv) for +simple viewgraph and slide production. + + +11.1.2 TeX + +SliTeX/ is a variant of the LaTeX macro +package designed for slide production. It is +particularly good for managing the production +of large collections of slides and of +multi-layer slides (overlays). + +11.2 Program Grinding + +tgrind is a useful little utility which, +given a few facts about the punctuation of a +programming language, will "grind" out a TeX +source file which can be turned into a nicely +formatted listing. A ground listing of a +Pascal program is shown in Figure 1. + A similar facility for use with troff called +vgrind also exists, but appears to function +only on Berkeley Unix driving a Versatec +printer. + + + + + + 11 + + + + + +----------------------------------------------------- + +program hello(output); + + procedure welcome; + begin + writeln("Hello World.") + end; + +begin + f This is a little demonstration program in Pascal. g + 10 + welcome +end. + +----------------------------------------------------- + + +11.3 Bibliographic Citation + +It is convenient to be able to keep +databases of literature references and have +bibliographies generated automatically from +citations inserted into the source texts. + + +11.3.1 troff +The troff preprocessor for fleshing out +citations from a set of keywords embedded in +the source text is called refer. lookbib and +addbib allow examination and extension of refer +bibliographic databases. + + +11.3.2 TeX + +BibTeX is the LaTeX equivalent of refer. +It requires precise citations which makes +it slightly less convenient for normal use +than refer. However, BibTeX is programmable +and can be used to format the references +into any conceivable style. A number of +different bibliographic styles are available, +particularly for the more prestigious computing +journals. + + + 12 + + + + + + + A facility called Tib to use refer-formatted +bibliographic databases with TeX also exists. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 13 + +------- |