README first BLUe's format system June 1996 Subject: Note which accompanies BLUe's format system and provides a survey of the background articles. The BLUe's format system is for typesetting with plain TeX, and is shareware available. (A happy :-) user is requested to send the equivalent of ~20 breads in US dollars to the author to support his work especially upgrading my hardware. The pricing policy is according to the macindex and appropriate for users in financial disadvantaged countries. Don't send breads nor a check. Just the money in an envelope.) The user's guide `Publishing with TeX' and accompanying articles which explain details and show examples are free for personal use. No profit is allowed to make from it. When the results are used a proper credit ---be it Knuth or the authors of gkpmac, or me for the composition and the fill-ins--- is the least a happy publishing user can do. Best wishes and good luck, ---Kees--- cgl@rc.service.rug.nl How to process the PWT user's guide? ------------------------------------ Copy blue.tex, fmt.dat, tools.dat, pic.dat, next to the PWT files pwt.scr is the basic script which invokes all the other chapters: pwt.int, pwt.txt, pwt.mat, pwt.tab, pwt.grf, pwt.ref, pwt.ind, pwt.cus, pwt.aft, pwt.fmt, pwt.tls, pwt.sur, pwt.his, pwt.tot, pwt.obs, into a directory where TeX can find them, and then run tex tex pwt.scr (Each chapter can be processed independently via tex pwt.int for example). Contents BLUe's format system ----------------------------- The files are: blue.tex (format) fmt.dat (variant formats) tools.dat (tools like indexing) address.dat, lit.dat, pic.dat (databases) The user's guide is called Publishing with TeX. A handy auxiliary is pfile to print blue.tex with appropriate line numbers. A generalization is pgfile which prompts for the name of the file to be printed. The files which compose the user's guide Publishing with TeX have pwt as rootname and the chapter indicaton as extension. pwt.scr is the basic script which invokes all the other chapters: pwt.int, pwt.txt, pwt.mat, pwt.tab, pwt.grf, pwt.ref, pwt.ind, pwt.cus, pwt.aft, pwt.fmt, pwt.tls, pwt.sur, pwt.his, pwt.tot, pwt.obs. In total 16 files. Answers to the exercises, list of examples, table of contents, and index---yes that is new---are all generated on the fly and included automatically as appendices. Special is plnindex.tpl, a template for indexing loosened from blue.tex. It can be used with AnyTeX, as an independent tool for making an index. Needed is tools.dat, especially the sorting and indexing macros. The latter are loaded selectively from the database tools.dat. Background articles (Have appeared in MAPS and are available on NTG's CD-ROM) ------------------- BLUe's Format (The umbrella article about blue.tex.) BLUe's Graphs (The gkppic macros are explained.) BLUe's Cross-Refs (One-pass cross-referencing with math.) BLUe's Bibliography (One-pass bibliography handling.) BLUe's Verbatim (Handling verbatims in TeX.) BLUe's Transparencies (The making of transparencies.) BLUe's Index (The making of indexes in a one-pass job.) BLUe's Pascal (About typesetting Pascal programs/fragments.) BLUe's Reports (The making of reports.) BLUe's Letters (The making of letters.) BLUe's Databases (The approach to storing auxiliaries.) BLUe-2-LaTeX (Acceptance and conversion.) Related material (Have appeared in MAPS and are available on NTG's CD-ROM) ---------------- Manmac BLUes (Is all about manmac, as-is etc.) AMS BLUes (Details with AMS practice, \lsams for formatting references is inspired upon AMS.) TUGboat BLUes (TUGboat styles are discussed. ppt.tex emerged from this which is at the heart of blue.tex) Math into BLUes (The typesetting of math via TeX is detailed with.) Icons via lfonts (Common matrix icons via LaTeX's fonts.) Table Diversions (The typesetting of tables via TeX is treated.) Auxiliary (Have appeared in MAPS and are available on NTG's CD-ROM) --------- Sorting in BLUe (The basics needed for making a simple index.) FIFO and LIFO sing the BLUes (FIFO paradigm is treated, fundamental.) Syntactic Sugar (Discusses various approaches to macros.) An overview is supplied in What is TeX and METAfont all about? (NLUUG, 1993) The relation to SGML is treated in SGML(TeX,\dots ). (Cork 1990) Spivak's approach has been reviewed in Spivak's Oeuvre. For fun are added---and also show macro writing by example--- Typesetting bridge via TeX Typesetting crosswords via TeX Tower of Hanoi, revisited. Paradigms (See elsewhere in the CTAN; --------- have appeared in MAPS and are available on NTG's CD-ROM) Headache? Plain's item extended Two-part macros Parameterization I Options Parameterization II Place within context Winds and halfwinds---Details matter It's all in the game Loops Searching in BLUe Sorting in TeX Just a little bit of PostScript (with a few .eps files) Of course all the articles run with blue.tex in plain TeX. Earlier versions have appeared in NTG's MAPS casu quo in proceedings of TuG/LUG meetings. Kees van der Laan, Hunzeweg 57, 9893PB, Garnwerd, The Netherlands. Phone: (31) (0)594 62 1525, email: cgl@rc.service.rug.nl.