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\documentclass{report}
\begin{document}
\title{Availability of \LaTeX{} systems}
\addcontentsline{toc}{subsection}{Availability of \LaTeX{} systems}
\author{}\date{}\maketitle
The traditional \TeX{} implementation is a Command-Line Interface (\textsc{cli})\index{CLI@\textsc{cli}|textbf}\index{\textbf{Acronyms}, defined!CLI@\textsc{cli}|textbf}, that is, a
`console' program which you run from
a Unix or Mac shell window or an MS-DOS command window by
typing the command \verb+tex+ or
\verb+latex+ followed by the name of your
document file. In automated (unattended) systems,
this command is issued from within a Unix shell script or
MS-DOS/Windows batch file. All the popular distributions for
Unix and MS-DOS/Windows, both free and commercial, deliver
this interface as standard (te\TeX{}, fp\TeX{}, MiK\TeX{},
PC-\TeX{}, Turbo\TeX{}, etc).
While it is quite possible to run \TeX{} and \LaTeX{} this
way, it is more normal to use an editor as your interface to
the program as well as to your document. This allows you to
control \LaTeX{}, the typeset display, and other related
programs with a mouse-click or menu item. This is the method
assumed in this booklet. In both the editors used for
examples (\product{Emacs} and
\product{WinEdt}) the typesetting process
is logged visibly in an adjoining text window so that you
can see the progress of pages being typeset, and any error
messages that may occur.\footnote{Some recent versions of
\product{Emacs} hide this window by
default but it is easily revealed.} This method is called
\textbf{\textit{asynchronous}}\index{asynchronous@\textbf{\textit{asynchronous}}}
because the typeset display only updates
\emph{after} you have typed the text and
processed it, not \emph{while} you type
it.
\label{synchro}%
Some commercial implementations of \TeX{}
offer a \textbf{\textit{synchronous}}\index{synchronous@\textbf{\textit{synchronous}}}
typographic interface: \product{Textures}
for the Apple Macintosh from Blue Sky Research,
\product{Scientific Word} from MacKichan
Software, and \product{V\TeX{}} from
MicroPress, Inc (both for Microsoft Windows) are three examples.
At least one free version for Linux and MS-Windows
(\product{Lyx}) offers the same kind of
interface. In these, you type directly into the typographic
display, as with a graphical wordprocessor, using the font
controls of whatever Graphical User
Interface (\textsc{gui})\index{GUI@\textsc{gui}|textbf}\index{\textbf{Acronyms}, defined!GUI@\textsc{gui}|textbf} are appropriate.
With a synchronous display you get your instant textual
gratification, but for complete control of the formatting
you still need access to the \LaTeX{} language. There are
several methods available free for Unix and some other
systems for close-to-synchronous updates of the typeset
display (such as Jonathan Fine's \product{Instant
Preview} and the \TeX{} daemon), and for
embedding typographic fragments from the typeset display
back into the editor window (David Kastrup's
\package{preview-latex} package).
Whatever method you choose, the \TeX{} Live CD-ROMs and
the \textsc{ctan}\index{CTAN@\textsc{ctan}} are not the only source
of software. The following vendors offer robust commercial
implementations of \TeX{} and \LaTeX{}, and if you are in a
position where their enhanced support and additional
features are of benefit, I urge you to support them. In most
cases their companies, founders, and staff have been good
friends of the \TeX{} and \LaTeX{} communities for many
years.
\end{document}
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