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   Volume 5                                                        Number 1
 
                     A Mostly Unofficial Publication for
                     Users of the TeX Typesetting System
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contents
 
Departments
  \footnote{}........................................................2
  Letters to the Editor..............................................3
  ToolBox............................................................4
  \news{}............................................................5
Articles
  Replacement for \Vert: DBAR.TEX....................................6
Feature
  DEK talks on TeX...................................................7
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TeXMaG Volume 5 Number 1                                        page 2
_______________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
|                    \footnote{Late, late, yes I know...}                     |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
 
 
Well, I must apologize for the delay, but after working through some
local network problems, a cluster merge, and taking a four week
vacation, I'm finally back to publishing TeXMaG. It has been a much
needed and very nice break.
 
This issue is somewhat short due to the hurriedness of its completion
in order to let you know TeXMaG was still in existence. I think some
of you will really find the ToolBox helpful. It allows you to do some
fun things with the filename of your TeX file. Our ToolBox only
scratched the surface of some things that you could do with the ideas.
If you come up with a creative application, we would love to see (and
print) it!
 
All those things I promised in the previous "On the Horizon" article
last month are still "On the Horizon," but perhaps we are getting a
little closer to dawn.
 
-neil
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TeXMaG Volume 5 Number 1                                        page 3
_______________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
|                           Letters to the Editor                             |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
 
 
Dear editors,
 
As the author of a LaTeX package for writing theses (mitthesis.sty),
your statement about upcoming reviews of such packages piqued my
interest.  What is this going to be about?
 
I also note that the article on fonts asks where to get the Metafont
versions of the Hershey fonts.  There is no Metafont version; these
fonts were digitized by hand.
 
< Stephen
 
[The macro package is called BluTeX, and is the preferred package by
the local thesis clerk for writing theses here at Texas A&M. More on
this in a later issue. -ed]
 
 
 
Dear editors,
 
The Bashkirian and Mongol fonts are also available from listserv@ubvm.
These are the following files:
  rustex-l 90-00266, rustex-l 90-00267, rustex-l 90-00268, rustex-l 90-00270,
  rustex-l 90-00271, rustex-l 90-00274, rustex-l 90-00275, rustex-l 90-00281
The zusatz letters are designed to be used together with the
washington cyrillic fonts.
 
I'm also working on zusatz letters for African languages. There is a
long list of them, published in TeXhax90.065 . Work is still in
progress, but I send you the metafont code, if you send me a short
mail including who you are and the reason of interest. The laguages
covered are:
  Basa (Kru), Dinka, Efik, Ewe, Fulful, G\%a, Hausa, Kanuri, Kpelle,
  Mandekan (Bambara), Mende, Ngala (Lingala), Songhai, Zulu (African)
 
  Kroatian, Maltese and Sami (European)
 
J\"org Knappen               Bitnet: Knappen@dmznat51
Institut f\"ur Kernphysik
Postfach 3980
D-W6500 Mainz
R.F.A.
 
P.S. A Font with miscellaneous symbols is available from listserv@dhdurz1
send wasy uue
It's created by R. Waldi from Karlsruhe. Unfortunately he has
duplicated some work done elsewhere, but there are still enough
interesting things in it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TeXMaG Volume 5 Number 1                                        page 4
_______________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
|                               The ToolBox                                   |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
 
Sometimes it is nice to be able to use the information in a
filename.tex as information in a particular document. For example,
suppose I wanted to typeset TeXMaG on real paper, and be able to have
the volume and issue numbers read from the title of the file that TeX
was processing, and subsequently assigned to tokens for use in the
document, perhaps in a header. Say my file was named TEXMAG-5-1.TEX.
The following would isolate the 5 and the 1 for use within the
document:
 
% This particular idea was developed by our chief consultant
% Dr. John McClain
 
\newtoks \volumenumber
\newtoks \issuenumber
 
\def\parse#1-#2-#3-{\global\volumenumber={#2}
                   \global\issuenumber={#3}}
 
\expandafter\parse\jobname-
 
\headline={Volume \the\volumenumber, Number \the\issuenumber
\hfil page \folio}
 
% end of macro
 
Notice the \jobname contains the name of the file (without any
extension, see the TeXBook, p. 213). The \expandafter allows you to
piece apart this token into its volume and number. We also had to
chose a special delimiter which would conform to standards of a
filename and be a legal parameter delimiter in TeX. A space would not
have worked as a legal file name. A hyphen was our best choice.
When you test this, remember that the filename must conform to the
parameter specs of \parse (in this case, two minus signs, i.e.
XXXX-N-N.TEX).
 
Like I said earlier, this is just a start. Take the ball and run with
this idea. We'd love to see your creative applications!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TeXMaG Volume 5 Number 1                                        page 5
_______________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
|                        \news{Announcing: INFO-TeX}                          |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
 
 
INFO-TeX is a new list supported by Sam Houston State University to
provide an unmoderated environment for the discussion of Donald
Knuth's TeX document processing  system. The discussions are intended
to include all related aspects and extensions of TeX on all operating
platforms, including LaTeX, AMSTeX, BibTeX, METAFONT, and others based
on or consistent with the logic and structure of TeX.
 
The explicit purpose of INFO-TeX is to provide quick and timely
interchange between subscribers, to provide a forum where support may
be available for interesting questions which cannot be addressed
locally, and to discuss the evolution of TeX and its related products.
Archives of INFO-TeX postings will be available for reference. As is
the case on all unmoderated lists, the discussion and  topics are only
limited by the participation and interest of its subscribers.
Subscribers are welcome to take an active role by posting to INFO-TeX
or an inactive role by monitoring the list.
 
To subscribe to INFO-TeX, please send a MAIL message to:
 
                           LISTSERV@SHSU.BITNET
 
The body of this MAIL message should be one line and contain the words:
 
SUBSCRIBE INFO-TeX
 
Questions regarding this announcement should be addressed to the list
owner at any of the addresses listed below.
 
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
George D. Greenwade, Ph.D.                      Bitnet:
BED_GDG@SHSU
Department of Economics and Business Analysis    THEnet: SHSU::BED_GDG
P. O. Box 2118                                    Voice: (409) 294-1266
Sam Houston State University                      FAX:   (409)294-3612
Huntsville, TX 77341   Internet: bed_gdg%shsu.bitnet@utadnx.cc.utexas.edu
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TeXMaG Volume 5 Number 1                                        page 6
_______________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
|                          Replacement for \Vert                              |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
 
by Raymond Chen
 
Mathematical types out there might find the following macros amusing.
They let you type || instead of \Vert under most circumstances.  I
find that they make the ASCII a little more readable.  These macros
have served me for three years, but that doesn't mean that they're
bug-free.  (In particular, they haven't been tested with LaTeX.)  Bug
reports gracefully accepted.
 
%% dbar.tex -- allow the double bar to be entered directly into math formulas
%%  by Raymond Chen (raymond@math.berkeley.edu)
%
% With these macros, you can write || anyplace you normally would type \Vert,
% except after \big \Big etc.  (\left and \right work fine.)
% With a little more work, one could even get \big, \Big, etc. to work,
% but it's probably not worth the trouble since one rarely sees nested
% parentheses inside a || ... ||.  (Right?)  Besides, you can just type
% \big\| like you did in the good ol' days.
 
\catcode`\"=11          % Make " a letter
\catcode`\|=\active
\def\"bar{\futurelet\next\"bar"}
\let|=\"bar
\def\"bar"{\ifx\next|\let\next\eat"bar\else\let\next\vert\fi\next}
\def\eat"bar|{\|}
 
% Must redefine \left and \right to handle this new convention
\let\"left=\left
\let\"right=\right
 
% \left and \right save the direction in \nxt and the delimiter in \next
\def\left{\let\nxt\"left\futurelet\next\del"mcheck}
\def\right{\let\nxt\"right\futurelet\next\del"mcheck}
 
% \del"mcheck dispatches the natural case and calls \bar"check
% for the vertical bar case.
\def\del"mcheck{\ifx\next|\let\next\bar"check\else\let\next\nxt\fi\next}
 
% \bar"check eats the vertical bar and sees if there is another one
\def\bar"check|{\futurelet\next\dbar"check}
 
% \dbar"check sees if there's another one; if not, it typesets as usual;
% otherwise, typeset the \Vert.
\def\dbar"check{\ifx\next|\let\next\eat"bar\else\let\next\vert\fi\nxt\next}
 
\catcode`\"=12  % back to normal
 
%%%% An example
 
We can define
$$\eqalign{
    || v || &=  \left|| \sum_i \alpha_i e_i \right||  \cr
            &=  \max_i |\alpha_i| \cr
}$$
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TeXMaG Volume 5 Number 1                                        page 7
_______________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                             |
|                       The Future of TeX and Metafont                        |
|_____________________________________________________________________________|
 
[I read this first in TeXline, although I belive it appeared in
TUGboat as well. -ed]
 
by Donald Knuth
 
My work on developing TeX, Metafont, and Computer Modern has come to
an end. I will make no further changes except to correct extremely
serious bugs.
 
I have put these systems into the public domain so that people
everywhere can use the ideas freely if they wish. I have also spent
thousands of hours trying to ensure that the systems produce
essentially identical results on all computers. I strongly believe
that an unchanging system has great value, even though it is axiomatic
that any complex system can be improved. Therefore I believe that it
is unwise to make further `improvements' to the systems called TeX and
Metafont. Let us regard these systems as fixed points, which should
give the same results 100 years from now that they produce today.
 
The current version number for TeX is 3.1, and for Metafont it is 2.7.
If corrections are necessary, the next versions of TeX will be 3.14,
then 3.141, then 3.1415, ..., converging to the ratio of a circle's
circumference to its diameter; for Metafont the sequence will be 2.71,
2.718, ..., converging to the base of natural logarithms. I intend to
be fully responsible for all changes to these systems for the rest of
my life. I will periodically study reports of apparent bugs, and I
will decide whether changes need to be made. Rewards will be paid to
the first finders of any true bugs, at my discretion, but I can no
longer afford to double the size of the reward each year. Whenever I
have created a new version, I will put it in the official master TeX
archive, which currently resides at Stanford University. At the time
of my death, it is my intention that the then-current versions of TeX
and Metafont be forever left unchanged, except that the final version
numbers to be reported in the `banner' lines of the programs should
become
 
                        TeX, Version $\pi$
and
 
                       METAFONT, Version $e$
 
respectively. From that moment on, all `bugs' will be permanent
`features.'
 
As stated on the copyright pages of Volumes B, D, and E, anybody can
make use of my programs in whatever way they wish, as long as they do
not use the names TeX, Metafont, or Computer Modern. In particular,
any person or group who wants to produce a program superior to mine is
free to do so. However, nobody is allowed to call a system TeX or
Metafont unless that system conforms 100% to my own programs, as I
have specified in the manuals for the trip and trap tests. And nobody
is allowed to use the names of the Computer Modern fonts in Volume E
for any fonts that do not produce identical .tfm files. This
prohibition applies to all people or machines, whether appointed by
TUG or by any other organization. I do not intend to delegate the
responsibility for maintainance of TeX, Metafont, or Computer Modern
to anybody else, ever.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                page 8
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Of course I do not claim to have found the best solution to every
problem. I simply claim that it is a great advantage to have a fixed
point as a building block. Improved macro packages can be added on the
input side; improved device drivers can be added on the output side. I
welcome continued research that will lead to alternative systems that
can typeset documents better than TeX is able to do. But the authors
of such systems must think of another name.
 
That is all I ask, after devoting a substantial portion of my life to
the creation of these systems and making them available to everybody
in the world. I sincerely hope that the members of TUG will help me to
enforce these wishes, by putting severe pressure on any person or
group who produces any incompatible system and calls it TeX or
Metafont or Computer Modern -- no matter how slight the
incompatibility might seem.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
______________________________________________________________________
TeXMaG is an electronic magazine available free of charge to all
interested parties reachable by electronic mail. It is published
monthly. Letters to the editor may be sent to NABTEXM@TAMVENUS
(BITNet) or NABTEXM@RIGEL.TAMU.EDU (Internet) and may be published in
a future issue.
 
    Publisher:             Academic Computing Services of
                                 Texas A&M University
 
    Managing Editor:             Neil Burleson
    Copy Editor:                 Diana Armstrong
 
    Chief Consultant:            John McClain, Ph.D
 
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\bye bye!
%                            End of TeXMaG
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