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author | Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> | 2010-04-07 22:47:28 +0000 |
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committer | Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> | 2010-04-07 22:47:28 +0000 |
commit | 3f1971c9b7717818766692c9aa497e20e7472f2c (patch) | |
tree | 678de0190b6643b1b21fd9441fa1387bce180726 /Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-backgrnd.tex | |
parent | c7c3b090320a234149dbe23315e2a15a2773ac79 (diff) |
FAQ-en 3.19d (7apr10)
git-svn-id: svn://tug.org/texlive/trunk@17742 c570f23f-e606-0410-a88d-b1316a301751
Diffstat (limited to 'Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-backgrnd.tex')
-rw-r--r-- | Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-backgrnd.tex | 77 |
1 files changed, 52 insertions, 25 deletions
diff --git a/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-backgrnd.tex b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-backgrnd.tex index 9719b0ad108..3612c0209ed 100644 --- a/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-backgrnd.tex +++ b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-backgrnd.tex @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -% $Id: faq-backgrnd.tex,v 1.2 2009/12/10 20:38:28 rf10 Exp $ +% $Id: faq-backgrnd.tex,v 1.5 2010/02/08 22:24:15 rf10 Exp $ \section{The Background} @@ -26,23 +26,48 @@ Knuth developed a system of % ! line breaks `\Qref*{literate programming}{Q-lit}' to write \TeX{}, and he provides the literate (\acro{WEB}) source of \TeX{} free of charge, together with tools for processing the |web| source into something -that can be compiled and something that can be printed; there's never -any mystery about what \TeX{} does. Furthermore, the \acro{WEB} system -provides mechanisms to port \TeX{} to new operating systems and -computers; and in order that one may have some confidence in the ports, -Knuth supplied a \Qref*{test}{Q-triptrap} by +that can be compiled and something that can be printed; there is (in +principle) never any mystery about what \TeX{} does. Furthermore, the +\acro{WEB} system provides mechanisms to port \TeX{} to new operating +systems and computers; and in order that one may have some confidence +in the ports, Knuth supplied a \Qref*{test}{Q-triptrap} by means of which one may judge the fidelity of a \TeX{} system. \TeX{} and its documents are therefore highly portable. +For the interested programmer, the distribution of \TeX{} has some +fascination: it's nothing like the way one would construct such a +program nowadays, yet it has lasted better than most, and has been +ported to many different computer architectures and operating +systems~--- the sorts of attributes that much modern programming +practice aims for. The processed `readable' source of \TeX{} the +program may be found in the % ! line break +\begin{hyperversion} + \Qref*{\acro{TDS} structured version}{Q-tds} of the distribution. +\end{hyperversion} +\begin{dviversion} + \Qref*{\acro{TDS} structured version of the distribution}{Q-tds}. +\end{dviversion} +\begin{ctanrefs} +\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Knuth's source distribution]\CTANref{knuth-dist} +\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Knuth's sources in \acro{TDS} layout]\CTANref{knuth-tds} +\end{ctanrefs} + +\Question[Q-plaintex]{What's ``writing in \TeX{}''?} + \TeX{} is a macro processor, and offers its users a powerful -programming capability. For this reason, \TeX{} on its own is a -pretty difficult beast to deal with, so Knuth provided a package of -macros for use with \TeX{} called \plaintex{}; \plaintex{} is -effectively the minimum set of macros one can usefully employ with -\TeX{}, together with some demonstration versions of higher-level -commands (the latter are better regarded as models than used as-is). -When people say they're ``programming in \TeX{}'', they usually mean -they're programming in \plaintex{}. +programming capability. To produce a document, you write macros and +text interleaved with each other. The macros define an environment in +which the text is to be typeset. + +However, the basic \TeX{} engine is pretty +basic, and is a pretty difficult beast to deal with. Recognising this +(and not wanting to write the same things at the start of every +document, himself) Knuth provided a package of macros for use with +\TeX{}, called \plaintex{}; \plaintex{} is a useful minimum set of +macros that can be used with \TeX{}, together with some demonstration +versions of higher-level commands. When people say they're ``writing +(or programming) in \TeX{}'', they usually mean they're programming in +\plaintex{}. \Question[Q-TeXpronounce]{How should I pronounce ``\TeX{}''?} @@ -416,6 +441,9 @@ work, but not as well as on an \eTeX{} system. The % ! line break \Qref*{\LaTeX{} team}{Q-LaTeX3} has announced that future \LaTeX{} packages (specifically those from the team, as opposed to those individually contributed) may require \eTeX{} for optimum performance. +\begin{ctanrefs} +\item[\eTeX{}]\CTANref{etex} +\end{ctanrefs} \Question[Q-whatpdftex]{What is \PDFTeX{}?} @@ -807,17 +835,16 @@ projects: see, for example, %\Qref[and]{and the SGML work}{Q-SGML}) to build substantial new macro packages based on \TeX{}. For the even longer term, there -are various projects to build a \emph{successor} to \TeX{}; see, for example, -the -\begin{narrowversion} - \LuaTeX{}, Omega/Aleph and \ExTeX{} projects (questions -\end{narrowversion} -\Qref[\nothtml]{\LuaTeX{}}{Q-luatex}, -\Qref[\nothtml]{Omega/Aleph}{Q-omegaleph} and -\Qref[\nothtml]{\ExTeX{}}{Q-extex}\narrowonly{).} -\begin{wideversion} - projects. -\end{wideversion} +are various projects to build a \emph{successor} to \TeX{}. The +\Qref*{\eTeX{}}{Q-etex} extension to \TeX{} itself arose from such a +project (\acro{NTS}). Another pair of projects, which have delivered +all the results they are likely to deliver, is the related % ! line break +\Qref*{Omega and Aleph}{Q-omegaleph}. The % ! line break +\Qref*{\xetex{} system}{Q-xetex} is in principle still under +development, but is widely used, and the % ! line break +\Qref*{\LuaTeX{} project}{Q-luatex} (though with another two years of +development scheduled) has already delivered a system that is quite +useful. \Question[Q-readtex]{Reading \AllTeX{} files} |