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author | Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> | 2009-05-23 00:04:06 +0000 |
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committer | Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> | 2009-05-23 00:04:06 +0000 |
commit | 20d25e62ad99344ee37e88fb0787319391107640 (patch) | |
tree | b956bd202233c91691644f7177f7440cf44d673b /Master/texmf-dist/doc/plain/impatient/usebook.tex | |
parent | ed6a6417c1055f64cde693e71238dc996d1710e6 (diff) |
move plain docs out of texmf-doc
git-svn-id: svn://tug.org/texlive/trunk@13404 c570f23f-e606-0410-a88d-b1316a301751
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diff --git a/Master/texmf-dist/doc/plain/impatient/usebook.tex b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/plain/impatient/usebook.tex new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..e9d01c6841f --- /dev/null +++ b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/plain/impatient/usebook.tex @@ -0,0 +1,243 @@ +% This is part of the book TeX for the Impatient. +% Copyright (C) 2003 Paul W. Abrahams, Kathryn A. Hargreaves, Karl Berry. +% See file fdl.tex for copying conditions. + +\input macros +\chapter{Using this book} + +\chapterdef{usebook} + +This book is a do-it-yourself guide and handbook for \TeX. +Here in this section we tell you how to use the book to maximum advantage. + +We recommend that you first either read or skim in sequence Sections +\chapternum{usebook} through \chapternum{examples}, +which tell you what you need to know in order to get started using \TeX. +If you've already had experience using \TeX, it will still be helpful +to know what kinds of information are in these sections of the book. +Sections~\chapternum{concepts}--\chapternum{tips}, which +occupy most of +the rest of the book, are designed to be accessed randomly. +Nevertheless, if you're the kind of person who likes to read reference manuals, +you'll find that it \emph{is} possible to proceed sequentially if you're +willing to take a lot of detours at first. + +In \chapterref{usingtex}, ``Using \TeX'', +we explain how to produce a \TeX\ document from a +\TeX{} input file. +We also describe the conventions for preparing that input file, +explain a little about how \TeX{} works, and tell you about additional +resources that are available. +Reading this section will help you understand +the examples in the next section. + +\chapterref{examples}, ``Examples'', +contains a sequence of +examples that illustrate the use of \TeX. +Each example consists of a page of output +together with the input that we used to create it. +These examples will orient you and help you +locate the more detailed material that you'll need as you go. +By seeing which commands are used in the input, you'll know +where to look for more detailed information on how to achieve +the effects shown in the output. +The +examples can also serve as models for simple documents, although we must +caution you that +because we've tried to pack a variety of \TeX\ commands into a small +number of pages, +the examples are not necessarily illustrations of good or complete +document~design. + +As you read the explanation of a command, you may encounter +some unfamiliar technical terms. +In \chapterref{concepts}, ``Concepts'', +we define and explain these terms. +We also discuss other topics that aren't covered +elsewhere in the book. +The inside back cover of the book contains a list of all the +concepts and the pages where they are described. +We suggest that you make a copy of this list and keep it nearby +so that you'll be able to identify and look up an unfamiliar +concept immediately. + +\TeX's commands are its primary vocabulary, +and the largest part of this book is +devoted to explaining them. In Sections~\chapternum{paras} +through~\chapternum{general} we describe the commands. +You'll find general information about the command descriptions +on \xrefpg{cmddesc}. +The command descriptions are arranged +functionally, rather like a thesaurus, so if you know what you want to +do but you don't know which command does it for you, you can use the +table of contents to guide you to the right group of commands. +Commands that we think are both particularly useful and easy to understand +are indicated with a pointing~hand~(\hand). + +\chapterref{capsule}, ``Capsule summary of commands'', is a +specialized index that complements the more complete descriptions +in Sections~\chapternum{paras}--\chapternum{general}. +It lists \TeX's commands +alphabetically, with a brief explanation of each command +and a reference to the page +where it is described more completely. The capsule summary +will help you when you just want a quick reminder of what a command +does. + +\TeX\ is a complex program that occasionally works its will in +mysterious ways. +In \chapterref{tips}, ``Tips and techniques'', +we provide advice on solving a variety of specific +problems that you may encounter from time to time. +And if you're stumped by +\TeX's error messages, you'll find succor in \chapterref{errors}, +``Making sense of error messages''. + +The gray tabs on the side of the book will help you locate parts of the +book quickly. They divide the book into the following major parts: +\olist +\li general explanations and examples +\li concepts +\li descriptions of commands (five shorter tabs) +\li advice, error messages, and the |eplain.tex| macros +\li capsule summary of commands +\li index +\endolist + +In many places we have provided page references to +^{\texbook} (see \xrefpg{resources} for a citation). +These references apply to the seventeenth edition of \texbook. +For other editions, some references may be off by a page or two. + + +\section Syntactic conventions + +In any book about preparing input for a computer, +it's necessary to indicate clearly the literal characters that should be typed +and to distinguish those characters from the explanatory text. +We use the Computer Modern typewriter font for {\tt literal input +like this}, and also for the names of \TeX{} commands. +When there's any possibility of confusion, we enclose \TeX\ +input in single quotation marks, `{\tt like this}'. +However, we occasionally use parentheses when we're indicating single +characters such as (|`|) (you can see why). + +For the sake of your eyes we usually just put spaces +where you should put spaces. In some places where +we need to emphasize the space, however, +we use a `\visiblespace' character +{\catcode `\ =\other\pix^^| |}% +to indicate it. +Naturally enough, this character is called a \emph{visible space}. +\pix^^{spaces//visible} + + +\section Descriptions of the commands + +\xrdef{cmddesc} +Sections~\chapternum{paras}--\chapternum{general} contain +a description of what nearly every \TeX\ command does. ^^{commands} +Both the primitive commands ^^{primitive//command} +and those of ^{\plainTeX} are covered. +The primitive commands are those built into the \TeX\ computer program, while +the \plainTeX{} commands are defined in a standard file of +auxiliary definitions (see \xref\plainTeX). +The only commands we've omitted are those that are used purely locally +in the definition of \plainTeX\ (\knuth{Appendix~B}). +The commands are organized as follows: +\ulist\compact +\li ``Commands for composing paragraphs'', \chapterref{paras}, +deal with characters, words, lines, and entire paragraphs. +\li ``Commands for composing pages'', \chapterref{pages}, +deal with pages, their components, and the output routine. +\li ``Commands for horizontal and vertical modes'', \chapterref{hvmodes}, +have corresponding or identical +forms for both horizontal modes (paragraphs and hboxes) and vertical +modes (pages and vboxes). +These commands provide boxes, spaces, rules, leaders, +and alignments. +\li ``Commands for composing math formulas'', \chapterref{math}, +provide capabilities for constructing math formulas. +\li ``Commands for general operations'', \chapterref{general}, +provide +\TeX's programming features and +everything else that doesn't fit into any of the other sections. +\endulist +You should think of these categories as being suggestive rather than +rigorous, because the commands don't really fit neatly into these +(or any other) categories. + +Within each section, the descriptions of the commands are organized +by function. When several commands are closely related, they are described as +a group; otherwise, each command has its own explanation. +The description of each command +includes one or more examples and the output +produced by each example when examples are appropriate (for +some commands they aren't). +When you are looking at a subsection containing functionally related +commands, be sure to check the end of a subsection for a ``see also'' +item that refers you to related commands that are described elsewhere. + +Some commands are closely related to certain concepts. +For instance, the |\halign| and |\valign| commands are related to +``alignment'', the |\def| +command is related to ``macro'', +and the |\hbox| and |\vbox| commands are related to ``box''. +In these cases we've usually given a bare-bones des\-crip\-tion of the +commands themselves and explained the underlying ideas +in the concept. + +The examples associated with the commands have been typeset with +^|\parindent|, the paragraph indentation, set to zero so that +paragraphs are normally unindented. +This convention makes the examples easier to read. +In those examples where the paragraph indentation is essential, +we've set it explicitly to a nonzero value. + +The pointing hand in front of a command or a group of commands indicates +that we judged this command or group of commands to be particularly useful +and easy to understand. + +Many commands expect ^{arguments} of one kind or another +(\xref{arg1}). The arguments of +a command give \TeX\ additional information that it needs in order to +carry out the command. Each argument is indicated by an italicized +term in angle brackets that indicates what kind of argument it~is: + +\display{% +\halign{\<#>\quad&#\hfil\cr +argument&a single token or some text enclosed in braces\cr +charcode&a character code, i.e., an integer between $0$ and $255$\cr +dimen&a dimension, i.e., a length\cr +glue&glue (with optional stretch and shrink)\cr +number&an optionally signed integer (whole number)\cr +register&a register number between $0$ and $255$\cr +}} +^^{\<dimen>} +^^{\<argument>} +^^{\<charcode>} +^^{\<glue>} +^^{\<number>} +^^{\<register>} + +\noindent +All of these terms are explained in more detail in \chapterref{concepts}. +In addition, we sometimes use terms such as \<token list> that are either +self-explanatory or explained in the description of the command. +Some commands have special formats that require either braces or +particular words. +These are set in the same bold font that we use +for the command headings. + +Some commands are parameters (\xref{introparms}) or table entries. +^^{parameters//as commands} +This is indicated in the command's listing. +You can either use a parameter as an argument or assign a value to it. +The same holds for table entries. +We use the term ``parameter'' to refer to entities such as |\pageno| +that are actually registers but behave just like parameters. +^^{registers//parameters as} + + +\endchapter +\byebye |