summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-backgrnd.tex
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
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.tex155
1 files changed, 90 insertions, 65 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 f893036d0bf..2b1853c9fa8 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 1.19 2011/04/14 18:34:15 rf10 Exp rf10 $
+% $Id: faq-backgrnd.tex,v 1.27 2011/09/03 18:56:20 rf10 Exp $
\section{The Background}
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ for \latex{}, see % ! line break
\TeX{} is a typesetting system written by
\href{http://sunburn.stanford.edu/~knuth/}{Donald E. Knuth}, who
says in the Preface to his book on \TeX{}
-(see \Qref[question]{books about TeX}{Q-books}) that it is
+(see \Qref[question]{books about TeX}{Q-tex-books}) that it is
%% !line wrap avoided by two commands
``\emph{intended for the creation of beautiful books~---}
\emph{and especially for books that contain a lot of mathematics}''.
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ program may be found in the % ! line break
\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}
+\LastEdit{2011-06-01}
\Question[Q-plaintex]{What's ``writing in \TeX{}''?}
@@ -143,21 +144,26 @@ between two fonts that belong to the same (or related) families.
Knuth (and others) have designed a fair range of fonts using \MF{},
but font design using \MF{} is much more of a minority skill (even) than is
-\TeX{} macro-writing. The complete \TeX{}-user nevertheless needs to
-be aware of \MF{}, and may even be required run \MF{} to generate personal
-copies of Meta-fonts that come her way.
-\LastEdit{2011-03-10}
+\TeX{} macro-writing.
+What is more, it is a dying art: few new \tex{}-related fonts are
+produced using \MF{}, nowadays. Indeed, several of the major font
+families (that originated in \MF{} designs) are now seldom used in any
+other way than their conversion to an outline font format.
+%% The complete \TeX{}-user nevertheless needs to
+%% be aware of \MF{}, and may even be required run \MF{} to generate personal
+%% copies of Meta-fonts that come her way.
+\LastEdit{2011-07-03}
\Question[Q-MP]{What is \MP{}?}
The \MP{} system (by John Hobby) implements a picture-drawing language
-very much like that of \MF{} except that it outputs Encapsulated \PS{}
-files instead of run-length-encoded bitmaps. \MP{} is a powerful
-language for producing figures for documents to be printed on \PS{}
-printers, either directly or embedded in \AllTeX{} documents. It
-includes facilities for directly integrating \TeX{} text and
-mathematics with the graphics. (Knuth tells us that he uses nothing
-but \MP{} for diagrams in text that he is writing.)
+very much like that of \MF{}; the difference is that \MP{} outputs
+Encapsulated \PS{} files instead of run-length-encoded bitmaps. \MP{}
+is a powerful language for producing figures for documents to be
+printed on \PS{} printers, either directly or embedded in \AllTeX{}
+documents. \MP{} is able to integrate text and mathematics, marked up
+for use with \TeX{}, within the graphics. (Knuth tells us that he
+uses nothing but \MP{} for diagrams in text that he is writing.)
Although \PDFLaTeX{} cannot ordinarily handle \PS{} graphics, the
output of \MP{} is sufficiently simple and regular that \PDFLaTeX{}
@@ -184,6 +190,7 @@ A mailing list discussing \MP{} is available;
\end{hyperversion}
The \acro{TUG} website also hosts a % ! line break
\href{http://tug.org/metapost.html}{\MP{} summary page}.
+\LastEdit{2011-09-01}
%****
\Question[Q-texthings]{Things with ``\TeX{}'' in the name}
@@ -231,7 +238,7 @@ that you are likely to encounter:
\begin{description}
\item[Plain \TeX{} (executable: \ProgName{tex})]
See
- \Qref[questions]{Books on \TeX{} and its relations}{Q-books},
+ \Qref[questions]{Books on \TeX{} and \plaintex{}}{Q-tex-books},
\Qref[]{Online introductions: \TeX{}}{Q-man-tex},
\Qref[]{Should I use Plain \TeX{} or \LaTeX{}?}{Q-plainvltx} and
\Qref[]{Freely available \AllTeX{} books}{Q-ol-books}.
@@ -242,7 +249,7 @@ that you are likely to encounter:
\item[\LaTeX{} (executable: \ProgName{latex})]
See
- \Qref[questions]{Books on \TeX{} and its relations}{Q-books},
+ \Qref[questions]{Books on \TeX{} and its relations}{Q-latex-books},
\Qref[]{\AllTeX{} Tutorials, etc.}{Q-tutorials*},
\Qref[]{Online introductions: \LaTeX{}}{Q-man-latex},
\Qref[]{Specialized \AllTeX{} tutorials}{Q-tutbitslatex} and
@@ -292,12 +299,7 @@ the \TeX{} engine with some additional useful features:
\Qref[question]{What is \PDFTeX{}?}{Q-whatpdftex}.
\item[\xetex{} (executable: \ProgName{xetex})]
-% \TeX{} not only predates all major font technologies in use today
-% (e.g.,~TrueType, OpenType, and PostScript Type~1) but also predates
-% the notion that fonts be included with an operating system.
-% Consequently, \TeX{} uses its own font formats, which are
-% incompatible with anything a user is likely to have preinstalled.
- \xetex{} uses \acro{UTF}-8 encoded Unicode input, and extends
+ \xetex{} reads \acro{UTF}-8 encoded Unicode input, and extends
\TeX{}'s font support to include `modern' formats such as TrueType
and OpenType; these extensions to its capabilities make it
well-suited to multi-lingual texts covering different writing
@@ -306,8 +308,10 @@ the \TeX{} engine with some additional useful features:
\item[\LuaTeX{} (executable: \ProgName{luatex})]
\TeX{} is programmed in its own arcane, integrated, macro-based
programming language. \LuaTeX{} adds a second programming engine
- which operates alongside \tex{} using a modern scripting language,
- Lua. See \Qref[question]{What is \LuaTeX{}?}{Q-luatex}.
+ using a modern scripting language, Lua, which is `embedded' in a
+ \tex{}-alike engine; it too reads \acro{UTF}-8 and uses TrueType
+ OpenType fonts. See % ! line break
+ \Qref[question]{What is \LuaTeX{}?}{Q-luatex}.
\item[\eTeX{} (executable: \ProgName{etex})]
\eTeX{} is an extension of \tex{}'s programming interface; as such
@@ -374,17 +378,17 @@ name like ``blah\tex{}''.
The subject matter covered by this answer is also addressed in a page
on the \acro{TUG} site, % ! line break
``\href{http://tug.org/levels.html}{the Levels of \tex{}}''.
-\LastEdit{2011-03-11}
+\LastEdit{2011-06-01}
\Question[Q-triptrap]{How can I be sure it's really \TeX{}?}
\TeX{} (and \MF{} and \MP{}) are written in a
-\begin{narrowversion} % really "non-hyper"
- `literate' programming language called Web (\Qref{}{Q-lit})
-\end{narrowversion}
-\begin{wideversion}
- \Qref{`literate' programming}{Q-lit} language called Web
-\end{wideversion}
+\begin{flatversion} % really "non-hyper"
+ `literate' programming language called \ProgName{Web} (\Qref{}{Q-lit})
+\end{flatversion}
+\begin{hyperversion}
+ \Qref{`literate' programming}{Q-lit} language called \ProgName{Web}
+\end{hyperversion}
which is designed to be portable across a wide range of computer
systems. How, then, is a new version of \TeX{} checked?
@@ -408,7 +412,7 @@ any distributor would test new versions against ``real'' documents or
fonts, too; while \Package{trip} and \Package{trap} test bits of
pathways within the program, they don't actually test for any real
world problem.)
-
+\LastEdit{2011-05-28}
\Question[Q-y2k]{Are \TeX{} and friends Y2K compliant?}
@@ -422,7 +426,7 @@ world problem.)
since the only use of the date format file is to produce the log
output, and the log file is designed for human readers only.
- Knuth announced in 1998 that implementors could
+ Knuth announced in 1998 that implementors would be permitted
alter this code without fear of being accused of non-compliance.
Nearly all implementations that are being actively maintained had
been modified to generate 4-digit years in the format file and the
@@ -435,7 +439,7 @@ world problem.)
means that \TeX{} can, in principle, be implemented on platforms
that don't make the value of the clock available to user programs).
The \emph{\TeX{}book} (see
- \Qref[question]{TeX-related books}{Q-books}) defines \csx{year} as
+ \Qref[question]{TeX-related books}{Q-tex-books}) defines \csx{year} as
``the current year of our Lord'', which is the only correct meaning
for \csx{year} for those implementations which can supply a
meaningful value, which is to say nearly all of them.
@@ -461,6 +465,7 @@ world problem.)
\item[External software:] Software such as \acro{DVI} translators
needs to be individually checked.
\end{description}
+\LastEdit{2011-06-01}
\Question[Q-etex]{What is \eTeX{}?}
@@ -491,7 +496,7 @@ programming support.
\Qref*{\CONTeXT{}}{Q-context} has required \eTeX{} for its operation
for some time, though development is now focused on the use of
-\Qref*{\luatex}{Q-luatex}.
+\Qref*{\luatex{}}{Q-luatex}.
Some \LaTeX{} packages already specify the use of \eTeX{}. Some such
packages may not work at all on a non-\eTeX{} system; others will
@@ -502,7 +507,7 @@ individually contributed) may require \eTeX{} for optimum performance.
\begin{ctanrefs}
\item[\eTeX{}]\CTANref{etex}
\end{ctanrefs}
-\LastEdit{2011-04-13}
+\LastEdit{2011-07-13}
\Question[Q-whatpdftex]{What is \PDFTeX{}?}
@@ -510,25 +515,25 @@ One can reasonably say that \PDFTeX{} is (today) the main stream of
\TeX{} distributions: most \LaTeX{} and many \CONTeXT{} users nowadays use
\PDFTeX{} whether they know it or not (more precisely, they use
\PDFTeX{} extended by
-\begin{wideversion}
+\begin{hyperversion}
\Qref*{\eTeX{}}{Q-etex}).
-\end{wideversion}
-\begin{narrowversion}
+\end{hyperversion}
+\begin{flatversion}
\eTeX{}~--- \Qref{}{Q-etex}).
-\end{narrowversion}
+\end{flatversion}
So what is \PDFTeX{}?
\PDFTeX{} is a development of \TeX{} that is capable of generating
typeset \acro{PDF} output in place of \acro{DVI}. \PDFTeX{} has
other capabilities, most notably in the area of fine typographic
detail (for example, its support for % ! line break
-\begin{wideversion}
+\begin{hyperversion}
\Qref{optimising line breaks}{Q-overfull}),
-\end{wideversion}
-\begin{narrowversion}
+\end{hyperversion}
+\begin{flatversion}
% ( <- dummy for paren balancing
optimising line breaks~--- \Qref{}{Q-overfull}),
-\end{narrowversion}
+\end{flatversion}
but its greatest impact to date has been in the area of
\acro{PDF} output.
@@ -539,14 +544,16 @@ Russia).
While the world was making good use of ``pre-releases'' of \PDFTeX{},
Th\`anh used it as a test-bed for the micro-typography which was the
-prime subject of his Ph.D. research. Since Th\`anh was finally
+prime subject of his Ph.D.~research. Since Th\`anh was finally
awarded his Ph.D., day-to-day maintenance and development of
\PDFTeX{}~1.0 (and later) has been in the hands of a group of
\PDFTeX{} maintainers (which includes Th\`anh); the group has managed
to maintain a stable platform for general use.
-Development of \PDFTeX{} has (in essence) stopped: the brave new world
-is to be \Qref*{\LuaTeX{}}{Q-luatex}.
+Development of \PDFTeX{} has mostly stopped (only bug fixes, and
+occasional small development items are processed): future development
+is focused on \Qref*{\LuaTeX{}}{Q-luatex}.
+\LastEdit{2011-05-28}
\Question[Q-latex]{What is \LaTeX{}?}
@@ -577,7 +584,7 @@ from the later days of \LaTeXo{}. The ``e'' of the name is (in the
% the \relax allows sanitize to cope with the line. just don't ask...
a single-stroke epsilon
(\latexhtml{\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}{&epsilon;}, supposedly
-indicative of no more than a small change.
+indicative of no more than a small change).
\LaTeXe{} has several enhancements over \LaTeXo{}, but they were all
rather minor, with a view to continuity and stability rather than the
@@ -589,10 +596,15 @@ file). Differences between \LaTeXe{} and \LaTeXo{} are
outlined in a series of `guide' files that are available in every
\LaTeX{} distribution (the same directory also contains ``news'' about
each new release of \LaTeXe{}).
+
+Note that, now, \latexe{} is ``feature frozen'' (the only allowed
+changes come from bug reports); this, too, is in pursuit of stability,
+and is a driving force for many of the efforts to contribute \latex{}
+packages.
\begin{ctanrefs}
\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\LaTeX{} guides and news]\CTANref{latexdoc}
\end{ctanrefs}
-\LastEdit{2009-06-07}
+\LastEdit{2011-08-19}
\Question[Q-latexpronounce]{How should I pronounce ``\LaTeX{}(\twee{})''?}
@@ -657,7 +669,8 @@ answer about \Qref*{translating to \plaintex{}}{Q-LaTeXtoPlain}.
\Question[Q-context]{What is \CONTeXT{}?}
\href{http://www.pragma-ade.com/}{\CONTeXT{}} is a macro package
-developed by Hans Hagen of Pragma-Ade. \CONTeXT{} is a
+developed by Hans Hagen of Pragma-Ade; it started as a production tool
+for Pragma (which is a publishing company). \CONTeXT{} is a
document-production system based, like \LaTeX{}, on the \TeX{}
typesetting system. Whereas \LaTeX{} insulates the writer from
typographical details, \CONTeXT{} takes a complementary approach by
@@ -680,21 +693,29 @@ engines (\PDFTeX{}, Xe\TeX{}, Aleph and \LuaTeX{}) without
changing the user interface. \CONTeXT{} continues to develop, often in
response to requests from the user community.
-\CONTeXT{} doesn't yet have quite such a large developer community as
-does \LaTeX{}, but those developers who are active seem to have
+\CONTeXT{} has been bound to the development of
+\Qref*{\luatex{}}{Q-luatex}, almost from the start of that project.
+Nowadays, it is distributed in two versions~--- mark two (files with
+extension \extension{mkii} (which runs on \pdftex{} but is not under
+active development) and mark four files with extension
+\extension{mkiv} (which runs on \luatex{} and is where development
+happens).
+
+\CONTeXT{} has a large developer community (though possibly not as
+large as that of latex{}), but those developers who are active seem to have
prodigious energy. Support is available via a % ! line break
\href{http://contextgarden.net}{\acro{WIKI} site} and via the
\href{http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context}{mailing list}.
\begin{ctanrefs}
\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\CONTeXT{} distribution]\CTANref{context}
\end{ctanrefs}
-\LastEdit{2010-12-08}
+\LastEdit{2011-06-12}
\Question[Q-AMSpkg]{What are the \acro{AMS} packages (\AMSTeX{}, \emph{etc}.)?}
\AMSTeX{} is a \TeX{} macro package, originally written by Michael Spivak for
the American Mathematical Society (\acro{AMS}) during 1983--1985 and
-is described in the book ``\Qref*{The Joy of \TeX{}}{Q-books}''.
+is described in the book ``\Qref*{The Joy of \TeX{}}{Q-tex-books}''.
It is based on \plaintex{}, and provides many
features for producing more professional-looking maths formulas with
less burden on authors. It pays attention to the finer details of
@@ -714,6 +735,7 @@ its authors to use \AMSLaTeX{} instead.
\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\AMSTeX{} distribution]\CTANref{amstex}
\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\AMSLaTeX{} distribution]\CTANref{amslatex}
\end{ctanrefs}
+\LastEdit{2011-06-01}
\Question[Q-eplain]{What is \Eplain{}?}
@@ -738,7 +760,7 @@ On the other hand, almost everyone would like capabilities such as
cross-referencing by labels, so that you don't have to put actual page
numbers in the manuscript. The authors of \Eplain{} believe it is the
only generally available macro package that does not force its
-typographic style on an author, and yet provides these such capabilities.
+typographic style on an author, and yet provides these capabilities.
Another useful feature of \Eplain{} is the ability to create PDF files
with hyperlinks. The cross-referencing macros can implicitly generate
@@ -761,14 +783,14 @@ known to work with \Eplain{}: \Package{graphics}, \Package{graphicx},
\Package{psfrag}, and \Package{url}.
\href{http://tug.org/docs/html/eplain}{\Eplain{} documentation} is
-available online (and there's a \acro{PDF} copy in the \acro{CTAN}
+available online (there's a \acro{PDF} copy in the \acro{CTAN}
package as well), and there's also a mailing list~--- sign up, or
browse the list archives, via
\URL{http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo/tex-eplain}
\begin{ctanrefs}
\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\Eplain{} distribution]\CTANref{eplain}
\end{ctanrefs}
-\LastEdit{2011-04-13}
+\LastEdit{2011-07-13}
\Question[Q-texinfo]{What is Texinfo?}
@@ -805,12 +827,13 @@ Finally, of course, you can also print the files, or convert them to
\Question[Q-whyfree]{If \TeX{} is so good, how come it's free?}
-It's free because Knuth chose to make it so. He is nevertheless
-apparently happy
-that others should earn money by selling \TeX{}-based services and
-products. While several valuable \TeX{}-related tools and packages are
-offered subject to restrictions imposed by the \acro{GNU} General Public
-Licence (`Copyleft'), \TeX{} itself is not subject to Copyleft.
+It's free because Knuth chose to make it so (he makes money from
+royalties on his \TeX{} books, which all sell well. He is nevertheless
+apparently happy that others should earn money by selling \TeX{}-based
+services and products. While several valuable \TeX{}-related tools and
+packages are offered subject to restrictions imposed by the \acro{GNU}
+General Public Licence (\acro{GPL}, sometimes referred to as
+`Copyleft'), \TeX{} itself is not subject to \acro{GPL}.
There are commercial versions of \TeX{} available; for some users,
it's reassuring to have paid support. What is more, some of the
@@ -821,6 +844,7 @@ not available commercially.)
This \acro{FAQ} concentrates on `free' distributions of \TeX{}, but we
do at least list the \Qref*{major vendors}{Q-commercial}.
+\LastEdit{2011-07-06}
\Question[Q-TeXfuture]{What is the future of \TeX{}?}
@@ -855,9 +879,10 @@ 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.
+\Qref*{\LuaTeX{} project}{Q-luatex} (though not scheduled to produce
+its final product until end 2012) has already delivered a system that
+is quite useful.
+\LastEdit{2011-07-06}
\Question[Q-readtex]{Reading \AllTeX{} files}