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diff --git a/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-support.tex b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-support.tex new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..b482a017d7f --- /dev/null +++ b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/faq-support.tex @@ -0,0 +1,148 @@ +% $Id: faq-support.tex,v 1.2 2009/07/11 12:28:34 rf10 Exp $ + +\section{Support Packages for \TeX{}} + +\Question[Q-xfigetc]{\AllTeX{}-friendly drawing packages} +\AliasQuestion{Q-xfig} +\AliasQuestion{Q-figetc} + +\ProgName{(X)Fig} is a menu driven tool that allows you to +draw objects on the screen of an \acro{X} workstation; \ProgName{transfig} +is a set of tools which translate the code \ProgName{fig}. The list +of export formats is very long, and includes \MF{} and \MP{}, +Encapsulated \PS{} and \acro{PDF}, as well as combinations that wrap +a graphics format in a \LaTeX{} import file, which may include +\LaTeX{} commands to place text (compiled by \LaTeX{} itself) as +labels, etc., in the figures. + +There's no explicit port of \ProgName{xfig} to windows (although it is +said to work under \ProgName{cygwin} with their X-windows system~--- +\href{http://www.cs.usask.ca/~wew036/latex/xfig.html}{installation advice} +is available). +However, the program % ! line break +\href{http://tech-www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/applets/javafig/}{\ProgName{jfig}} +is thought by many to be an acceptable substitute, written in Java. + +\ProgName{Asymptote} is a widely-praised development of the \MP{} +language, which can draw 2D or 3D diagrams, and can also label +diagrams with \LaTeX{} text; copious documentation is available via +\href{http://asymptote.sourceforge.net}{\ProgName{asymptote}'s web site}. +\begin{ctanrefs} +\item[asymptote]\CTANref{asymptote} +\item[xfig]\CTANref{xfig} +\item[transfig]\CTANref{transfig} +\end{ctanrefs} + +\Question[Q-texcad]{\TeX{}\acro{CAD}, a drawing package for \LaTeX{}} + +\TeX{}\acro{CAD} is a program for the \acro{PC} which enables the user to draw diagrams +on screen using a mouse or arrow keys, with an on-screen menu of available +picture-elements. Its output is code for the \LaTeX{} +\environment{picture} environment. +Optionally, it can be set to include lines at all angles using +the em\TeX{} driver-family +\htmlignore +\csx{special}s (\Qref{}{Q-specials}). +\endhtmlignore +\begin{htmlversion} +\Qref{\csx{special}s}{Q-specials}. +\end{htmlversion} +\TeX{}\acro{CAD} is part of the em\TeX{} distribution. + +A Unix port of the program (\ProgName{xtexcad}) has been made. +\begin{ctanrefs} +\item[emtex]\CTANref{emtex} +\item[xtexcad]\CTANref{xtexcad} +\end{ctanrefs} + +\Question[Q-spell]{Spelling checkers for work with \TeX{}} + +For Unix, \ProgName{ispell} was long the program of choice; it is well +integrated with \ProgName{emacs}, and deals with some \TeX{} syntax. +However, it has more-or-less been replaced everywhere, by +\ProgName{aspell}, which was designed as a successor, and certainly +performs better on most metrics; there remains some question as to its +performance with \AllTeX{} sources. + +For Windows, there is a good spell checker incorporated into many of +the \Qref*{shell/editor}{Q-editors} combinations that are available. +The spell checker from the (now defunct) 4All\TeX{} shell remains +available as a separate package, \ProgName{4spell}. + +For the Macintosh, \ProgName{Excalibur} is the program of choice. It +will run in native mode on both sorts of Macintosh. The distribution +comes with dictionaries for several languages. + +The \acro{VMS} Pascal program \ProgName{spell} makes special cases of +some important features of \LaTeX{} syntax. + +For \MSDOS{}, there are several programs. \ProgName{Amspell} can be +called from within an editor, and \ProgName{jspell} is an extended +version of \ProgName{ispell}. +\begin{ctanrefs} +\item[4spell]\CTANref{4spell} +\item[amspell]\CTANref{amspell} +\item[aspell]Browse \CTANref{aspell}~--- choose just those language + dictionaries (under subdirectory \File{dict/}) that you need. +\item[excalibur]\CTANref{Excalibur} +\item[ispell]\CTANref{ispell} +\item[jspell]\CTANref{jspell} +\item[\nothtml{\bgroup\rmfamily}\acro{VMS}\nothtml{\egroup} spell]% + \CTANref{vmspell} +\item[winedt]\CTANref{winedt} +\end{ctanrefs} + +\Question[Q-wordcount]{How many words have you written?} + +One often has to submit a document (e.g., a paper or a dissertation) +under some sort of constraint about its size. Sensible people set a +constraint in terms of numbers of pages, but there are some that +persist in limiting the numbers of words you type. + +A simple solution to the requirement can be achieved following a +simple observation: the powers that be are unlikely to count all the +words of a document submitted to them. Therefore, a statistical +method can be employed: find how many words there are on a full page; +find how many full pages there are in the document (allowing for +displays of various sorts, this number will probably not be an +integer); multiply the two. However, if the document to be submitted +is to determine the success of the rest of one's life, it takes a +brave person to thumb their nose at authority quite so +comprehensively\dots{} + +The simplest method is to strip out the \AllTeX{} markup, and to count +what's left. On a Unix-like system, this may be done using +\ProgName{detex} and the built-in \ProgName{wc}: +\begin{verbatim} + detex <filename> | wc -w +\end{verbatim} +The \ProgName{latexcount} script does the same sort of job, in one +``step''; being a \ProgName{perl} script, it is in principle rather +easily configured (see documentation inside the script). +\ProgName{Winedt} (see \Qref[question]{editors and shells}{Q-editors}) +provides this functionality direct in the Windows environment. + +\ProgName{TeXcount} also goes a long way with heuristics for counting, +starting from a \LaTeX{} file; the documentation is comprehensive, and +you may try the script on-line via the % ! line break +\begin{wideversion} + \href{http://folk.uio.no/einarro/Comp/texwordcount.html}{package home page}. +\end{wideversion} +\begin{narrowversion} + package home page~(see + \URL{http://folk.uio.no/einarro/Comp/texwordcount.html}). +\end{narrowversion} +Even quite sophisticated stripping of \AllTeX{} markup can never be +entirely reliable, however: that markup itself may contribute typeset +words, and this could be a problem. The \Package{wordcount} package +contains a Bourne shell (i.e., typically Unix) script for running a +\LaTeX{} file with a special piece of supporting \TeX{} code, and then +counting word indications in the log file. This is probably as +accurate automatic counting as you can get, if it works for you. +\begin{ctanrefs} +\item[detex]\CTANref{detex} +\item[latexcount.pl]\CTANref{latexcount} +\item[TeXcount]\CTANref{texcount} +\item[wordcount]\CTANref{wordcount} +\end{ctanrefs} + |