diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'Master/texmf-doc/doc/english/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-minxampl.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | Master/texmf-doc/doc/english/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-minxampl.html | 75 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 75 deletions
diff --git a/Master/texmf-doc/doc/english/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-minxampl.html b/Master/texmf-doc/doc/english/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-minxampl.html deleted file mode 100644 index 75e9c7b1b0f..00000000000 --- a/Master/texmf-doc/doc/english/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-minxampl.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,75 +0,0 @@ -<head> -<title>UK TeX FAQ -- question label minxampl</title> -</head><body> -<h3>How to make a “minimum example”</h3> -<p/><a href="FAQ-askquestion.html">Our advice on asking questions</a> -suggests that you prepare a “minimum example” (also commonly known -as a “<em>minimal</em> example”) of failing behaviour, -as a sample to post with your question. If you have a problem in a -two hundred page document, it may be unclear how to proceed from this -problem to a succinct demonstration of your problem. -<p/>There are two valid approaches to this task: building up, and hacking -down. -<p/> -<b><em>Building up</em></b> starts -with a basic document structure -(for LaTeX, this would have <code>\</code><code>documentclass</code>, -<code>\</code><code>begin{document}</code>, <code>\</code><code>end{document}</code>) and adds -things. First to add is a paragraph or so around the actual point -where the problem occurs. (It may prove difficult to find the actual -line that’s provoking the problem. If the original problem is an -error, reviewing -<a href="FAQ-errstruct.html">“the structure of TeX errors”</a> -may help.) -<p/>Note that there are things that can go wrong in one part of the -document as a result of something in another part: the commonest is -problems in the table of contents (from something in a section title, -or whatever), or the list of <<i>something</i>> (from something in a -<code>\</code><code>caption</code>). In such a case, include the section title or caption -(the caption probably needs the <code>figure</code> or -<code>table</code> environment around it, but it <em>doesn’t</em> need -the figure or table itself). -<p/>If this file you’ve built up shows the problem already, then you’re done. -Otherwise, try adding packages; the optimum is a file with only one -package in it, but you may find that the guilty package won’t even load -properly unless another package has been loaded. (Another common case -is that package <i>A</i> only fails when package <i>B</i> has been -loaded.) -<p/> -<b><em>Hacking down</em></b> starts -with your entire document, and -removes bits until the file no longer fails (and then of course -restores the last thing removed). Don’t forget to hack out any -unnecessary packages, but mostly, the difficulty is choosing what to -hack out of the body of the document; this is the mirror of the -problem above, in the “building up” route. -<p/>If you’ve added a package (or more than one), add <code>\</code><code>listfiles</code> to -the preamble too: that way, LaTeX will produce a list of the -packages you’ve used and their version numbers. This information may -be useful evidence for people trying to help you. -<p/>What if your document simply doesn’t fail in any of these cut-down -scenarios? Whatever you do, don’t post the whole of the document: if -you can, it may be useful to make a copy available on the web -somewhere: people will probably understand if it’s impossible ... -or inadvisable, in the case of something confidential. -<p/>If the whole document is necessary, it could be that it’s an overflow -of some sort; the best you can do is to post the code “around” the -error, and (of course) the full text of the error. -<p/>It may seem that all this work is rather excessive for preparing a -simple post. There are two responses to that, both based on the -relative inefficiency of asking a question on the internet. -<p/>First, preparing a minimum document very often leads <em>you</em> to the -answer, without all the fuss of posting and looking for responses. -<p/>Second, your prime aim is to get an answer as quickly as possible; a -well-prepared example stands a good chance of attracting an answer -“in a single pass”: if the person replying to your post finds she -needs more information, you have to find that request, post again, and -wait for your benefactor to produce a second response. -<p/>All things considered, a good example file can save you a day, for -perhaps half an hour’s effort invested. -<p/>The above advice, differently phrased, may also be read on the web at -<a href="http://www.minimalbeispiel.de/mini-en.html">http://www.minimalbeispiel.de/mini-en.html</a>; source of that -article may be found at <a href="http://www.minimalbeispiel.de/">http://www.minimalbeispiel.de/</a>, in -both German and English. -<p/><p>This question on the Web: <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=minxampl">http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=minxampl</a> -</body> |