From 4be9896a3192173699de340a9f0475654efedb3a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org>
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2009 22:55:11 +0000
Subject: faq 3.19a update (9oct09)

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+% $id:$
+
+\section{Documentation and Help}
+
+\Question[Q-books]{Books on \TeX{} and its relations}
+
+While Knuth's book is the definitive reference for \TeX{}, there are
+other books covering \TeX{}:
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[The \TeX{}book]by Donald Knuth (Addison-Wesley, 1984,
+  \ISBN{0-201-13447-0}, paperback \ISBN{0-201-13448-9})
+\item[A Beginner's Book of \TeX{}]by Raymond Seroul and Silvio Levy,
+  (Springer Verlag, 1992, \ISBN{0-387-97562-4})
+\item[\TeX{} by Example: A Beginner's Guide]by Arvind Borde 
+  (Academic Press, 1992, \ISBN{0-12-117650-9}~--- now out of print)
+\item[Introduction to \TeX{}]by Norbert Schwarz (Addison-Wesley,
+  1989, \ISBN{0-201-51141-X}~--- now out of print)
+\item[A \plaintex{} Primer]by Malcolm Clark (Oxford University
+  Press, 1993, ISBNs~0-198-53724-7 (hardback) and~0-198-53784-0
+  (paperback))
+\item[A \TeX{} Primer for Scientists]by Stanley Sawyer and Steven
+  Krantz (CRC Press, 1994, \ISBN{0-849-37159-7})
+\item[\TeX{} by Topic]by Victor Eijkhout (Addison-Wesley, 1992,
+  \ISBN{0-201-56882-9}~--- now out of print, but see
+  \Qref[question]{online books}{Q-ol-books}; you can now buy a copy
+  printed, on demand, by Lulu~--- see
+  \url{http://www.lulu.com/content/2555607})
+\item[\TeX{} for the Beginner]by Wynter Snow (Addison-Wesley, 1992,
+  \ISBN{0-201-54799-6})
+\item[\TeX{} for the Impatient]by Paul W.~Abrahams, Karl Berry and
+  Kathryn A.~Hargreaves (Addison-Wesley, 1990,
+  \ISBN{0-201-51375-7}~--- now out of print, but see
+  \Qref[question]{online books}{Q-ol-books})
+\item[\TeX{} in Practice]by Stephan von Bechtolsheim (Springer
+  Verlag, 1993, 4 volumes, \ISBN{3-540-97296-X} for the set, or
+% nos in brackets are for German distribution (Springer Verlag, Berlin)
+  Vol.~1: \ISBN{0-387-97595-0}, % (3-540-97595-0)
+  Vol.~2: \ISBN{0-387-97596-9}, % (3-540-97596-9)
+  Vol.~3: \ISBN{0-387-97597-7}, and % (3-540-97597-7)
+  Vol.~4: \ISBN{0-387-97598-5})% (3-540-97598-5)
+\htmlignore
+\item[\TeX{}: Starting from \sqfbox{1}\,\footnotemark]%
+\footnotetext{That's `Starting from Square One'}%
+\endhtmlignore
+\begin{htmlversion}
+\item[\TeX{}: Starting from Square One]
+\end{htmlversion}
+  by Michael Doob (Springer
+  Verlag, 1993, \ISBN{3-540-56441-1}~--- now out of print)
+\item[The Joy of \TeX{}]by Michael D.~Spivak (second edition,
+  \acro{AMS}, 1990, \ISBN{0-821-82997-1})
+\item[The Advanced \TeX{}book]by David Salomon (Springer Verlag, 1995,
+  \ISBN{0-387-94556-3})
+\end{booklist}
+A collection of Knuth's publications about typography is also available:
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[Digital Typography]by Donald Knuth (CSLI and Cambridge
+  University Press, 1999, \ISBN{1-57586-011-2}, paperback
+  \ISBN{1-57586-010-4}).
+\end{booklist}
+\nothtml{\noindent}and in late 2000, a ``Millennium Boxed Set'' of all
+5 volumes of Knuth's ``Computers and Typesetting'' series (about
+\TeX{} and \MF{}) was published by Addison Wesley:
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[Computers \& Typesetting, Volumes A--E Boxed Set]by Donald Knuth
+  (Addison-Wesley, 2001, \ISBN{0-201-73416-8}).
+\end{booklist}
+\checked{rf}{2000/02/12 -- http://cseng.aw.com/book/0,3828,0201734168,00.html}
+For \LaTeX{}, see:
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[\LaTeX{}, a Document Preparation System]by Leslie Lamport
+  (second edition, Addison Wesley, 1994, \ISBN{0-201-52983-1})
+\item[Guide to \LaTeX{}]Helmut Kopka and Patrick W.~Daly (fourth
+  edition, Addison-Wesley, 2004, \ISBN{0-321-17385-6})
+\item[The \LaTeX{} Companion]by Frank Mittelbach, Michel Goossens,
+  Johannes Braams, David Carlisle and Chris Rowley (second edition,
+  Addison-Wesley, 2004, \ISBN*{0-201-36299-6}{978-0-201-36299-2})
+\item[The \LaTeX{} Graphics Companion:]%
+  \emph{Illustrating documents with \TeX{} and \PS{}} by Michel
+  Goossens, Sebastian Rahtz, Frank Mittelbach, Denis Roegel and
+  Herbert Vo\ss{} (second edition, Addison-Wesley, 2007,
+  \ISBN*{0-321-50892-0}{978-0-321-50892-8})
+\item[The \LaTeX{} Web Companion:]%
+  \emph{Integrating \TeX{}, \acro{HTML} and \acro{XML}} by Michel
+  Goossens and Sebastian Rahtz (Addison-Wesley, 1999, \ISBN{0-201-43311-7})
+\item[\TeX{} Unbound:]%
+  \emph{\LaTeX{} and \TeX{} strategies for fonts, graphics, and more}
+  by Alan Hoenig (Oxford University Press, 1998, \ISBN{0-19-509685-1}
+  hardback, \ISBN{0-19-509686-X} paperback)
+\item[Math into \LaTeX{}:]\emph{An Introduction to \LaTeX{} and \AMSLaTeX{}}
+  by George Gr\"atzer (third edition Birkh\"auser and Springer Verlag,
+  2000, \ISBN{0-8176-4431-9}, \ISBN{3-7643-4131-9})
+\checked{RF}{2001/01/16}
+%% gr\"atzer's home page
+%% http://www.maths.umanitoba.ca/homepages/gratzer.html/LaTeXBooks.html
+\item[Digital Typography Using \LaTeX{}]Incorporating some
+  multilingual aspects, and use of \Qref*{Omega}{Q-omegaleph}, by
+  Apostolos Syropoulos, Antonis Tsolomitis and Nick Sofroniou
+  (Springer, 2003, \ISBN{0-387-95217-9}).
+
+  A list of errata for the first printing is available from:
+  \URL{http://www.springer-ny.com/catalog/np/jan99np/0-387-98708-8.html}
+\item[First Steps in \LaTeX{}]by George Gr\"atzer (Birkh\"auser, 1999,
+  \ISBN{0-8176-4132-7}) 
+\item[\LaTeX{}: Line by Line:]%
+  \emph{Tips and Techniques for Document Processing}
+  by Antoni Diller (second edition, John Wiley \& Sons,
+  1999, \ISBN{0-471-97918-X})
+\item[\LaTeX{} for Linux:]\emph{A Vade Mecum}
+  by Bernice Sacks Lipkin (Springer-Verlag, 1999,
+  \ISBN{0-387-98708-8}, second printing)
+\end{booklist}
+A sample of George Gr\"atzer's ``Math into \LaTeX{}'', in Adobe
+Acrobat format, and example files
+%for von Bechtolsheim's ``\TeX{} in Practice'', 
+for the three \LaTeX{} Companions, and for
+Gr\"atzer's ``First Steps in \LaTeX{}'', are all available on
+\acro{CTAN}.
+
+There's a nicely-presented list of of ``recommended books'' to be had
+on the web: \URL{http://www.macrotex.net/texbooks/}
+
+The list of \MF{} books is rather short:
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[The \MF{}book]by Donald Knuth (Addison Wesley, 1986,
+  \ISBN{0-201-13445-4}, \ISBN{0-201-52983-1} paperback)
+\end{booklist}
+Alan Hoenig's `\textsl{\TeX{} Unbound}' includes some discussion and
+examples of using \MF{}.
+
+A book covering a wide range of topics (including installation and
+maintenance) is:
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[Making \TeX{} Work]by Norman Walsh (O'Reilly and Associates,
+  Inc, 1994, \ISBN{1-56592-051-1})
+\end{booklist}
+The book is decidedly dated, and is now out of print, but a copy is
+available via \texttt{sourceforge} and on \acro{CTAN}, 
+and we list it under ``\Qref*{online books}{Q-ol-books}''.
+
+
+This list only covers books in English: notices of new books, or
+warnings that books are now out of print are always welcome.  However,
+this \acro{FAQ} does \emph{not} carry reviews of current published material.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Examples for \nothtml{\upshape}First Steps in \LaTeX{}]\CTANref{gfs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Examples for \nothtml{\upshape}\LaTeX{} Companion]\CTANref{tlc2}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Examples for \nothtml{\upshape}\LaTeX{} Graphics Companion]\CTANref{lgc}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Examples for \nothtml{\upshape}\LaTeX{} Web Companion]\CTANref{lwc}
+%\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Examples for \nothtml{\upshape}\TeX{} in Practice]\CTANref{tip}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Sample of \nothtml{\upshape}Math into \LaTeX{}]\CTANref{mil}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-typebooks]{Books on Type}
+
+    The following is a partial listing of books on typography in general.
+Of these, Bringhurst seems to be the one most often recommended.
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[The Elements of Typographic Style]by Robert Bringhurst
+  (Hartley \& Marks, 1992, \ISBN{0-88179-033-8})
+\item[Finer Points in the Spacing \& Arrangement of Type]by Geoffrey Dowding
+  (Hartley \& Marks, 1996, \ISBN{0-88179-119-9})
+\item[The Thames \& Hudson Manual of Typography]by Ruari McLean
+  (Thames \& Hudson, 1980, \ISBN{0-500-68022-1})
+\item[The Form of the Book]by Jan Tschichold
+  (Lund Humphries, 1991, \ISBN{0-85331-623-6})
+\item[Type \& Layout]by Colin Wheildon
+  (Strathmore Press, 2006, \ISBN{1-875750-22-3})
+\item[The Design of Books]by Adrian Wilson
+  (Chronicle Books, 1993, \ISBN{0-8118-0304-X})
+\item[Optical Letter Spacing]by David Kindersley and Lida Cardozo Kindersley 
+  % ! line break
+  (\href{http://www.kindersleyworkshop.co.uk/}{The Cardozo Kindersley Workshop}
+  2001, \ISBN{1-874426-139})
+\end{booklist}
+
+    There are many catalogues of type specimens but the following books provide
+a more interesting overall view of types in general and some of their history.
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[Alphabets Old \& New]by Lewis F.~Day
+  (Senate, 1995, \ISBN{1-85958-160-9})
+\item[An Introduction to the History of Printing Types]by Geoffrey Dowding
+  (British Library, 1998, UK \ISBN{0-7123-4563-9}; USA \ISBN{1-884718-44-2})
+\item[The Alphabet Abecedarium]by Richard A.~Firmage
+  (David R.~Godine, 1993, \ISBN{0-87923-998-0})
+\item[The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering]by Frederick Goudy
+  (Dover, 1963, \ISBN{0-486-20792-7})
+\item[Anatomy of a Typeface]by Alexander Lawson
+  (David R.~Godine, 1990, \ISBN{0-87923-338-8})
+\item[A Tally of Types]by Stanley Morison
+  (David R.~Godine, 1999, \ISBN{1-56792-004-7})
+\item[Counterpunch]by Fred Smeijers
+  (Hyphen, 1996, \ISBN{0-907259-06-5})
+\item[Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering]by Jan Tschichold
+  (W.~W.~Norton, 1992, \ISBN{0-393-70197-2})
+\item[A Short History of the Printed Word]by Warren Chappell and
+  Robert Bringhurst (Hartley \& Marks, 1999, \ISBN{0-88179-154-7})
+\end{booklist}
+
+    The above lists are limited to books published in English. Typographic 
+styles are somewhat language-dependent, and similarly the `interesting' fonts
+depend on the particular writing system involved.
+
+\Question[Q-whereFAQ]{Where to find \acro{FAQ}s}
+
+Bobby Bodenheimer's article, from which this \acro{FAQ} was developed, used
+to be posted (nominally monthly) to newsgroup
+\Newsgroup{comp.text.tex}. The (long
+obsolete) last posted copy of that article is kept on \acro{CTAN} for
+auld lang syne.
+
+\begin{pdfversion}
+A version of the \href{http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq}{present \acro{FAQ}}
+may be browsed via the World-Wide Web, and its sources
+\end{pdfversion}
+\begin{dviversion}
+A version of the present \acro{FAQ} may be browsed via the World-Wide Web, at
+\acro{URL} \URL{http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq}, and its sources
+\end{dviversion}
+\begin{htmlversion}
+The sources of the present \acro{FAQ}
+\end{htmlversion}
+are available from \acro{CTAN}.
+
+This \acro{FAQ} and others are regularly mentioned, on
+\Newsgroup{comp.text.tex} and elsewhere, in a ``pointer \acro{FAQ}''
+which is also saved at \URL{http://tug.org/tex-ptr-faq}
+
+A 2006 innovation from Scott Pakin is the ``visual'' \LaTeX{} \acro{FAQ}.
+This is a document with (mostly rubbish) text formatted so as to
+highlight things we discuss here, and providing Acrobat hyper-links to
+the relevant answers in this \acro{FAQ} on the Web.  The visual
+\acro{FAQ} is provided in \acro{PDF} format, on \acro{CTAN}; it works
+best using Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 (or later); some features are
+missing with other readers, or with earlier versions of Acrobat Reader
+
+Another excellent information source, available in English, is the
+\href{http://tex.loria.fr}{\AllTeX{} navigator}.
+
+Both the Francophone \TeX{} user group Gutenberg and the Czech/Slovak
+user group CS-TUG have published translations of this \acro{FAQ}, with
+extensions appropriate to their languages.
+
+Herbert Vo\ss{}'s excellent % beware line break
+\href{http://texnik.de/}{\LaTeX{} tips and tricks}
+provides excellent advice on most topics one might imagine (though
+it's not strictly a \acro{FAQ})~--- highly recommended for most
+ordinary mortals' use.
+
+The Open Directory Project (\acro{ODP}) maintains a list of sources of
+\AllTeX{} help, including \acro{FAQ}s.  View the \TeX{} area at
+\URL{http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Typesetting/TeX/}
+
+Other non-English \acro{FAQ}s are available (off-\acro{CTAN}):
+\begin{booklist}
+\item[German]Posted regularly to \Newsgroup{de.comp.tex}, and archived
+  on \acro{CTAN}; the \acro{FAQ} also appears at
+  \URL{http://www.dante.de/faq/de-tex-faq/}
+\item[French]%
+%%   An interactive (full-screen!) FAQ may be found at
+%%   \URL{http://www.frenchpro6.com/screen.pdf/FAQscreen.pdf}, and a copy
+%%   for printing at \URL{http://frenchle.free.fr/FAQ.pdf};
+  A FAQ used to be posted regularly to
+  \Newsgroup{fr.comp.text.tex}, and is archived on \acro{CTAN}~---
+  sadly, that effort seems to have fallen by the wayside.
+%% \item[Spanish]See \URL{http://apolo.us.es/CervanTeX/FAQ/}
+\item[Czech]See \URL{http://www.fi.muni.cz/cstug/csfaq/}
+\end{booklist}
+
+Resources available on \acro{CTAN} are:
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Dante \acro{FAQ}]\CTANref{dante-faq}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}French \acro{FAQ}]\CTANref{french-faq}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Sources of this \acro{FAQ}]\CTANref{faq}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Obsolete \texttt{comp.text.tex} \acro{FAQ}]%
+  \CTANref{TeX-FAQ}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}The visual \acro{FAQ}]\CTANref{visualFAQ}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-gethelp]{How to get help}
+
+So you've looked at all relevant \Qref*{\acro{FAQ}s}{Q-whereFAQ} you
+can find, you've looked in any \Qref*{books}{Q-books} you have, and
+scanned relevant \Qref*{tutorials}{Q-tutorials*}\dots{} and still you
+don't know what to do.
+
+If you are seeking a particular package or program, look on your own
+system first: you might already have it~--- the better \TeX{}
+distributions contain a wide range of supporting material.  The
+\acro{CTAN} Catalogue can also identify packages that might help: you
+can \href{http://www.tex.ac.uk/search}{search it}, or you can browse it
+% !!!! line break
+``\href{http://www.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/help/Catalogue/bytopic.html}{by topic}''.
+A catalogue entry has a brief description of the package, and links to
+any known documentation on the net.  In fact, a large proportion of
+\acro{CTAN} package directories now include documentation, so it's
+often worth looking at the catalogue entry for a package you're considering
+using.
+
+Failing all that, look to see if anyone else has had the problem
+before; there are two places where people ask: browse or search the
+newsgroup \Newsgroup{comp.text.tex} via
+\href{http://groups.google.com/group/comp.text.tex}{Google groups},
+and the mailing list \texttt{texhax} via its
+\href{http://tug.org/pipermail/texhax/}{archive}, or (as a long shot)
+the archives of ancient posts on \acro{CTAN}.
+
+If those ``back question'' searches fail, you'll have to ask the world
+at large.  To ask a question on \Newsgroup{comp.text.tex}, you can use
+your own news client (if you have one), or use the ``start a new
+topic'' button on \URL{http://groups.google.com/group/comp.text.tex}.
+To ask a question on \texttt{texhax}, you may simply send mail to
+\mailto{texhax@tug.org}, but it's probably better to subscribe to the
+list (via \URL{http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo/texhax}) % ! no ~ on this line
+first~--- not everyone will answer to you as well as to the list.
+
+Do \textbf{not} try mailing the % ! line break
+\Qref*{\LaTeX{} project team}{Q-LaTeX3},
+the maintainers of the \texlive{} or \miktex{} distributions
+or the maintainers of these \acro{FAQ}s
+for help; while all these addresses reach experienced \AllTeX{}
+users, no small group can possibly have expertise in every area of
+usage so that the ``big'' lists are a far better bet.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[texhax \nothtml{\rmfamily}`back copies']\CTANref{texhax}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-maillists*]{Specialist mailing lists}
+
+The previous question, ``\Qref*{getting help}{Q-gethelp}'', talked of
+the two major forums in which \AllTeX{}, \MF{} and \MP{} are
+discussed; however, these aren't the only ones available.
+
+The \acro{TUG} web site offers many mailing lists other than just
+\texttt{texhax} via its % ! line break
+\href{http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo}{mail list management page}.
+
+The French national \TeX{} user group, Gutenberg, offers a \MF{} (and,
+de facto, \MP{}) mailing list, \mailto{metafont@ens.fr}: subscribe to
+it by sending a message
+\begin{quote}
+\begin{verbatim}
+subscribe metafont
+\end{verbatim}
+\end{quote}
+to \mailto{sympa@ens.fr}
+
+(Note that there's also a \MP{}-specific mailing list available via the
+\acro{TUG} list server; in fact there's little danger of becoming confused
+by subscribing to both.)
+
+Announcements of \TeX{}-related installations on the \acro{CTAN}
+archives are sent to the mailing list \texttt{ctan-ann}.  Subscribe
+to the list via its \ProgName{MailMan} web-site
+\URL{https://lists.dante.de/mailman/listinfo/ctan-ann}; list archives
+are available at the same address.  The list archives may also be
+browsed via \URL{http://www.mail-archive.com/ctan-ann@dante.de/}, and
+an \acro{RSS} feed is also available:
+\URL{http://www.mail-archive.com/ctan-ann@dante.de/maillist.xml}
+
+\Question[Q-askquestion]{How to ask a question}
+
+You want help from the community at large; you've decided where you're
+going to \Qref*{ask your question}{Q-gethelp}, but how do you
+phrase it?
+
+Excellent ``general'' advice (how to ask questions of anyone) is
+contained in
+%beware line break
+\href{http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html}{Eric Raymond's article on the topic}.
+Eric's an extremely self-confident person, and this comes through in
+his advice; but his guidelines are very good, even for us in the
+un-self-confident majority.  It's important to remember that you don't
+have a right to advice from the world, but that if you express
+yourself well, you will usually find someone who will be pleased to
+help.
+
+So how do you express yourself in the \AllTeX{} world?  There aren't
+any comprehensive rules, but a few guidelines may help in the
+application of your own common sense.
+\begin{itemize}
+\item Make sure you're asking the right people.  Don't ask in a \TeX{}
+  forum about printer device drivers for the \ProgName{Foobar}
+  operating system.  Yes, \TeX{} users need printers, but no, \TeX{}
+  users will typically \emph{not} be \ProgName{Foobar} systems
+  managers.
+
+  Similarly, avoid posing a question in a language that the majority
+  of the group don't use: post in Ruritanian to
+  \Newsgroup{de.comp.text.tex} and you may have a long wait before a
+  German- and Ruritanian-speaking \TeX{} expert notices your
+  question.
+\item If your question is (or may be) \TeX{}-system-specific, report
+  what system you're using, or intend to use: ``I can't install
+  \TeX{}'' is as good as useless, whereas ``I'm trying to install the
+  \ProgName{mumbleTeX} distribution on the \ProgName{Grobble}
+  operating system'' gives all the context a potential respondent
+  might need.  Another common situation where this information is
+  important is when you're having trouble installing something new in
+  your system: ``I want to add the \Package{glugtheory} package to my
+  \ProgName{mumbleTeX v12.0} distribution on the \ProgName{Grobble 2024}
+  operating system''.
+\item If you need to know how to do something, make clear what your
+  environment is: ``I want to do \emph{x} in \plaintex{}'', or ``I
+  want to do \emph{y} in \LaTeX{} running the \Class{boggle}
+  class''.  If you thought you knew how, but your attempts are
+  failing, tell us what you've tried: ``I've already tried installing
+  the \Package{elephant} in the \Package{minicar} directory, and it
+  didn't work, even after refreshing the filename database''.
+\item If something's going wrong within \AllTeX{}, pretend you're
+  \Qref*{submitting a \LaTeX{} bug report}{Q-latexbug},
+  and try to generate a \Qref*{minimum failing example}{Q-minxampl}.
+  If your example 
+  needs your local \Class{xyzthesis} class, or some other resource
+  not generally available, be sure to include a pointer to how the
+  resource can be obtained.
+\item Figures are special, of course.  Sometimes the figure itself is
+  \emph{really} needed, but most problems may be demonstrated with a
+  ``figure substitute'' in the form of a
+  \cmdinvoke*{rule}{width}{height} command, for some value of
+  \meta{width} and \meta{height}.  If the (real) figure is needed,
+  don't try posting it: far better to put it on the web somewhere.
+\item Be as succinct as possible.  Your helpers don't usually need to
+  know \emph{why} you're doing something, just \emph{what} you're
+  doing and where the problem is.
+\end{itemize}
+
+\Question[Q-minxampl]{How to make a ``minimum example''}
+
+\Qref[Question]{Our advice on asking questions}{Q-askquestion}
+suggests that you prepare a ``minimum example'' (also commonly known
+as a ``\emph{minimal} 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.
+
+There are two valid approaches to this task: building up, and hacking
+down.
+
+% ! line break
+\latexhtml{The ``building up'' process}{\textbf{\emph{Building up}}} starts
+with a basic document structure
+(for \LaTeX{}, this would have \csx{documentclass},
+\cmdinvoke{begin}{document}, \cmdinvoke{end}{document}) 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 % ! line break
+\Qref[the answer to question]{``the structure of \TeX{} errors''}{Q-errstruct}
+may help.)
+
+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 \meta{something} (from something in a
+\csx{caption}).  In such a case, include the section title or caption
+(the caption probably needs the \environment{figure} or
+\environment{table} environment around it, but it \emph{doesn't} need
+the figure or table itself).
+
+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 \Package{A} only fails when package \Package{B} has been
+loaded.)
+
+% ! line break
+\latexhtml{The ``hacking down'' route}{\textbf{\emph{Hacking down}}} 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.
+
+If you've added a package (or more than one), add \csx{listfiles} 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.
+
+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~\dots{}\ 
+or inadvisable, in the case of something confidential.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+First, preparing a minimum document very often leads \emph{you} to the
+answer, without all the fuss of posting and looking for responses.
+
+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.
+
+All things considered, a good example file can save you a day, for
+perhaps half an hour's effort invested.
+
+The above advice, differently phrased, may also be read on the web at
+\URL{http://www.minimalbeispiel.de/mini-en.html}; source of that
+article may be found at \URL{http://www.minimalbeispiel.de/}, in
+both German and English.
+
+\Question[Q-tutorials*]{\AllTeX{} Tutorials, etc.}
+
+From a situation where every \AllTeX{} user \emph{had} to buy a book
+if she was not to find herself groping blindly along, we now have what
+almost amounts to an embarrassment of riches of online documentation.
+The following answers attempt to create lists of sources ``by topic''.
+
+First we have introductory manuals, for
+\Qref*{\plaintex{}}{Q-man-tex} and \Qref*{\LaTeX{}}{Q-man-latex}.
+
+Next comes a selection of
+\Qref*{``specialised'' \AllTeX{} tutorials}{Q-tutbitslatex},
+each of which concentrates on a single \LaTeX{} topic.
+
+A couple of reference documents (it would be good to have more) are
+listed in an \Qref*{answer of their own}{Q-ref-doc}.
+
+Next comes the (rather new) field of % ! line break
+\Qref*{\TeX{}-related WIKIs}{Q-doc-wiki}.
+
+A rather short list gives us a % ! line break
+\Qref*{Typography style tutorial}{Q-typo-style}.
+
+Finally, we have a set of links to
+\Qref*{Directories of \AllTeX{} information}{Q-doc-dirs}, and details
+of some ``\Qref*{books}{Q-ol-books}'' that were once published
+conventionally, but are now available on-line.
+
+\Question[Q-man-tex]{Online introductions: \plaintex{}}
+
+Michael Doob's splendid `Gentle Introduction' to \plaintex{}
+(available on \acro{CTAN}) has been stable for a very long time.
+
+Another recommendable document is D. R.~Wilkins `Getting started with \TeX{}',
+available on the web at \URL{http://www.ntg.nl/doc/wilkins/pllong.pdf}
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Gentle Introduction]\CTANref{gentle}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-man-latex]{Online introductions: \LaTeX{}}
+
+A pleasing little document, ``Getting something out of \LaTeX{}'' is
+designed to give a feel of \LaTeX{} to someone who's never used it at
+all.  It's not a tutorial, merely helps the user to decide whether to
+go on to a tutorial, and to `real' use of \LaTeX{}.
+
+Tobias Oetiker's `(Not so) Short Introduction to \LaTeXe{}', is
+regularly updated, as people suggest better ways of explaining things,
+etc.  The introduction is available on \acro{CTAN}, together with
+translations into a rather large set of languages.
+
+Peter Flynn's ``Beginner's \LaTeX{}'' (which started life as course
+material) is a pleasing read.  A complete copy may be found on
+\acro{CTAN}, but it may also be browsed over the web
+(\URL{http://www.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/info/beginlatex/html/}).
+
+Harvey Greenberg's `Simplified Introduction to \LaTeX{}' was written
+for a lecture course, and is also available on \acro{CTAN} (in \PS{}
+only, unfortunately).
+
+The fourth edition of George Gr\"atzer's book ``Math into \LaTeX{}''
+contains a ``short course'' in \LaTeX{} itself, and that course has
+been made publicly available on \acro{CTAN}.
+
+Philip Hirschhorn's ``Getting up and running with \AMSLaTeX{}'' has a
+brief introduction to \LaTeX{} itself, followed by a substantial
+introduction to the use of the \acro{AMS} classes and the
+\Package{amsmath} package and other things that are potentially of
+interest to those writing documents containing mathematics.
+
+Edith Hodgen's % beware line break
+\href{http://www.mcs.vuw.ac.nz/~david/latex/notes.pdf}{\LaTeX{}, a Braindump}
+starts you from the ground up~--- giving a basic tutorial in the use
+of \ProgName{Linux} to get you going (rather a large file\dots{}).
+Its parent site, David Friggens' % ! line break
+\href{http://www.mcs.vuw.ac.nz/~david/latex/}{documentation page} is a
+useful collection of links in itself.
+
+% ! line break
+\href{http://www.andy-roberts.net/misc/latex/}{Andy Roberts' introductory material}
+is a pleasing short introduction to the use of \AllTeX{}; some of the
+slides for \emph{actual} tutorials are to be found on the page, as
+well.
+
+Chris Harrison's % ! line break
+\href{http://www.chrisharrison.co.uk/xophbook/mybooks/tex/index.html}{TeX book}
+presents basic \LaTeX{} with useful hints for extensions
+
+Nicola Talbot's % ! line break
+\href{http://theoval.cmp.uea.ac.uk/~nlct/latex/novices/}{\LaTeX{} for complete novices}
+does what it claims: the author teaches \LaTeX{} at the University of
+East Anglia.  That is one of several of Nicola's % ! line break
+\href{http://theoval.cmp.uea.ac.uk/~nlct/latex/}{introductory tutorials},
+which include exercises (with solutions).  Other tutorials include
+those for writing theses/dissertations with \LaTeX{}, and for using
+\LaTeX{} in administrative work.  (The page seems to be an adjunct to
+her \LaTeX{} courses~--- fortunate people, the people of \acro{UEA}!).
+
+An interesting (and practical) tutorial about what \emph{not} to do is
+\Package{l2tabu}, or ``A list of sins of \LaTeXe{} users'' by Mark
+Trettin, translated into English by J\"urgen Fenn.  The
+tutorial is available from \acro{CTAN} as a \acro{PDF} file (though
+the source is also available).
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Beginner's \LaTeX{}]\CTANref{beginlatex-pdf}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}First \LaTeX{} document]\CTANref{first-latex-doc}
+% ! line break
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Getting up and running with \AMSLaTeX{}]\CTANref{amslatex-primer}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Not so Short Introduction]\CTANref{lshort}
+  (in English, you may browse for sources and other language versions at
+  \CTANref{lshort-parent})
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Simplified \LaTeX{}]\CTANref{simpl-latex}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Short Course in \LaTeX{}]\CTANref{mil-short}
+% ! line break
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}The sins of \LaTeX{} users]\CTANref{l2tabuen};
+  source also available: \CTANref{l2tabuen.src}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-tutbitslatex]{Specialised \AllTeX{} tutorials}
+
+The \acro{AMS} publishes a ``Short Math Guide for \LaTeX{}'', which is
+available (in several formats) via
+\URL{http://www.ams.org/tex/short-math-guide.html}
+
+Herbert Vo\ss{} has written an extensive guide to mathematics in
+\LaTeX{} (a German version of which is published as a book).  The
+guide is part of his ``\Qref*{tips and tricks}{Q-doc-dirs}'' and
+a copy is maintained on \acro{CTAN}.
+%\URL{http://www.perce.de/LaTeX/math/Mathmode-TeX.pdf}
+
+Two documents written more than ten years apart about font usage in
+\TeX{} are worth reading: % ! line breaks, next 3 lines
+\href{href='http://www.tug.org/TUGboat/Articles/tb14-2/tb39rahtz-nfss.pdf}{Essential NFSS}
+by Sebastian Rahtz, and
+\href{http://tug.org/pracjourn/2006-1/schmidt/schmidt.pdf}{Font selection in LaTeX},
+cast in the form of an \acro{FAQ}, by Walter Schmidt.  A general
+compendium of font information (including the two above) may be found
+on the \href{http://www.tug.org/fonts/}{TUG web site}.
+
+Peter Smith's
+\begin{narrowversion}
+  ``\LaTeX{} for Logicians''
+  (\URL{http://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/teaching_staff/Smith/LaTeX/})
+\end{narrowversion}
+\begin{wideversion}
+  % ! line break
+  ``\href{http://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/teaching_staff/Smith/LaTeX/}{\LaTeX{} for Logicians}''
+\end{wideversion}
+covers a rather smaller subject area, but is similarly comprehensive
+(mostly by links to documents on relevant topics, rather than as a
+monolithic document).
+
+Keith Reckdahl's ``Using Imported Graphics in \LaTeXe{}'' is an
+excellent introduction to graphics use.  It's available on
+\acro{CTAN}, but the sources aren't available (promised ``some time
+soon'').
+
+Kjell Magne Fauske offers a set of examples of the use of the drawing
+packages % ! line break
+\Qref*{\acro{PGF} and \acro{T}ik\acro{Z}}{Q-drawing}; the % ! line break
+\href{http://www.texample.net/tikz/examples/}{examples catalogue}
+includes examples (with output) from the package documentation as well
+as code written by the author himself.
+
+Vincent Zoonekynd provides a set of excellent (and graphic) tutorials
+on the programming of % !line breaks, ...
+\href{http://zoonek.free.fr/LaTeX/LaTeX_samples_title/0.html}{title page styles},
+\href{http://zoonek.free.fr/LaTeX/LaTeX_samples_chapter/0.html}{chapter heading styles}
+and
+\href{http://zoonek.free.fr/LaTeX/LaTeX_samples_section/0.html}{section heading styles}.
+In each file, there is a selection of graphics representing an output
+style, and for each style, the code that produces it is shown.
+
+An invaluable step-by-step setup guide for establishing a ``work
+flow'' through your \AllTeX{} system, so that output appears at the
+correct size and position on standard-sized paper, and that the print
+quality is satisfactory, is Mike Shell's \Package{testflow}.  The
+tutorial consists of a large plain text document, and there is a
+supporting \LaTeX{} file together with correct output, both in \PS{} and
+\acro{PDF}, for each of \acro{A}4 and ``letter'' paper sizes.  The
+complete kit is available on \acro{CTAN} (distributed with the
+author's macros for papers submitted for \acro{IEEE} publications).
+The issues are also covered in a later % ! line break
+\Qref{\acro{FAQ} answer}{Q-dvips-pdf}.
+
+Documentation of Japanese \TeX{} use appears at least twice on the web:
+Haruhiko Okumura's page on
+% ! line break
+\href{http://oku.edu.mie-u.ac.jp/~okumura/texfaq/japanese/}{typesetting Japanese with Omega}
+(the parent page is in Japanese, so out of the scope of this
+\acro{FAQ}).
+
+One ``Tim'' documents p\TeX{} (a \TeX{} system widely used in Japan)
+in his
+\begin{narrowversion}
+  ``English notes on p\TeX{}'' (see
+  \url{http://www.users.waitrose.com/~nihilist/English_Notes_on_pTex.pdf}).
+\end{narrowversion}
+\begin{wideversion}
+  % ! line break
+  ``\href{http://www.users.waitrose.com/~nihilist/English_Notes_on_pTex.pdf}{English notes on p\TeX{}}''.
+\end{wideversion}
+
+Some university departments make their local documentation available
+on the web.  Most straightforwardly, there's the simple translation of
+existing documentation into \acro{HTML}, for example the \acro{INFO}
+documentation of the \AllTeX{} installation, of which a sample is the
+\LaTeX{} documentation available at
+\URL{http://www.tac.dk/cgi-bin/info2www?(latex)}
+
+More ambitiously, some university departments have enthusiastic
+documenters who 
+make public record of their \AllTeX{} support.  For example, Tim Love
+(of Cambridge University Engineering Department) maintains his
+deparment's pages at
+\URL{http://www-h.eng.cam.ac.uk/help/tpl/textprocessing/}
+%%  and Mimi
+%% Burbank (of the School of Computer Science \& Information Technology
+%% at the University of Florida) manages her department's at
+%% \URL{http://www.csit.fsu.edu/~mimi/tex/}\nobreakspace--- both sets are fine
+%% examples of good practice.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Graphics in \LaTeXe{}]the
+  document is available in \PS{} and \acro{PDF} formats as
+  \CTANref{epslatex_ps} and \CTANref{epslatex_pdf} respectively
+\item[testflow]\CTANref{testflow}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Herbert Vo\ss{}'s Maths tutorial]\CTANref{voss-mathmode}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-ref-doc]{Reference documents}
+
+For \TeX{} primitive commands a rather nice % ! line break
+\href{http://www.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/texcrib.pdf}{quick reference booklet},
+by John W.~Shipman, is available; it's arranged in the same way as the
+\TeX{}book.  By contrast, you can view David Bausum's % ! line break
+\href{http://www.tug.org/utilities/plain/cseq.html}{list of \TeX{} primitives}
+alphabetically or arranged by ``family''.  Either way, the list has a
+link for each control sequence, that leads you to a detailed
+description, which includes page references to the \TeX{}book.
+
+There doesn't seem to be a reference that takes in \plaintex{} as
+well as the primitive commands.
+
+An interesting \LaTeX{} ``cheat sheet'' is available from \acro{CTAN}:
+it's a list of (more or less) everything you `ought to' remember, for
+basic \LaTeX{} use.  (It's laid out very compactly for printing on N.\
+American `letter'; printed on \acro{ISO} \acro{A}4, using Adobe
+Acrobat's ``shrink to fit'', it strains aged eyes\dots{})
+
+Similarly, there's no completely reliable command-organised reference
+to \LaTeX{}.  The page (provided by \acro{NASA}) % ! line break
+\href{http://www.giss.nasa.gov/latex/}{Hypertext Help with LaTeX} is
+recently much improved.  It still talks in \LaTeXo{}-isms in places,
+but it's been updated for current \LaTeX{}.  There are a number of
+mirrors of the site, and it may be worth choosing a ``local'' one if
+you're going to use it a lot.
+
+Another \LaTeXe{} reference (provided by the Emerson Center of Emory
+University) is: % ! line break
+\href{http://www.emerson.emory.edu/services/latex/latex2e/latex2e_toc.html}{LaTeXe help}
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Cheat sheet]\CTANref{latexcheat}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-doc-wiki]{WIKI pages for \TeX{} and friends}
+
+The \emph{WIKI} concept can be a boon to everyone, if used sensibly.
+The ``general'' WIKI allows \emph{anyone} to add stuff, or to edit
+stuff that someone else has added: while there is obvious potential
+for chaos, there is evidence that a strong user community can keep a
+WIKI under control.
+
+Following the encouraging performance of the % ! line break
+\href{http://contextgarden.net/}{\CONTeXT{} WIKI}, valiant efforts
+have been made generating ``WIKI books'' for \AllTeX{} users.  Thus we
+have \href{http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/TeX}{(Plain) \TeX{} WIKI} and 
+\href{http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX}{\LaTeX{} WIKI} are well
+established.  Neither would seem yet to be of publication quality, but
+they both seem useful reference sources.
+
+\Question[Q-typo-style]{Typography tutorials}
+
+Peter Wilson's manual for his \Class{memoir} class has a lengthy
+introductory section on typographic considerations, which is a fine
+tutorial, written by someone who is aware of the issues as they apply
+to \AllTeX{} users.
+
+There's also (at least one) typographic style tutorial available on
+the Web, the excellent % ! line break
+``\href*{http://www.nbcs.rutgers.edu/~hedrick/typography/typography.janson-syntax.107514.pdf}{Guidelines for Typography in NBCS}''.
+In fact, its % !!
+\href*{http://www.nbcs.rutgers.edu/~hedrick/typography/index.html}{parent page}
+is also worth a read: among other things, it provides copies of the
+``guidelines'' document in a wide variety of primary fonts, for
+comparison purposes.  The author is careful to explain that he has no
+ambition to supplant such excellent books as
+\Qref*{Bringhurst's}{Q-typebooks}, but the document (though it does
+contain its Rutgers-local matter) is a fine introduction to the issues
+of producing readable documents.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[memoir \nothtml{\rmfamily}distribution]\CTANref{memoir}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-doc-dirs]{Directories of \AllTeX{} information}
+
+T\acro{UG} India is developing a series of online \LaTeX{} tutorials
+which can be strongly recommended: select single chapters at a time
+from \URL{http://www.tug.org.in/tutorials.html}\nobreakspace--- the
+set comprises two parts, ``Text'' and ``Graphics'', so far.
+
+Herbert Vo\ss{}'s excellent % beware line break
+\href{http://texnik.de/}{\LaTeX{} tips and tricks} is an excellent
+source of small articles on the use of \LaTeX{}.
+
+\Question[Q-ol-books]{Freely available \AllTeX{} books}
+
+People have long argued for \AllTeX{} books to be made available on
+the web, and until relatively recently this demand went un-answered.
+
+The first to appear was Victor Eijkhout's excellent ``\TeX{} by
+Topic'' in 2001 (it had been published by Addison-Wesley, but was long
+out of print).  The book is now available on \acro{CTAN}; it's not a
+beginner's tutorial but it's a fine reference.  It's also available,
+as a printed copy, via the on-line publishers
+\href{http://www.lulu.com/content/2555607/}{Lulu} (not quite free, of
+course, but not a \emph{bad} deal\dots{}).
+
+Addison-Wesley have also released the copyright of ``\TeX{} for the
+Impatient'' by Paul W.~Abrahams, Karl Berry and Kathryn A.~Hargreaves,
+another book whose unavailability many have lamented.  The authors
+have re-released the book under the \acro{GNU} Free Documentation
+Licence, and it is available from \acro{CTAN}.
+
+Norm Walsh's ``Making \TeX{} Work'' (originally published by O'Reilly)
+is also available (free) on the Web, at
+\URL{http://makingtexwork.sourceforge.net/mtw/}; the sources of the
+Web page are on \acro{CTAN}.  The book was an excellent resource in
+its day, but while it is now somewhat dated, it still has its uses,
+and is a welcome addition to the list of on-line resources.  A project
+to update it is believed to be under way.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Making \TeX{} Work]\CTANref{mtw}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\TeX{} by Topic]\CTANref{texbytopic}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\TeX{} for the Impatient]\CTANref{TftI}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-pkgdoc]{Documentation of packages}
+
+These \acro{FAQ}s regularly suggest packages that will ``solve''
+particular problems.  In some cases, the answer provides a recipe for
+the job.  In other cases, or when the solution needs elaborating, how
+is the poor user to find out what to do?
+
+If you're lucky, the package you need is already in your installation.
+If you're particularly lucky, you're using a distribution that gives
+access to package documentation and the documentation is available in
+a form that can easily be shown.  For example, on many current
+distributions, the \ProgName{texdoc} command often helps, as in: 
+\begin{quote}
+\begin{verbatim}
+texdoc footmisc
+\end{verbatim}
+\end{quote}
+which opens a window showing documentation of the
+\Package{footmisc} package.  According to the type of file
+\ProgName{texdoc} finds, it will launch a \acro{DVI} viewer
+or a \acro{PDF} reader.
+
+If \ProgName{texdoc} can't find any documentation, it may launch a Web
+browser to look at its copy of the \acro{CTAN} catalogue.  The
+catalogue has an entry for package documentation, and since the
+\acro{CTAN} team asks authors documentation of their packages (and
+members of the team even occasionally generate documentation that
+seems useful), you will more often than not find documentation that
+way.
+
+If your luck (as defined above) doesn't hold out, you've got to find
+documentation by other means.  This is where you need to exercise your
+intelligence: you have to find the documentation for yourself.  What
+follows offers a range of possible techniques.
+
+The commonest form of documentation of \LaTeX{} add-ons is within the
+\extension{dtx} file in which the code is distributed (see
+\Qref[answer]{documented \LaTeX{} sources}{Q-dtx}).  Such files
+are supposedly processable by \LaTeX{} itself, but there are
+occasional hiccups on the way to readable documentation.  Common
+problems are that the package itself is needed to process its own
+documentation (so must be unpacked before processing), and that the
+\extension{dtx} file will \emph{not} in fact process with \LaTeX{}.  In the
+latter case, the \extension{ins} file will usually produce a
+\extension{drv} (or similarly-named) file, which you process with
+\LaTeX{} instead.  (Sometimes the package author even thinks to
+mention this wrinkle in a package \texttt{README} file.)
+
+Another common form is the separate documentation file; particularly
+if a package is ``conceptually large'' (and therefore needs a lot of
+documentation), the documentation would prove a cumbersome extension
+to the \extension{dtx} file.  Examples of such cases are the \Class{memoir}
+class (whose documentation, \File{memman}, is widely praised as an
+introduction to typesetting concepts), the \Class{KOMA-script} bundle
+(whose developers take the trouble to produce detailed documentation
+in both German and English), and the \Package{fancyhdr} package (whose
+documentation derives from a definitive tutorial in a mathematical
+journal).  Even if the documentation is not separately identified in a
+\texttt{README} file, it should not be too difficult to recognise its
+existence.
+
+Documentation within the package itself is the third common form.
+Such documentation ordinarily appears in comments at the head of the
+file, though at least one eminent author regularly places it after the
+\csx{endinput} command in the package.  (This is desirable, since
+\csx{endinput} is a `logical' end-of-file, and \AllTeX{} doesn't read
+beyond it: thus such documentation does not `cost' any package loading time.)
+
+The above suggestions cover most possible ways of finding
+documentation.  If, despite your best efforts, you can't find
+it in any of the above places, there's the awful possibility that the
+author didn't bother to document his package (on the ``if it was hard
+to write, it should be hard to use'' philosophy).  Most ordinary
+mortals will seek support from some more experienced user at this
+stage, though it \emph{is} possible to proceed in the way that the original
+author apparently expected\dots{}by reading his code.
+
+\Question[Q-writecls]{Learning to write \LaTeX{} classes and packages}
+
+There's nothing particularly magic about the commands you use when
+writing a package, so you can simply bundle up a set of \LaTeX{}
+\csx{(re)newcommand} and \csx{(re)newenvironment} commands, put them in
+a file \File{package.sty} and you have a package.
+
+However, any but the most trivial package will require rather more
+sophistication.  Some details of \LaTeX{} commands for the job are to
+be found in `\LaTeXe{} for class and package writers'
+(\File{clsguide}, part of the \LaTeX{} documentation distribution).
+Beyond this, a good knowledge of \TeX{} itself is valuable: thus books
+such as the \Qref*{\TeX{}book}{Q-books} or % ! line break
+\Qref*{\TeX{} by topic}{Q-ol-books} are relevant.  With good \TeX{}
+knowledge it is possible to use the documented source of \LaTeX{} as
+reference material (dedicated authors will acquaint themselves with the
+source as a matter of course).  A complete set of the documented
+source of \LaTeX{} may be prepared by processing the file
+\File{source2e.tex} in the \LaTeX{} distribution.  Such processing is
+noticeably tedious, but Heiko Oberdiek has prepared a well-linked
+\acro{PDF} version, which is in the file \File{base.tds.zip} of his
+\ProgName{latex-tds} distribution.  Individual files in the \LaTeX{}
+distribution may be processed separately with \LaTeX{}, like any
+well-constructed \Qref*{\extension{dtx} file}{Q-dtx}.
+
+Writing good classes is not easy; it's a good idea to read some
+established ones (\File{classes.dtx}, for example, is the documented
+source of the standard classes other than \Class{Letter}, and may
+itself be formatted with \LaTeX{}).  Classes that are not part of the
+distribution are commonly based on ones that are, and start by loading
+the standard class with \csx{LoadClass}~--- an example of this
+technique may be seen in \Package{ltxguide.cls}
+
+An % !! line break
+\href{http://tug.org/TUGboat/Articles/tb28-1/tb88flynn.pdf}{annotated version of \Class{article}},
+as it appears in \File{classes.dtx}, was published in
+\TUGboat{} 28(1).  The article, by Peter Flynn, which is some help in
+understanding \File{classes.dtx}
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[classes.dtx]\CTANref{latex-classes}
+\item[clsguide.pdf]\CTANref{clsguide}
+\item[latex-tds \nothtml{rmfamily}collection]\CTANref{latex-tds}
+\item[ltxguide.cls]\CTANref{ltxguide}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\LaTeX{} documentation]\CTANref{latexdoc}
+\item[source2e.tex]\CTANref{latex-source}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-mfptutorials]{\MF{} and \MP{} Tutorials}
+
+Apart from Knuth's book, there seems to be only one publicly-available
+\href{http://metafont.tutorial.free.fr/}{tutorial for \MF{}}, by
+Christophe Grandsire (a copy in \acro{PDF} form may be downloaded).
+Geoffrey Tobin's \textit{\MF{} for Beginners} % !! line break
+(see \Qref[question]{using \MF{}}{Q-useMF}) describes how the \MF{}
+system works and how to avoid some of the potential pitfalls.
+
+There is also an article on how to run both \MF{} and \MP{} (the
+programs).  Peter Wilson's % !! line break
+\textit{Some Experiences in Running \MF{} and \MP{}}
+offers the benefit of Peter's experience (he has designed a number of
+`historical' fonts using \MF{}).  For \MF{} the article is geared
+towards testing and installing new \MF{} fonts, while its \MP{}
+section describes how to use \MP{} illustrations in \LaTeX{} and
+\PDFLaTeX{} documents, with an emphasis on how to use appropriate
+fonts for any text or mathematics.
+
+% Hans Hagen (of \CONTeXT{} fame) offers a \MP{} tutorial called
+% MetaFun (which admittedly concentrates on the use of \MP{} within
+% \CONTeXT{}).  It may be found on his company's % ! line break
+% \href{http://www.pragma-ade.com/metapost.htm}{\MP{} page}.
+
+Other \MP{} tutorials that have appeared are two in English by % ! line breaks
+\href{http://remote.science.uva.nl/~heck/Courses/mptut.pdf}{Andr\'e Heck}
+and \href{http://www.tlhiv.org/MetaPost/tutorial/}{Urs Oswald},
+and one in French (listed here because it's clearly enough written
+that even this author understands it), by
+\href{http://pauillac.inria.fr/~cheno/metapost/metapost.pdf}{Laurent Ch\'eno};
+both have been recommended for inclusion in the \acro{FAQ}
+
+Urs Oswald's tutorial is accompanied by a super tool (by Troy
+Henderson) for testing little bits of \MP{}, which is an invaluable
+aid to the learner: \URL{http://www.tlhiv.org/mppreview}
+
+Vincent Zoonekynd's massive set of example \MP{} files is available on
+\acro{CTAN}; the set includes a \ProgName{Perl} script to convert the
+set to html, and the set may be % beware line break
+\href{http://zoonek.free.fr/LaTeX/Metapost/metapost.html}{viewed on the web}.
+While these examples don't exactly constitute a ``tutorial'', they're
+most certainly valuable learning material.  Urs Oswald presents a
+\href{http://www.ursoswald.ch/metapost/tutorial.pdf}{similar document},
+written more as a document, and presented in \acro{PDF}.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Beginners' guide]\CTANref{mf-beginners}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Peter Wilson's ``experiences'']\CTANref{metafp-pdf}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Vincent Zoonekynd's examples]\CTANref{zoon-mp-eg}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-BibTeXing]{\BibTeX{} Documentation}
+
+\BibTeX{}, a program originally designed to produce bibliographies in
+conjunction with \LaTeX{}, is explained in Section~4.3 and Appendix~B
+of Leslie Lamport's \LaTeX{} manual.
+The document ``\BibTeX{}ing'', contained in the file \File{btxdoc.tex},
+expands on the chapter in Lamport's book.  \emph{The \LaTeX{} Companion}
+also has information on \BibTeX{} and writing \BibTeX{} style files.
+(See \Qref[question]{TeX-related books}{Q-books} for details of both
+books.)
+
+The document ``Designing \BibTeX{} Styles'', contained in the file
+\File{btxhak.tex}, explains the postfix stack-based language used to
+write \BibTeX{} styles (\File{.bst} files). The file \File{btxbst.doc}
+is the template for the four standard styles (\Package{plain},
+\Package{abbrv}, \Package{alpha}, and \Package{unsrt}). It also
+contains their documentation.  The complete \BibTeX{} documentation
+set (including all the files above) is available on \acro{CTAN}.
+
+A useful tutorial of the whole process of using \BibTeX{} is Nicolas
+Markey's ``\emph{Tame the BeaST (The B to X of \BibTeX{})}'', which
+may also be found on \acro{CTAN}.  A summary and \acro{FAQ}
+(\File{btxFAQ}), by Michael Shell and David Hoadley, is also to be
+recommended.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}\BibTeX{} documentation]\CTANref{bibtex-doc}
+\item[btxFAQ.pdf]\CTANref{bibtex-faq}
+\item[\nothtml{\rmfamily}Tame the BeaST]\CTANref{ttb-pdf}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-symbols]{Where can I find the symbol for\,\dots{}}
+\keywords{assignment circular integral degrees diagonal dots Fourier transform}
+\keywords{Laplace greater less complex integer natural real}
+\keywords{cent euro}
+
+There is a wide range of symbols available for use with \TeX{}, most
+of which are not shown (or even mentioned) in \AllTeX{} books.
+\emph{The Comprehensive \LaTeX{} Symbol List} (by Scott Pakin
+% beware line wrap
+\emph{et al.}\@) illustrates over 2000 symbols, and details the
+commands and the \LaTeX{} packages needed to produce them.
+
+Other questions in this \acro{FAQ} offer specific help on kinds of
+symbols:
+\begin{itemize}
+\item \Qref*{Script fonts for mathematics}{Q-scriptfonts}
+\item \Qref*{Fonts for the number sets}{Q-numbersets}
+\item \Qref*{Typesetting the principal value integral}{Q-prinvalint}
+\end{itemize}
+
+A useful new % ! line break
+\href{http://detexify.kirelabs.org/classify.html}{symbol search} web
+site is available.  It provides you a scratch area on which you draw
+the symbol you're thinking of, with your mouse; when you've finished
+drawing, the classifier tries to match your sketch with symbols it
+knows about.  The matching process is pretty good, even for the
+sketches of a \emph{really} poor draughtsman, and it's often worth
+trying more than once.  Given the huge size of the symbol list, this
+tool can be very helpful.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[Symbol List]Browse \CTANref{symbols}; there are processed
+  versions in both \PS{} and \acro{PDF} forms for both A4 and
+  letter paper.
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-docpictex]{The \PiCTeX{} manual}
+
+\PiCTeX{} is a set of macros by Michael Wichura for drawing diagrams
+and pictures. The
+macros are freely available; however, the
+\PiCTeX{} manual itself is not free.
+Unfortunately, \acro{TUG} is no longer able to supply copies of the
+manual (as it once did), and it is now available only through Personal
+\TeX{} Inc, the vendors of PC\TeX{} (\URL{http://www.pctex.com/}).  The
+manual is \emph{not} available electronically.
+
+However, there \emph{is} a summary of \PiCTeX{} commands available on
+\acro{CTAN}, which is a great aide-memoire for those who basically
+know the package to start with.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[pictex]\CTANref{pictex}
+\item[PiCTeX summary]\CTANref{pictex-summary}
+\end{ctanrefs}
-- 
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