Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/07/12/00:21:35
> Hi
> You wrote:
>
> >This is to announce that I have uploaded the following files to the DJ's
> >ftp server, and that that files will be available for downloading from
> >simtel (ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtel/gnu/djgpp/):
> > v2gnu/gtxt010d.zip GNU gettext 0.10 documentation
> > v2gnu/rcode34d.zip recode ver 3.4 documentation
> > v2apps/tex/dvps566d.zip Dvips 5.66a documentation for DJGPP v2
> > v2apps/tex/kpse30d.zip Kpathsea library v3.0 documentation for DJGPP v2
> > v2apps/tex/webc70d.zip TeX, Web and Web2c 7.0 documentation for DJGPP
> > These files contains documentation in dvi, ps, html and texinfo formats.
>
> I have downloaded the files in search of other interesting DJGPP
> things. Also, I was told that TEX is a great office program. Upon
First be adviced that, I just try to maintain an up to date set of zip
archives that contains the original documentation (that you can find in
the source archives) compiled in three different formats. I do not write
that documentation. zip archives with name *d.zip are created from the
corresponding *s.zip archive provided by the person who wrote or ported
the package.
Now, with regards to TeX. The first thing that I can tell you is this:
Who told you that `TEX is a great office program' gives you a non totally
true advice. TeX is maybe the best text (plus) typesetting environment
ever written, but it is not a word processor. TeX is not wysiwyg. You
can think on TeX as a pretty specialised programming language. You
write your source using your most beloved editor (you save your work
in ascii) and then you compile it using TeX. What you got out from TeX
is a dvi (device independet, a kind of object) file. You can print or
`preview' that file using a dvi device driver (that's another program)
The device driver creates a device dependent file, that file is the
one that you really print or whatever (usually, the device driver just
send the device dependent file directly to the device).
> opening the *.htm docs my curiosity turned into confusion. I was
> confronted with copyrights and introductions that did not answer
> my basic questions. I still do not know much about TEX, but if
Honestly I don't know what's inside Kpathsea's nor webc's docs. But
I'm sure they must contains a least some copyrights.
If you're interested in learn a little about TeX, find a copy of Donald
Knuth's The TeXbook (by the way, if you don't know who is Donald Knuth,
let me tell you that he's the author of TeX, but that also HE IS the
author of the Art of Computer Programming!, and those are books that
everybody must --at least-- browse once in a life time)
> writing is not something we do for clarity, especially the docs,
> then what good are they? A suggestion and degression I shall add
> -- (Name, ver, what am I?). Simple & sweet.
I agree with you, but again, I'm not the author of the docs. I'm just like
a typographer ;-).
> Luis, could you please tell me a little about Tex. I am very
> interested in these programs. Can I use them on my computers.
As I told you, TeX is not a word processor. But TeX was created with the
typesetting of technical (specially mathematical) texts in mind. With TeX
even the most complicated formula or diagram can be typeset in an easy and
beautiful way. The mayority of the mathematical books (and you can also
include physics, biology, etc. and magazines) that you can find in a book-
store were created using TeX. As an example, if you want to dysplay an inte-
gral in one of your (plain TeX) documents, for example, "the integral,
from square root of 2 to sine of x square plus 1, of exponencial of cosine
of three times x plus sine of x; dx". what you need to type (in plain TeX)
is:
$$ \int_{\sqrt 2}^{\sin x^2 + 1} e^{\cos(3x + \sin x)} dx $$
and as a result you'll obtain a beautifully shaped integral with all the
correct spacing and everything.
> I posses Win95 environments and HP Ink printer. Please do not
> take offense. I had the same problem installing DJGPP and Allegro.
Don't worry, I don't take offense. I mean is your life, you can pay for
and live with Window$ if you want to ;-). But of course the answer to
your question `Can I use them on my computers' is Yes.
> Finding out about them was difficult, too. I am waiting for a brief
> description of Tex. What it does and what it is. Does it check spelling
I hope that the descriptions I gave you some lines ago can give you an
idea of what's TeX, but if that's not enough, please try to give a look
at the source: The TeXbook, Donald Knuth. (Also, there's a lot of books
about TeX and the various macro packages --think on that like libraries--
that has bee written for TeX).
> and grammar in English, Polish, French and other languages? Is it a
No, TeX does not check spelling, and to really check grammar in any
language is even more difficult. BUT! there are some spell checkers that
can work with TeX (not really WITH TeX, but at least they can skip TeX
commands). And, if your work involves the writting of texts in several
(or at least more than one) languages then you can use Babel macros.
> graphic or DOS box window GUI?
No. TeX is not wysiwyg (I suppose that's behind your question). But there
are some ports (specifically commercials) that are in some way wysiwyg.
(for example textures for the macs, or scientific tex for the windogs).
Now, with respect to Eli's port, you can run it in a dos box.
Some related web sites are:
http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/
http://wwwcn1.cern.ch/cnls/220/node56.html
http://www.dante.de/
http://www.brics.dk/~krisrose/Xy-pic.html
http://www-pu.informatik.uni-tuebingen.de:80/users/ettrich/lyx.html
http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Desktop_Publishing/TeX/
> J. Paul
>
> |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> | My Cyberspace for beginners with DJGPP & Allegro:
> | http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/2571/
> | My Cyberspace on English http://www.polbox.com/a/america/ (coming soon!)
> | J. Paul Bruns-Bielkowicz (Teacher)
> |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I am thinking that this can be helpful to someone else, I'm going to
send a copy of this email to the djgpp also.
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Luis Hernandez. email: newton AT math DOT gatech DOT edu 29805 Georgia Tech Station
Math School, Georgia Tech. 30332 Atlanta, GA, USA
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"I don't want to achieve inmortality through my work,
I want to achieve inmortality through not dying"
Woody Allen
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"I'm going to live forever or die trying"
Digital Hippie
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