Author Topic: TeX documentation (Read 17711 times)

thomaskilian · « **on:** December 01, 2006, 05:35:40 am »

Hi there,
I'm back to roots again, meaning that my "Office-is-scrap" opinion has settled down firmly (and yes, Open-Office is just copied scrap for free). Some years ago I was SO happy with TeX that I now decided to give it a revival. Now I'm wondering if anyone else already has started something with automated TeX documentation.

Any feedback would be welcome!

fr3sh · « **Reply #1 on:** March 13, 2007, 04:09:53 am »

This is exactly my opinion!

Have you allready found a way to use TeX with EA?

thomaskilian · « **Reply #2 on:** March 13, 2007, 08:51:39 am »

Yes. I have a Perl script to export package contents in TeX format. Doing that way (as Add-in) you have a lot of choices to produce the output at your will (and not what someone else had in mind). If you like and give me a few days I can share that with you.

«Midnight» · « **Reply #3 on:** March 13, 2007, 08:59:04 am »

Working more in the .Net world - and with COM when I must - I wonder if there are any implementations of TeX that I can (easily, if possible) gate into.

Anyone know of such a bird?

David

thomaskilian · « **Reply #4 on:** March 13, 2007, 01:42:25 pm »

Hi David,
here is a good start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX This one also recommends software for Windows (I can't say much as I use my Mac for that). From my past usage in the Win-environment I think it will be the same. You have a simple (integrated) text editor (be it something like Notepad or even EMACS and VI) and some shortcut to start typesetting. This will compile the input and produce a PS or PDF file that can be viewed with a (integrated or standard) viewer.

Additionally (if you really get infected) read the books The TEXbook and Metafont (both Addison Wesley Paperbacks, Nos. 13448 and 13444) from Donald E. Knuth.
For Latex (the most common macro set) I have only a German book, but you'll definitely find lots of reference books in English at Amazon.

In the beginning it might look like a step back not using WYSIWYG, but as IT guy you are used to abstraction and will start loving this approach. Especially if you really have a large documentation framework. Until now I have not seen it crash under the burden (unlike Word).

For any special help, drop me a mail.

«Midnight» · « **Reply #5 on:** March 13, 2007, 02:26:58 pm »

Thanks Thomas,

I'll look into this.

Fortunately I'm a bit of a dinosaur. My computer experience dates back 40 years now; in fact I once personally owned a Univac 1004 mainframe. Sadly, at this time I only have, at least at home, Knuth's algorithms trilogy. My copy is so out of data - it is a very edition - that many of the algorithms I recently studied at the local University had not been invented when my edition was updated.

My machine-assisted writing included a lot of work with good old DSR (Digital Standard Runoff) which I used to create a lot of documentation.

If I really start worrying about this, perhaps I should write a Windows front end for TeX. Something in DirectX (or whatever they're calling it now) would be nice. Direct pixel shading, interactive sound, all the high-end text editing options. Of course it wouldn't handle markup worth a darn, but it would probably sell like hotcakes...

David

thomaskilian · « **Reply #6 on:** March 13, 2007, 02:55:14 pm »

Welcome to the Jurasic Park. I also used DSR and the IBM variant SCRIPT. Here's another one then: TeX and METAFONT, New Directions in Typesetting, digital press, 1979, ISBN 0-932376-02-9

«Midnight» · « **Reply #7 on:** March 13, 2007, 02:57:45 pm »

Oh, you mean the new books by Knuth; that's much newer than my trilogy edition. I might actually b able to scare up a copy.

Thanks Thomas

Paolo F Cantoni · « **Reply #8 on:** March 13, 2007, 05:21:06 pm »

Quote

Welcome to the Jurassic Park. I also used DSR and the IBM variant SCRIPT.

Count me in as a DSR user... I even used Runoff BEFORE there was DSR! (And while I worked for DEC!)

Ah... Noztalgia...
Paolo

sargasso · « **Reply #9 on:** March 13, 2007, 09:17:00 pm »

DSR! My gawd, I'd forgotten that even existed.

+troff
+nroff

Runoff - a bl**dy wimp tool

... getting too excited.. may have to have a little lay down.

bruce

mikewhit · « **Reply #10 on:** March 14, 2007, 12:22:07 am »

TeX ? Latex ?
Knuth would be spinning in his retirement-home chair !

L^AT_E^X surely.

Paolo F Cantoni · « **Reply #11 on:** March 14, 2007, 01:50:26 am »

Quote

TeX ? Latex ?
Knuth would be spinning in his retirement-home chair !

L^AT_E^X surely.

[glb]Pommy show off...[/glb]

You're still not going to win the cricket...

Paolo

fr3sh · « **Reply #12 on:** March 14, 2007, 04:37:47 am »

This TeX Plugin sounds nice... i think this is much better solution an can realy be customised.

( not like the included RTF stuff )

Develop a perl plugin for generating a TeX output is a very clever solution. This allows you to use all the nice Perl modules from CPAN.

thomaskilian · « **Reply #13 on:** March 14, 2007, 02:53:11 pm »

A very nice thing: I can put in meta-tags for diagrams to direct TeX to scale and rotate each diagram individually. Hehe - all these posts "My diagram does not fit" and "how to use portrait/landscape mixed". Actually you don't need much except for a package parser that prints chapters, sections etc. The Notes can take direct TeX meta-tags so you can build almost anything you can imagine.

mikewhit · « **Reply #14 on:** March 15, 2007, 01:05:09 am »

So it's settled - stuff all the RTF, start using ^T_E^X

Sparx Systems Forum

News: