terry@nrcvax.UUCP (Terry Grevstad) (08/01/85)
I've got to learn Nroff/Troff in a hurry, and I find the Nroff/Troff
User's Manual highly unenlightening. Does anyone know of a book out
there that gives a fuller explanation of the subject? Maybe with some
good, clear examples? I've gone through everything in the UNIX User's
Manual Supplementary Documents, and right now I feel like I'm wading
in very deep water. The only other word processing type systems I'm
familiar with are things like WordStar and WordPerfect--not
anything like typesetting. Maybe a good book on typesetting would
help????
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Terry Grevstad
...!sdcrdcf!psivax!nrcvax!terry
"The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides,
never decides." -Henri Frederic Amiel-larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (08/06/85)
> I've got to learn Nroff/Troff in a hurry, and I find the Nroff/Troff > User's Manual highly unenlightening. Does anyone know of a book out > there that gives a fuller explanation of the subject? Maybe with some > good, clear examples? ... Try "A Practical Guide to the UNIX System" by Mark G. Sobell, ISBN 0-8053-8910-5 published by The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co. of Menlo Park, Ca. This book has about 50 pages on nroff with examples. I had the same problem you did - and this book gave me enough initial understanding so that I could THEN understand the UNIX doc's, which are about as clear as mud for a first time user. Larry Lippman Recognition Research Corp. Clarence, New York UUCP {decvax,dual,rocksanne,rocksvax,watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry {rice,shell}!baylor!/ syr!buf!/ VOICE 716/741-9185 TELEX {via WUI} 69-71461 answerback: ELGECOMCLR "Have you hugged your cat today?"
todd@SCIRTP.UUCP (Todd Jones) (08/08/85)
> I've got to learn Nroff/Troff in a hurry, and I find the Nroff/Troff > User's Manual highly unenlightening. Does anyone know of a book out > there that gives a fuller explanation of the subject? Maybe with some > good, clear examples? > > Any suggestions would be appreciated! > > Terry Grevstad > ...!sdcrdcf!psivax!nrcvax!terry HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! you've got to be kidding! there ain't no such beast!
ayers@convexs.UUCP (08/12/85)
/* Written 12:15 pm Aug 6, 1985 by wfi@rti-sel.UUCP in convexs:net.books */
Unfortunately, much software documentation is unreadable or unuseable
because many technical people undervalue the importance of
documentation to the user and underestimate the difficulty of
producing first-rate documentation... It takes considerable SKILL to produce
useable, readable documentation; when is the industry going to recognize this
fact? ...The problem with the Nroff/Troff User's Manual is that it was written
by hackers for hackers.
-- Cheers, Bill Ingogly
/* End of text from convexs:net.books */
Thank you, Bill...
blues, II
No Clothes! No Clothes! The Emperor Penguin has no clothes!ian@darwin.UUCP (08/13/85)
> ... Does anyone know of a book out > there that gives a fuller explanation of [nroff]? Maybe with some > good, clear examples? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! you've got to be kidding! there ain't no such beast! Wrong. There is. _Word Processing on the UNIX System_. Morris Krieger. McGraw-Hill/Byte books.ISBN 0-07-035498-7. 1985. 372 pp + index. Hundreds (literally) of examples. Read it before you claim it doesn't exist.
judith@proper.UUCP (Judith Abrahms) (08/16/85)
In article <> terry@nrcvax.UUCP (Terry Grevstad) writes: >I've got to learn Nroff/Troff in a hurry, and I find the Nroff/Troff >User's Manual highly unenlightening. Does anyone know of a book out >there that gives a fuller explanation of the subject? Maybe with some >good, clear examples? UNIX FOR PEOPLE, by Birns, Brown, & Muster (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1985) is the book I've found clearest, easiest, and fastest to learn from in my attempts to master editing on here. It's aimed at the complete novice, but you can skim the parts that are already familiar. Examples, short reviews, and exercises to give you practice online are plentiful. The style is simple but not disgustingly jocular. The book takes you through an intro to vi & goes right on to troff & nroff, phototypesetting, etc. I've seen it at Tower Books (subsid. of Tower Records), UCB bookstore, & other places. It ought to be easy to find. And if you can handle Wordstar...! No problem! JA