baur@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM (Steven L. Baur) (10/25/89)
From article <5104@cps3xx.UUCP>, by smithda@cpsvax.cps.msu.edu (J. Daniel Smith): > One of the things that I think is so great about TeX/LaTeX is that is > that you are not tied down to your Sun workstation. I can work on a > TeX file at home with a terminal and a modem. Or even better a (reasonably) cheap micro with UNIX like a UNIXPC. On a UNIXPC you can get a graphics display of your typeset TeX file right there on your screen. > Another great thing is that TeX files are normal ASCII files. I don't > want to have to encode my document in some interchange format > everytime I want to send it to someone via email. And non-ascii file > formats are just a real pain all the way around as far as I'm > concerned. This fact can't be discounted either. Suppose you have to write a manual for code that will be distributed via e-mail. Sure you can uuencode a binary file, but then you require receiving sites to be able to process that file. If that site doesn't have the correct proprietary package to decode it they lose (well no, you lose -- you will be unable to reach the common denominator). (Not to mention that Word Perfect costs money and TeX is *free*). > > TeX is also one of the very few programs of its size (maybe the only one) > that runs on nearly every computer system in use today. Not the only one. You can say the same thing about GNU Emacs (especially with its subsetted derivatives). ("A computer that cannot run GNU emacs is not worth using -- me", but that's a side issue). I was somewhat in shock when I first found out that TeX could run on my system V-ish UNIXPC at home, but when that first display came up with a typeset document I was converted. Maintenance of technical documentation should also be a concern. With ASCII formatted text files, maintainers can use their editor of choice -- mine is GNU emacs, but the maintainer of the document may prefer another editor. With ASCII formatted files (like the input to TeX/LaTeX), she has a choice. The final thing I want to stress is that TeX/LaTeX are *free*. They do not require a licensing fee, they do not require an upgrade fee, they do not require a maintenance fee. They are also high quality software. I have read the GNU manuals on their free software and I invite anyone to compare it to (especially) recent documentation from AT&T on System V. (Content aside). The GNU manuals (which use TeX) have indices, look nice, and are portable. For comparison, try the AT&T book on Document Processing for System V (no index, clumsy formatting, weak table of contents). TeX/LaTeX is the current standard for typesetting on computers throughout the world. It would be a mistake to ignore it. -- steve baur@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM
des@yatton.inmos.co.uk (David Shepherd) (10/26/89)
In article <104@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM> baur@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM (Steven L. Baur) writes: >The GNU manuals (which use TeX) have indices, look nice, and >are portable. as opposed to SunOS manuals which are merely luggable (I know, I just finished moving offices 30mins ago ;-) david shepherd INMOS ltd