jcj@gistdev.UUCP (Jeff Jones) (09/29/89)
In article <4334@wpi.wpi.edu> john@wpi.wpi.edu (John F Stoffel) writes: > >In article <1855@cs-spool.calgary.UUCP> pepers@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Bradley Pepers) writes: > >>Would anyone recomend TeX for writing a book (NOT a manual)? Or would a WP >>like WordPerfect be better? > > I wouldn't recommend TeX for writing the book, but I would recommend >LaTeX! LaTeX has all the power of TeX, but it is much easier to use >and understand. [rest deleted] I'm sorry, but LaTeX does _not_ have all the power of TeX. I used TeX for two years in a technical textbook publishing house, and got used to the ability to write my own page layout routines, fudge things a few points for page balancing; basically writing all my own macros from scratch. I've never used LaTeX directly, but have done TeX consulting for people who do; LaTeX is probably better for the novice TeXie, because it _is_ easier to learn. What I've found, however, is that once you know what you are doing, LaTeX is too restrictive, and you have to bypass the supplied macros to reach the power of TeX. This isn't a flame on LaTeX, and, in fact, if you've never used raw TeX, it will probably work wonders for you; if you (or your publisher) will demand perfection, tho, use TeX. -- Jeff Jones / GIST, Inc. / 1800 Woodfield Dr. / Savoy, IL 61874 / (217) 352-1165 ARPANET: jcj%gistdev@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu UUCP : ...uunet!gistdev!jcj (or) {uunet,puree,convex}!uiucuxc!gistdev!jcj "My name's Smoketoomuch..."
UH2@PSUVM.BITNET (Lee Sailer) (09/30/89)
<1855@cs-spool.calgary.UUCP> <4334@wpi.wpi.edu> <815@gistdev.UUCP>
Just a clarification for those new to TeX and LaTeX.
In TeX, one writes macros to do things one whats to do. For example
(simplified)
\def\heading #1\par{\pageneeds 2in\centerline{\bf #1}\bigskip\noindent}
defines a macro called heading that checks to see if there is 2 inches left
on the page, starts a new page if ncessary, centers the text of
the heading in bold face, skips about 24points (I forget) and assures that
the subsequent paragraph is not indented. The user types
\heading This will be the heading
And this is the following text, etc etc etc...
LaTeX is a huge set of elaborate macros modeled after another language
called Scribe, suitable for many if not most academic publication purposes.
Likewise, AMSTeX is a different set, used by many math journals.
So, don't assume that LaTeX and TeX are two different things. LaTeX is
written in TeX. Also, I don't know of any TeX's that come without LaTeX.
However, LaTeX is pretty big, and usually requires a lot more memory.
Personally, I found LaTeX to be fragile, and since I have generic programmin
skills I am able to work comfortable directly in TeX.
lee