humphrys@hpwalk.hp.com (John Humphrys) (02/06/91)
Can anyone help get me started. I want to learn tex but don't know where to start. 1. Where can I ftp the sources? 2. Any documentation or good texts? 3. I can run it at work on hp9000/300 workstation, but does it run on pcs. thanks, john
ne201ph@prism.gatech.EDU (Halvorson,Peter J) (02/07/91)
My mailer couldn't figure out an address for you ( neither could I). In article <1671@hpwala.wal.hp.com> humphrys@hpwalk.UUCP (John Humphrys) writes: >Can anyone help get me started. I want to learn tex but don't know where to >start. > >1. Where can I ftp the sources? The best site to get the sources is probably wuarchive.wustl.edu. Other sites with good supporting files and hacks are ymir.claremont.edu, sun.soe.clarkson.edu, and labrea.stanford.edu. >2. Any documentation or good texts? You can choose to use different brands of TeX, the simplest and most complete is LaTeX. The best manual for LaTeX is A Document Preperation System LaTeX, by Leslie Lamport. The basic TeX is documented by The TeXbook by Donald E. Knuth, and TeX for the Impatient ( I don't know the author). The TeXbook is the complete reference, but TeX for the Impatient does a better job of teaching you what you should know. You can do anything in TeX, but you will have to do more work putting together a working set of functions. There is also AMSTeX, which is somewhere in between TeX and LaTeX. It is produced by the American Mathematical Society, and is supposed to be particularly good for math and equations. I'd choose LaTeX because it will do a lot, as easily as possible ( equations, tables, figures, bibliographies, citations, footnotes, section headings, tables of contents, figures, and tables, and everything else I've had to do). >3. I can run it at work on hp9000/300 workstation, but does it run on pcs. > There are 3 or 4 pd versions running on PCs. emTeX is the one I use ( and think is the best). emTeX can be anonymous ftp'd from ymir. The ftp sites above have most of the options. >thanks, > john You're welcome. -- Peter Halvorson -- Nuclear Engineering Program Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 uucp: ...!{allegra,amd,hplabs,ut-ngp}!gatech!prism!ne201ph Internet: ne201ph@prism.gatech.edu -- peter@fission.gatech.edu
Damian.Cugley@prg.ox.ac.uk (Damian Cugley) (02/07/91)
From: Halvorson,Peter J <ne201ph@prism.gatech.EDU> Message-Id: <21384@hydra.gatech.EDU> > >2. Any documentation or good texts? > The basic TeX is documented by The TeXbook by Donald E. Knuth, The _TeXbook_ is the *definitive* TeX reference. Knuth was one of the main creators of TeX. > You can do anything in TeX, but you will have to do more work putting > together a working set of functions. [Will a newcommer know what this means? In brief, TeX works like a macro assembler, with some primitive commands but with most documents consisting of macros built on top of them. Like autocodes :^> ] Right. LaTeX and AmSTeX are precisely this -- working macro packages layered over TeX. (LaTeX isn't a "brand" of TeX.) It is useful for simple mathematics not using unusual notation, and is the one most usually used for preparing papers etc. _A document preperation system: LaTeX_ is the *definitive* LaTeX reference -- so far as I know, the *only* one, bar the occasional 5-page "Introduction to LaTeX" that people keep on hacking out. Even if you use LaTeX exclusively you will need the _TeXbook_ to plug holes in Lamport's manual and to assit you in making adjustments to the LaTeX macros. /-------------------\/--------------------\/---------------------------\ | X-) see no evil || pdc@prg.ox.ac.uk || Damian Cugley, | | :X) smell no evil || pdc@uk.ac.ox.prg || Computing Laboratory, | | :-X speak no evil |\--------------------/| 11 Keble Rd, Oxford, UK | \-------------------/ "~~j~~hhj~i~~~" \---------------------------/ ======================================================================== There are occasions when sloppy typing makes a message genuinely hard to understand: >> does it run on pcs. "pcs"? "PCS"? What's that -- some esoteric HP operating system? > There are 3 or 4 pd versions running on PCs. Oh! He meant IBM PCs! Would've been funny to see an Amegan reply to that. Can't people spel "MS-DOS" anymore? ("Is TeX available for MS-DOS?" "Yes, there are 3 or 4 PD TeXs...")
spqr@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Sebastian Rahtz) (02/08/91)
In article <DAMIAN.CUGLEY.91Feb7115547@msc2.prg.ox.ac.uk> Damian.Cugley@prg.ox.ac.uk (Damian Cugley) writes:
layered over TeX. (LaTeX isn't a "brand" of TeX.) It is useful for
simple mathematics not using unusual notation, and is the one most
usually used for preparing papers etc.
I love it. Lets dismiss 90% of the publishing done in the world, and
assume that TeX is for `non-simple' maths
_A document preperation system: LaTeX_ is the *definitive* LaTeX
reference -- so far as I know, the *only* one, bar the occasional 5-page
"Introduction to LaTeX" that people keep on hacking out.
on the contrary, there are some good books about LaTeX (admittedly not
in English), and I wouldn't call Warbrick's `Essential LaTeX' noddy
Even if you use LaTeX exclusively you will need the _TeXbook_ to plug
holes in Lamport's manual and to assit you in making adjustments to the
LaTeX macros.
ah, Oxford perfectionism rules OK. Please can we establish once and
for all that LaTeX was meant to be *used* by *authors*. Authors do
*not* adjust the LaTeX macros, they produce generic input which is fed
through a style written by a document designer.
to say `adjust LaTeX macros' would imply that Lamport is offering a
finalised system which needs tweaking - he doesn't, he offers a tool
box and a set of examples
Sebastian
--
Sebastian Rahtz S.Rahtz@uk.ac.soton.ecs (JANET)
Computer Science S.Rahtz@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Bitnet)
Southampton S09 5NH, UK S.Rahtz@sot-ecs.uucp (uucp)matheson@open.dal.ca (Steven Matheson) (02/14/91)
In article <DAMIAN.CUGLEY.91Feb7115547@msc2.prg.ox.ac.uk> Damian.Cugley@prg.ox.ac.uk (Damian Cugley) writes: > >_A document preperation system: LaTeX_ is the *definitive* LaTeX >reference -- so far as I know, the *only* one, bar the occasional 5-page >"Introduction to LaTeX" that people keep on hacking out. > >Even if you use LaTeX exclusively you will need the _TeXbook_ to plug >holes in Lamport's manual and to assit you in making adjustments to the >LaTeX macros. I just recieved a copy of _LaTeX for Scientists and Engineers_, by David. J. Buerger (McGraw-Hill, 1990, ISBN 0-07-008845-4). These is the best general introduction to LaTeX I've ever seen. It gets to the point quickly and has several useful examples. I highly recommend it for anyone just learning the system. Although it explains many things to the reader, I think that copies of Lamport and Knuth should be kept handy for reference purposes. ______________________________________________________________ Steven Matheson E-mail: matheson@open.dal.ca Dept. of Oceanography Phone: (902) 494-6663 Dalhousie University FAX: (902) 494-3877 Halifax, NS CANADA, B3H 4J1
naren@cs.UAlberta.CA (Narendra Ravi) (02/15/91)
matheson@open.dal.ca (Steven Matheson) writes: >I just recieved a copy of _LaTeX for Scientists and Engineers_, >by David. J. Buerger (McGraw-Hill, 1990, ISBN 0-07-008845-4). >These is the best general introduction to LaTeX I've ever seen. >______________________________________________________________ >Steven Matheson E-mail: matheson@open.dal.ca >Dept. of Oceanography Phone: (902) 494-6663 >Dalhousie University FAX: (902) 494-3877 >Halifax, NS CANADA, B3H 4J1 And the page showing the typesetting layout is really helpful. Things like that help a lot. Naren. -- Narendra Ravi Email : naren@cs.ualberta.ca -- Narendra Ravi Email : naren@cs.ualberta.ca
harlan@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (Pete Harlan) (02/28/91)
naren@cs.UAlberta.CA (Narendra Ravi) writes: >matheson@open.dal.ca (Steven Matheson) writes: >>I just recieved a copy of _LaTeX for Scientists and Engineers_, >>by David. J. Buerger (McGraw-Hill, 1990, ISBN 0-07-008845-4). >>These is the best general introduction to LaTeX I've ever seen. >And the page showing the typesetting layout is really >helpful. Things like that help a lot. A dissenting opinion---I found the above book to be just about worthless. It was my introduction to LaTeX, and even then it seemed to have no content. I then bought the Lamport book, which is up to the standard I had expected after reading Knuth's book. (A simultaneously trivial and terrible flaw of _LaTeX for Scientists and Engineers_ is the fact that the typesetting of the book is *awful*. Besides that, the English of the book lacks the precision of that in Knuth's and Lamport's books.) The three books I have and recommend: Knuth's _The TeXbook_ Lamport's _LaTeX [etc...]_ Abrahams's _TeX for the Impatient_ Basically, you need the first two, and the third is a really nice organization of the first. [This is all just my opinion of course. I learned TeX/LaTeX only in the last month, and have created documents with it on only a handful of occasions. I have read the four books I discuss, but no other books on the subject.] Pete Harlan harlan@copper.ucs.indiana.edu