UKTeX Digest Friday, 25 Jan 1991
Volume 91 : Issue 4
Today's Topics:
UK TeX Archive now has its own dedicated host
X11 previewers
Problem from TeXbook p.377
LaTeX distribution?
emtex
Re: emtex
Resynchronizing double column text
Seeking latest Rocicki dvips
Re: Seeking latest Rocicki dvips
Moderator: Peter Abbott (Aston University)
Editor: David Osborne (University of Nottingham)
Contributions: UKTeX@uk.ac.tex
Administration, subscription and unsubscription requests:
UKTeX-request@uk.ac.tex
UKTeX back issues: stored in the Aston archive, in the directory
DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.UKTEX.91]
TeXhax back issues:stored in the Aston archive, in the directory
DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.TEXHAX.91]
Latest TeXhax: #03
TeXMaG back issues: stored in the Aston archive, in the directory
DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.TEX-MAG]
Latest TeXMaG: V4 N6
------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 17:44:35 +0000
From: TEX@UK.AC.CRANFIELD.RMCS
Subject: UK TeX Archive now has its own dedicated host
Ths UK TeX Archive, at Aston University, now has its own dedicated host.
The new machine's sitename is Uk.Ac.TeX, and most users should find that
this is now in their Janet NRS tables: if you are unable to contact it,
complain to your system manager!
The TeXserver is running on this machine; send mail to TeXserver@Uk.Ac.TeX
with the first line of your message giving one of the recognized
commands: if you don't know what these are, I suggest you send the
command HELP in the first instance.
The PUBLIC account is available for NIFTP access; details are:
Site: Uk.Ac.TeX
User: PUBLIC
Password: PUBLIC
First file: [tex-archive]00readme.txt
An experimental browsing service has been introduced: place a PAD call
to Uk.Ac.TeX and log in as user PUBLIC, password PUBLIC. The command
language interface is a restricted subset of DCL, but some Unix-like
synonyms are also available, such as cd, ls and more (latter uses Ctrl-Z
to skip current file, no other `more'-like features available).
Whilst browsing, if you want to send a file back to your own site, use
the TRANSFER command; help is available (HELP CBS TRANSFER). However,
the link to the X25 world only runs at 9600Bd, so you'll find that any
transfers in progress will slow down your interactive session
noticeably.
As time passes, the help for this interactive access will be improved,
and more Unix-like commands introduced for those more familiar with them
than DCL.
Contributions to the archive are encouraged; they should be sent using
NIFTP to Uk.Ac.TeX, with username `Contributions' (null password), and
a message via electronic mail to Archive-Contributions@Uk.Ac.TeX
letting us know what you have sent; we will then move it to its final
resting place and let you (and the rest of the world) know when it is
ready through an announcement in the UK TeX Digest.
Would all correspondents please note, that with effect from 7th
January 1991, contributions to UKTeX should be sent to
<UkTeX@Uk.Ac.TeX>; if the latter machine is unknown at your site,
complain to your system manager, because it's been in the NRS tables
since 10th December 1990, and should by now have propagated to all
sites on Janet.
Finally, many sites have reported difficulty in contacting the old
archive machine, Uk.Ac.Aston.TeX. I understand that one of the two
incoming X25 interfaces isn't responding reliably to all callers.
Still, you've got the new machine now...
Brian {Hamilton Kelly}
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ JANET: tex@uk.ac.cranfield.rmcs +
+ BITNET: tex%uk.ac.cranfield.rmcs@ac.uk +
+ INTERNET: tex%uk.ac.cranfield.rmcs@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk +
+ UUCP: ...!mcvax!rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk!tex +
+ OR ...!ukc!rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk!tex +
+ Smail: School of Electrical Engineering & Science, Royal Military +
+ College of Science, Shrivenham, SWINDON SN6 8LA, U.K. +
+ Phone: Swindon (0793) 785252 (UK), +44-793-785252 (International) +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 91 09:24:00 +0100
From: FISICA%IT.ASTRO.ASTRPD@UK.AC.EARN-RELAY
Subject: X11 previewers
In last issue n.3 of UKTeX Edmund Sutcliffe asks:
>Date: Sat, 12 Jan 91 15:48:00 +0000
>From: "Edmund J. Sutcliffe <Edmund@UK.AC.BANGOR>" <CLS016@UK.AC.BANGOR.VAXC
>
>Subject: TeX and X
>
>We are just begining to have a number of workstation capable of Running
>X11 tasks. I wonder if anyone knows of good integrated environments for
>TeX and LaTeX, under X11, partcularly Previewers and picture editors
>for LaTeX under such and environment
> Edmund
There are several X11 Previewers in the Aston Archive (have a look at
[tex-archive.drivers.seetex].)
I am currently using Xdvi under VMS, and we are quite happy with it.
It has also zooming facilities.
I was told that Xtex is also very good, but it is implemented only for UNIX.
Max Calvani
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 91 14:43:48 +0000
From: CET1@UK.AC.CAMBRIDGE.PHOENIX
Subject: Problem from TeXbook p.377
In the footnote on page 377 of the TeXbook (Appendix D), Knuth shows
a set of macros designed to test for various kinds of unusual space
token, and determine whether they are `funny' (character code not 32)
and whether they are `explicit' or `implicit'.
A user here at Cambridge (Robert Hunt <REH10@UK.AC.CAM.PHX>) has
suggested to me that in the line
\ifcat\noexpand#1\noexpand~\explicitfalse % active funny space
that occurs in the macro \ssss, the \ifcat can never give the result
`true'. I think he is right, but am not at all sure that I have
considered all the possibilities. Can anyone design an argument for
\stest that will provoke this \ifcat to deliver `true'? (On the
understanding that altering \catcode`\~ would be cheating, of course.)
One might think that
\catcode`|=\active \let|= \ftoken % the space after the = is necessary!
\newtoks\t \t={|}\stest\t
would do the trick, but it doesn't (the \ifcat compares 10 and 13).
Chris Thompson
Cambridge University Computing Service
JANET: cet1@uk.ac.cam.phx
Internet: cet1%phx.cam.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 91 16:43:20 +0000
From: MGG@UK.AC.LEICESTER-POLY
Subject: LaTeX distribution?
Dear Sir,
I believe that someone at Aston University is acting as a coordinator for
the UK sources of TeX, LaTeX, etc.
I am working at Leicester Polytechnic as a member of staff and had previously
been used to using LaTeX on SUN workstations at Oxford University.
Now I have only MSDOS 386 PCs and a Commodore Amiga available to me.
I would greatly appreciate any information you could send me regarding how
I might go about this.
I have both Pascal and C compilers available, and have rebuilt the SUN
versions of the programs from the distribution tape.
My address for postal correspondance is:
Malcolm Goodier,
Senior Researcher,
Integration Cell,
CIMTEX,
Leicester Polytechnic,
P.O. BOX 143,
Leicester.
LE1 9BH
Tel: 0533 577582
Janet: mgg@uk.ac.leicp
Thank you very much for your help.
Malcolm.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 91 12:48:12 +0000
From: PLA@UK.AC.EDINBURGH.COMPUTER-SCIENCE.TARDIS
Subject: emtex
Peter,
thanks for taking the trouble to answer my queries over the phone - I
would have sucked across the readme file, but my machine is having problems
with file transfer.
As you know, one of the files in the distribution is too large to fit on
anything but high density 3.5" discs, unfortunately converting these to
5.25" at my end is going to use up a lot of favours.
I belive it would be of benefit to others wanting this package if some way
could be found to split the file at your end and modify the unpacking
procedure to glue it back together. I presume it's a matter of available
resources. Oh well...
Meanwhile, I will have to pursuade someone to cobble something up at this end
(I don't myself have access to a PC with any suitable facilities). I doubt
that the resulting program would be suitable for your use, but if it's any use
(and I can pursuade the author to part with it)...
Paul Allen
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 91 13:19:15 +0000
From: S.P.Q.RAHTZ@UK.AC.SOUTHAMPTON.ECS
Subject: Re: emtex
PLA@UK.AC.EDINBURGH.COMPUTER-SCIENCE.TARDIS writes:
>
> As you know, one of the files in the distribution is too large to fit on
> anything but high density 3.5" discs, unfortunately converting these to
> 5.25" at my end is going to use up a lot of favours.
emTeX's basic distribution is based around high density 5 1/4" disks.
is there really a file in the distribution which is bigger than 1.2Mb?
> Meanwhile, I will have to pursuade someone to cobble something up
> at this end (I don't myself have access to a PC with any suitable
> facilities). I doubt that the resulting program would be suitable
the files for emTeX are (or should be, if not) stored as plain ASCII
files at Aston, .boo-encoded archives. There is no reason at all not
to simply split these files into hunks, transport them to your home PC
and then join them together end to end. You have to be careful not to
leave blank lines in there or anything, but it principle its a doddle.
The forthcoming VVCODE system will cope with multi-part archives in a
nicer way. when that is fully-released, we will probably repackage all
of emTeX using that. The basic ZIP archives will be the same, just the
ascii-encoded versions will be more manageable
Sebastian
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 91 21:19:33 +0000
From: S.P.Q.RAHTZ@UK.AC.SOUTHAMPTON.ECS
Subject: Resynchronizing double column text
One of the problems I suffer from when doing double column work is
that the baselines do not align across columns. I *could* adjust all
the variables in sections and lists so that they are multiples of the
\baselineskip (yawn!), but it would be nice to do it in a more
generalized fashiom. My current solution was proposed by Chris Rowley,
and looks like this:
\newdimen\desired \newcount\xlines
%--------------------------------------
\def\resynch#1{\xlines=0\desired=\topskip
\loop\advance\xlines by 1\advance\desired by \baselineskip
\ifnum \desired < \pagetotal\repeat
\advance\desired by -\pagetotal
\typeout{Resynch by \the\desired at #1}
\vskip\desired}
%--------------------------------------
\let\old@after=\@afterheading
\def\@afterheading{\old@after\resynch{section}}
\let\old@endlist=\endlist
\def\endlist{\old@endlist\resynch{list}}
ie at the end of every heading and every list, find out how much space
has been used on the page so far, and increase it by enough space to
ensure we end up with a multiple of the baselineskip.
I posted this before, with some questions, which have since partly
been resolved. I post it again to check whether anyone can see fresh
flaws in the approach, or can suggest ways of improving its workings.
Anyone is welcome to steal it, of course!
Sebastian
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 16:34:36 +0000
From: PETER@UK.CO.MEMEX
Subject: Seeking latest Rocicki dvips
I am looking for a new version, 5.4n or 54.n, of dvips.
Sebastian extols the virtues of this program so I assume it is in the archive
somewhere. The mail server seems to have gone into a sulk for me, but
the last time it replied to me, in mid December a
directory [TEX-ARCHIVE.DRIVERS.DVI2PS.DVIPS*...]
only turned up DVIPS5392. Can we do better than that now?
Thanks,
Peter Ilieve peter@memex.co.uk
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 91 17:44:00 +0000
From: S.P.Q.RAHTZ@UK.AC.SOUTHAMPTON.ECS
Subject: Re: Seeking latest Rocicki dvips
PETER@UK.CO.MEMEX writes:
> I am looking for a new version, 5.4n or 54.n, of dvips. Sebastian
> extols the virtues of this program so I assume it is in the archive
> somewhere. The mail server seems to have gone into a sulk for me,
> but the last time it replied to me, in mid December a directory
> [TEX-ARCHIVE.DRIVERS.DVI2PS.DVIPS*...] only turned up DVIPS5392.
> Can we do better than that now?
just as soon as i can login to aston, i will put it there. i will also
send it direct to you, uuencoded tar compressed
sebastian
------------------------------
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End of UKTeX Digest
*******************