George N. White III ha scritto:
On Sat, Dec 19, 2009 at 9:55 AM, Manuel P. <ayeye.sysfo...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi everyone! This is my first post here.
I've a limited (but sufficient) experience with LaTeX (I've written several
work-related documents with it) and now I have to write my undergraduate
thesis (the deadline is mid-january 2010). I've been fairy impressed by a
book typesetted with ConTeXt, so I used it for some documents and liked the
idea and the configurability. The possibility of having a unique and
personalized look-and-feel for every document is very appealing to me, and I
have already began to assemble a style for the thesis.
However, I've a very limited experience with it and I wonder: is ConTeXt the
right choice in my circumstances? Can it be used without a degree in
typography? I can't write half thesis and then stumble on some obscure (to
me) typesetting problem, things have to be smooth and I need to concentrate
on content (but I still find desiderable a good unique look). When I have a
problem I try my best to resolve it by myself, but given the limited time I
can't learn and investigate everything, so if I'll write my thesis in
ConTeXt in some (desperate) cases I'll need your help.
What do you think?
I was the first person at my institution to use a computer to "type" my thesis
(with a daisywheel printer that was essentially a modified typewriter) in the
days before TeX was accessible to students.
When you follow an existing process you benefit from the efforts of those who
have gone before, but when you do things in a new way you may find that your
efforts get more rigorous scrutiny. I have heard of cases where some of the
institution's rules for thesis formats are not enforced "because it is
too hard to
do that using MS Word", but the same exceptions are not granted to TeX users.
ConTeXt has been used, but different institutions have different rules
and expectations.
At many institutions there is already a LaTeX thesis style "ready to go", but I
have heard of problems when these were used outside science, e.g, because
the science people don't use footnotes the same way as for other fields.
FInd out if LaTeX is used at your institution (even if you choose ConTeXt,
the LaTeX style can serve to document fonts and other details. Find out
who enforces the institution's standards and discuss your plans with them --
they may be able to help you identify particular trouble spots in advance
so you can get more specific help/advice while there is time to change plans.
I've already asked and there isn't any policy about the format. Some
students write their thesis with LaTeX, others with openoffice, there
isn't any style enforcement policy as far as I know.
My requirements are quite easy: something unobtrusive that enable me to
focus on the content and obtain a nice and consistent look with a
virtually flat leaning curve (I don't mind a bit of learning, but I
can't spend days on that). Some pictures, some tables, mainly text.
Footnotes, bibliography, quotes and easy personalization of footers and
headers.
Some quick examples:
- How can I make a double-face document (right page, left page)?
- How can I separate the footer from the rest of the page with something
like an \hairline?
- There is an equivalent for ConTeXt of LaTeX's lastpage? I want a
footer like this: <page>/<n. of pages>
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