Re: [gentoo-user] Typesetting systems
On 14 June 2006 05:25, Justin R Findlay wrote: On Wed, Jun 14, 2006 at 03:14:57AM +, b.n. wrote: JimD wrote: I was hoping there were tools/editors for PDF/PS. What the heck do book writers use? I hope not a word processor. I am only working with small books and it is a pain to have to deal with layout. Most are forced by publishers not only to use word processors but MS Word. :-( They use LaTeX. If you plan to write books/articles/whatever in publishing quality, THIS is the answer. LaTeX is awesome if you're not going to be diverging from the builtin document layout styles too much. If you are then you're likely going to be editing raw TeX to get things done, and unfortunately though TeX is very clean and very good at what it does it's not a language that's easy to understand. Try LyX as a LaTeX frontend. Uwe -- Mark Twain: I rather decline two drinks than a German adjective. http://www.SysEx.com.na -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
Re: [gentoo-user] Typesetting systems
On Tue, 2006-06-13 at 22:25 -0600, Justin R Findlay wrote: LaTeX is awesome if you're not going to be diverging from the builtin document layout styles too much. If you are then you're likely going to be editing raw TeX to get things done, I don't agree. The LaTeX Companion[1] documents hundreds of packages that extend the basic capabilities of LaTeX, and none of these packages require that you do anything in raw TeX. (The LaTeX Companion is over 1000 pages, but Leslie Lamport's original LaTeX documentation[2] is 272 pages. LaTeX has been used many times to typeset books.) and unfortunately though TeX is very clean and very good at what it does it's not a language that's easy to understand. Yes, it is true that LaTeX + packages require a significant investment of time to learn. TeX is, after all, a language for typesetting, and as a language, it is extensible, witness LaTeX and the LaTeX packages. (METAFONT is a sister language for designing typefaces.) But the reward for learning TeX and friends is beautiful books, especially if you're doing mathematics. If you don't want to deal with hundreds of packages just to typeset a book, check out Peter Wilson's very capable memoir package[4] for LaTeX. --- Vladimir P.S. You'd be set to go if you got The LaTeX Companion and the Guide to LaTeX[3]. [1] The LaTeX Companion, 2/e, F. Mittelbach M. Goossens, http://tinyurl.com/g2tnr [2] LaTeX: A Document Preparation System. L. Lamport, http://tinyurl.com/m6dk4 [3] Guide to LaTeX, 4/e, H. Kopka P. Daly, http://tinyurl.com/kc7m4 [4] memoir: a LaTeX package to typeset fiction, non-fiction and mathematical books, P. Wilson, http://tinyurl.com/qlm4o -- Vladimir G. Ivanovic [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
[gentoo-user] Typesetting systems
On Wed, Jun 14, 2006 at 03:14:57AM +, b.n. wrote: JimD wrote: I was hoping there were tools/editors for PDF/PS. What the heck do book writers use? I hope not a word processor. I am only working with small books and it is a pain to have to deal with layout. They use LaTeX. If you plan to write books/articles/whatever in publishing quality, THIS is the answer. LaTeX is awesome if you're not going to be diverging from the builtin document layout styles too much. If you are then you're likely going to be editing raw TeX to get things done, and unfortunately though TeX is very clean and very good at what it does it's not a language that's easy to understand. Some (more or less) alternatives to TeX are (some of which have ebuilds already): http://www.pragma-ade.com/ (ConTeXt) http://lout.sourceforge.net/ http://www.cliki.net/cl-typesetting http://www.it.usyd.edu.au/~jeff/nonpareil/ BTW, I'm kind of excited Thomas has decided to legacy teTeX. I hope gentoo adopts a CTAN interface like g-cpan is for CPAN. At least because modular is the buzzword du jour. (-: Justin -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
