Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt from the Ground Up
To gather information about ConTeXt I have - read the ConTeXt Reference Manual (http://pmrb.free.fr/contextref.pdf) - bought a couple of the published books by Hans Hagen - started reading the TeX book by Donald Knuth In addition to the TeX book you might be interested in TeX for the Impatient: http://www.ctan.org/pkg/impatient see top of p.8 for recommendations for reading. -- Dmitriy ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : http://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt from the Ground Up
On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 7:19 AM, Malte Stien ma...@stien.de wrote: To gather information about ConTeXt I have - read the ConTeXt Reference Manual (http://pmrb.free.fr/contextref.pdf) - bought a couple of the published books by Hans Hagen - started reading the TeX book by Donald Knuth I have even briefly flirted with the idea of switching to LaTeX mainly because it would mean having a lot more literature and a broader community at my disposal. However, I just prefer the command structure and output of ConTeXt. Can anyone relate to my problem? Am I on the right track? What else should I be doing or reading to really break into ConTeXt? you have missed - read the source Take a problem, grep the source see how Hans addresses the problem. There are examples on how to use a feature that sometime are not explained in manuals. I think that here mkiv is better than latex (oh, well, after all it's the context ml , right ?). -- luigi ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : http://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt from the Ground Up
Hello, On Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:19:44 +0200, Malte Stien ma...@stien.de wrote: Hello Everyone, I have been using ConTeXt for over a year now and worked out how to do most things I need to do. Every now and then, though, I need to do something that I cannot find any information about and in most cases I post a question here on the forum. I have received great help here over the months and like to thank everyone who took the time to answer my questions. The other day, however, I had a problem, posted a message here, got an answer and the answer did not quite work; I went back to the forum, got more help... In the process I realised that I should have been able to work this out myself; I was not even able to tweak the first answer and make it work. I am an IT engineer myself, but with little time (I guess I am not unique here) and even less experience in TeX. I guess what I am saying is, that I would like to gain a much deeper understanding of ConTeXt which will allow me to program in ConTeXt rather than just using the documented command. To gather information about ConTeXt I have - read the ConTeXt Reference Manual (http://pmrb.free.fr/contextref.pdf) - bought a couple of the published books by Hans Hagen - started reading the TeX book by Donald Knuth this is a normal approach - questioning, searching for answers... It's the same for ConTeXt as for LaTeX. Personally, I started with Ltx and migrated to Ctx some years ago. Big advantages of Ctx are: - This forum is very alive, almost all questions are answered in short time. - Ctx document is much more customizable by standard Ctx commands, i.e. - compared with Ltx - you don't need to go in the Ltx source and investigate how to do this-or-that. Ltx seems to me a bit rigid - it's not so easy to change style of heads, special paragraphs, enumerations, ... - Ctx is still developed; AFAIK Ltx ver. 3.? is being prepared/issued several (- at least 5 -) years. - Ctx: Some features - if they seem useful - may be implemented on-demand, so they may be ready to use with a next beta (thanks mainly Hans; as well as Wolfgand, Aditya...). - Although Ctx wiki is not best manual one could imagine, (pros:) it is still maintained and developed (cons: some info may be obsolete, some articles may be written in old-style fashion...) - Ltx: I don't know how far Ltx is bound with Lua and how this relation is documented; I guess poorly. As Ctx is concerned, many (almost all?) things of TeX/Ctx core may be accessible/hookable by Lua - this is a great feature; and IMHO: as if you are normal programmer, programming by Lua should be much more quicker for you than doing things by TeX macro language. So, my personal advice would be - try to stay with Ctx, I believe after some initial problems/obstacles you'll be becoming master and Ctx will become a good slave. Best regards, Lukas I have even briefly flirted with the idea of switching to LaTeX mainly because it would mean having a lot more literature and a broader community at my disposal. However, I just prefer the command structure and output of ConTeXt. Can anyone relate to my problem? Am I on the right track? What else should I be doing or reading to really break into ConTeXt? Regards, Malte. PS: Just to be clear; I don't mean for the above to be conceived as shortcomings of ConTeXt, rather I think of them as shortcomings of myself. The developers of ConTeXt have done a fantastic job and I really enjoy writing in ConTeXt and looking at the output. -- Ing. Lukáš Procházka [mailto:l...@pontex.cz] Pontex s. r. o. [mailto:pon...@pontex.cz] [http://www.pontex.cz] Bezová 1658 147 14 Praha 4 Tel: +420 244 062 238 Fax: +420 244 461 038 ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : http://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt from the Ground Up
On 6/14/2013 9:17 AM, luigi scarso wrote: On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 7:19 AM, Malte Stien ma...@stien.de mailto:ma...@stien.de wrote: To gather information about ConTeXt I have - read the ConTeXt Reference Manual (http://pmrb.free.fr/contextref.pdf) - bought a couple of the published books by Hans Hagen - started reading the TeX book by Donald Knuth I have even briefly flirted with the idea of switching to LaTeX mainly because it would mean having a lot more literature and a broader community at my disposal. However, I just prefer the command structure and output of ConTeXt. Can anyone relate to my problem? Am I on the right track? What else should I be doing or reading to really break into ConTeXt? you have missed - read the source Take a problem, grep the source see how Hans addresses the problem. There are examples on how to use a feature that sometime are not explained in manuals. other resources: - the wiki - the test suite (lots of small examples) - modules by (e.g. wolfgangs modules are mkiv compliant) - maybe examples on stack exchange (there are nice ones there) - sites like http://randomdeterminism.wordpress.com and probably more Hans - Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands tel: 038 477 53 69 | voip: 087 875 68 74 | www.pragma-ade.com | www.pragma-pod.nl - ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : http://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
[NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt from the Ground Up
Hello Everyone, I have been using ConTeXt for over a year now and worked out how to do most things I need to do. Every now and then, though, I need to do something that I cannot find any information about and in most cases I post a question here on the forum. I have received great help here over the months and like to thank everyone who took the time to answer my questions. The other day, however, I had a problem, posted a message here, got an answer and the answer did not quite work; I went back to the forum, got more help... In the process I realised that I should have been able to work this out myself; I was not even able to tweak the first answer and make it work. I am an IT engineer myself, but with little time (I guess I am not unique here) and even less experience in TeX. I guess what I am saying is, that I would like to gain a much deeper understanding of ConTeXt which will allow me to program in ConTeXt rather than just using the documented command. To gather information about ConTeXt I have - read the ConTeXt Reference Manual (http://pmrb.free.fr/contextref.pdf) - bought a couple of the published books by Hans Hagen - started reading the TeX book by Donald Knuth I have even briefly flirted with the idea of switching to LaTeX mainly because it would mean having a lot more literature and a broader community at my disposal. However, I just prefer the command structure and output of ConTeXt. Can anyone relate to my problem? Am I on the right track? What else should I be doing or reading to really break into ConTeXt? Regards, Malte. PS: Just to be clear; I don't mean for the above to be conceived as shortcomings of ConTeXt, rather I think of them as shortcomings of myself. The developers of ConTeXt have done a fantastic job and I really enjoy writing in ConTeXt and looking at the output. -- “The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder... Electric Monks believed things for you, thus saving you what was becoming an increasingly onerous task, that of believing all the things the world expected you to believe.” ― Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : http://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
[NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt
Hi Everybody, I want to learn ConTeXt, but 'cont-enp.pdf' and 'mp-cb-en.pdf' do not explain many things in detail, for example the parameters of command \setuplayout on the page 24 of cont-enp.pdf. Or am I careless? How shall I start to learn? And how shall I go on learning? Best regards, Istvan Hollerbach ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt
I included an example context file from Sanjoy Mahajan. Best regards, Liesbeth van der Plas 2007/8/20, Istvan Hollerbach [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Hi Everybody, I want to learn ConTeXt, but 'cont-enp.pdf' and 'mp-cb-en.pdf' do not explain many things in detail, for example the parameters of command \setuplayout on the page 24 of cont-enp.pdf. Or am I careless? How shall I start to learn? And how shall I go on learning? Best regards, Istvan Hollerbach ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___ -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.wiskunde-interactief.nl simpel.tex Description: TeX document ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt
Hi Istvan, For somebody used to LaTeX, it may be useful to check up http://www.berenddeboer.net/tex/ there is an article about doing similar things in LaTeX and ConTeXt. The options relevant to all ConTeXt commands are provided towards the end of cont-en?.pdf Perhaps mp-cb-en.pdf should be read first. I started out doing regular stuff such as formatting tables, sections, columns and the like. For more detailed control, it may be better to dwelve into some of the more specialized manuals archived at context.pragma.de The following website also may be of interest to you: http://levana.de/context/ And then there is the wiki: http://wiki.contextgarden.net I think the best way to learn is by trying to make the document you want in ConTeXt and asking questions to the mailing list when you cannot figure out how to do it. hope it helps, saji ... * Istvan Hollerbach [EMAIL PROTECTED] [2007-08-20 12:24:04 +0200]: Hi Everybody, I want to learn ConTeXt, but 'cont-enp.pdf' and 'mp-cb-en.pdf' do not explain many things in detail, for example the parameters of command \setuplayout on the page 24 of cont-enp.pdf. Or am I careless? How shall I start to learn? And how shall I go on learning? Best regards, Istvan Hollerbach ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___ -- Saji N. Hameed APEC Climate Center +82 51 668 7470 National Pension Corporation Busan Building 12F Yeonsan 2-dong, Yeonje-gu, BUSAN 611705 [EMAIL PROTECTED] KOREA ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt
On 8/20/07, Saji Njarackalazhikam Hameed [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [...] And then there is the wiki: http://wiki.contextgarden.net Highly recommended. I think the best way to learn is by trying to make the document you want in ConTeXt and asking questions to the mailing list when you cannot figure out how to do it. Another strategy is to find a document that can serve as a template for what you need. The wiki provides examples of fragments to do a particular task, and there are lots of examples of complete documents available, including the pdftex manual and various slide presentations. * Istvan Hollerbach [EMAIL PROTECTED] [2007-08-20 12:24:04 +0200]: Hi Everybody, I want to learn ConTeXt, but 'cont-enp.pdf' and 'mp-cb-en.pdf' do not explain many things in detail, for example the parameters of command \setuplayout on the page 24 of cont-enp.pdf. Or am I careless? How shall I start to learn? And how shall I go on learning? Best regards, Istvan Hollerbach -- George N. White III [EMAIL PROTECTED] Head of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt
On Mon, 20 Aug 2007, Istvan Hollerbach wrote: Hi Everybody, I want to learn ConTeXt, but 'cont-enp.pdf' and 'mp-cb-en.pdf' do not explain many things in detail, for example the parameters of command \setuplayout on the page 24 of cont-enp.pdf. Or am I careless? How shall I start to learn? And how shall I go on learning? Specifically for page layout, you may find Paul Tremblay's tutorial page useful. http://getfo.org/context_xml/index.html It is about using xml, but does explains the context's page layout terminology in detail. http://getfo.org/context_xml/page3.html Aditya ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
Re: [NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt
Dear Aditya, I found that page yesterday and saved all the document. Istvan ___ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___
[NTG-context] Learning ConTeXt, typical hurdle
Maybe I should start a blog somewhere...
Anyway, I have started my conversion to ConTeXT project.
So, I used the fiee perl script to set up my project. Then I started to
fill things in. Everything is still in one directory (I do not understand
directory searching in ConTeXt yet and I haven't seen a example for a book
project).
So, I have a project file:
===
% output=pdf interface=en
\usemodule[bib]
\startproject project_teoada
\environment env_teoada
% \showlayout
% \showgrid
% \showbodyfontenvironment
\product prd_book
\stopproject
===
A product file:
===
\startproduct prd_book
\project project_teoada
\startfrontmatter
\component c_introduction
\stopfrontmatter
\component c_chapter1
\component c_chapter2
\component c_chapter3
\component c_chapter4
\component c_chapter5
\component c_chapter6
\component c_chapter7
\startbackmatter
\component c_appendixa
\component c_appendixb
\stopbackmatter
\stopproduct
===
I defined a description environment to replace LaTeX's description. In the
environment file:
===
\startenvironment env_teoada
\project project_teoada
\definedescription [description]
[location=hanging, margin=standard, headstyle=bold]
\definestartstop [descriptions] [before=\blank\startpacked,
after=\stoppacked\blank]
\stopenvironment
===
And I put some info in c_introduction.tex. There I used the description
thingy:
===
\startcomponent c_introduction
\product prd_book
\project project_teoada
\starttext
\chapter[h:guide]{Guide}
\startdescriptions
\description{Chapter \in[h:ch1]} Bla bla
\description{Chapter \in[h:ch2]} Bla bla
\stopdescriptions
\stoptext
\stopcomponent
===
Now, this fails. Why? I was completely stumped. I get an error message I
do not understand:
references : unknown reference [][h:ch2]
! Extra }, or forgotten \endgroup.
\stopdescriptions -\dostopattributes \egroup
\getvalue {\??be
descriptions\...
argument Bla bla \stopdescriptions
\@@stopdescription
{description}\stoptext
\dodowithpar ...cription}[]{Chapter \in [h:ch2]}#1
\@@stopdescription
{descri...
l.14
? x
Now what turns out to solve this? Empty lines before \description and
\stopdescriptions
Though I like ConTeXt if I look at certain design aspects, behaviour that
depends on whitespace before a command frightens me.
G
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