From: UKTeX-Request@ftp.tex.ac.uk To: UKTeX Distribution: ; Subject: UKTeX Digest V94 #07 Reply-To: UKTeX@ftp.tex.ac.uk Distribution: world MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 18 Feb 1994 18:10:06 +0000 Message-ID: <2472.761595006@unicorn.ccc.nottingham.ac.uk> Sender: cczdao@unicorn.ccc.nottingham.ac.uk UKTeX Digest Friday, 18 Feb 1994 Volume 94 : Issue 07 ``The UKTeX Digest is brought to you as a free, unfunded and voluntary service of the UK TeX Users Group and the UK TeX Archive.'' Today's Topics: {Questions & Answers}: Re: postscript fonts Type 1 PostScript fonts LaTeX2e and packages/classes {Announcements}: LaTeX2e -- Second Test Release Available Administrivia: Moderators: Peter Abbott (Aston University) and David Osborne (University of Nottingham) Contributions: UKTeX@ftp.tex.ac.uk Administration, subscription and unsubscription requests: UKTeX-request@ftp.tex.ac.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Feb 1994 19:55:04 +0000 From: spqr@ftp.tex.ac.uk (Sebastian Rahtz) Subject: Re: postscript fonts Mike Piff writes: > %>in practice, why not just preview the PostScript with ghostview under > %>Windows > > Isn't life too short? > > Also, this is a very buggy program. It often says it is unable to open drive > e umlaut, a grave or something of the kind. how anyone can call GhostScript `very buggy' is beyond me. I use it many times a day, and it is the most reliable PS interprete I possess. if you find ghostscript too slow, buy a faster computer! its *your* time that costs real money; its a false economy scraping by with low-end computers running DOS. sebastian ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Feb 1994 08:52:21 +0000 From: dean.ayres@aea.orgn.uk (Dean Ayres) Subject: Type 1 PostScript fonts I'm using TeX and dvips with GhostScript to print. The ghostscript fonts aren't of good enough quality. Printing TeX output with the supplied ghostscript fonts is like asking Monet to paint on newspaper :-( Can anyone recommend a (reasonably cheap?) supplier of Type 1 hinted fonts? Addresses/telephone numbers welcome. Dean Ayres ------------------------------ Date: 11 Feb 1994 12:28:08 From: Mike Piff Subject: LaTeX2e and packages/classes I should draw your attention to the fact that Joachim Schrod has been made the moderator for the CTAN archive as far as LaTeX styles are concerned. It is his avowed intention to *reject* any new style files that do not also behave as LaTeX2e packages/classes. Thus the intention is to *force* contributors to conform to LaTeX2e standards, despite the limitations of the new system and the possibility that it might be superceded in a couple of years time. The compatibility mode of LaTeX is thus only being supported nominally. You have lost your freedom to continue using and enhancing this mode. I think this is a serious issue for LaTeX, and one that must be addressed publicly. Mike Piff %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %% Dr M J Piff, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of %% %% Sheffield, UK. e-mail: M.Piff@sheffield.ac.uk %% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Feb 1994 19:33:53 +0100 From: schoepf@sc.ZIB-Berlin.DE (Rainer Schoepf) Subject: LaTeX2e -- Second Test Release Available LaTeX2e -- Second Test Release Available Leslie Lamport and the LaTeX3 project team 14 February 1994 The second test release of LaTeX is now available. Notes about this release are at the end of this announcement. The first release revealed a few serious bugs and several other areas which need attention. Many people reported that documents and style files had been processed by the new system without serious problems; this includes one very important test -- the original text of `The LaTeX Manual'! We can also report that this release has been tested with all the files in the LaTeX 2.09 test suite and produces only predictable differences in the output. First, here is the original announcement - ---------------------------------------- LaTeX2e is the new standard version of LaTeX -- prepared and supported by the LaTeX3 project team. It is upwardly compatible with LaTeX 2.09 documents, but contains new features. Over the years many extensions of LaTeX have been developed. This is, of course, a welcome development, since it shows that the LaTeX system is in a healthy state. It has, however, had one unfortunate consequence: there are now several incompatible systems, in the sense of format (.fmt) files, all claiming to be LaTeX. Therefore, in order to process documents coming from various places, a site maintainer needs to provide several format files: LaTeX (with and without NFSS), SLiTeX, AmSLaTeX, and so on. In addition, when looking at a source file it is not always clear for which format the document was written. LaTeX2e puts an end to this unsatisfactory situation -- it will give access to all such extensions based on a single format and thus end the proliferation of mutually incompatible dialects of LaTeX 2.09. It uses an enhanced version (NFSS2) of the New Font Selection Scheme. Files such as amstex.sty (formerly the AmSLaTeX format) or slides.sty (formerly the SLiTeX format) will become extension packages, all working with this single format. The introduction of this new version will also make it possible to add a small number of often-requested features (such as extended versions of \newcommand). To summarize: * Standardisation: a single format incorporating NFSS2, to replace the present multiplicity of incompatible formats -- NFSS, lfonts, pslfonts, etc. * Maintenance: a standardised system supported by a reliable maintenance policy. LaTeX2e adheres, as far as possible, to the following principles: * Unmodified version 2.09 document files can be processed with LaTeX2e. * All new features of LaTeX2e conform to the conventions of version 2.09, making it as easy as possible for current users to learn to use them. LaTeX2e is described in a new edition of `LaTeX: A Document Preparation System' by Leslie Lamport (to appear during 1994) and `The LaTeX Companion' by Goossens, Mittelbach and Samarin, both published by Addison-Wesley. LaTeX2e will be distributed twice a year. This distribution is a preliminary test release, and doesn't contain all of the files that will be part of the full release. In particular, it does not contain the planned extensions in the area of graphics inclusion. The first full release will be available in Spring 1994. This is a test release, so please get it and test it on as many different systems as possible! Getting the second test release - ------------------------------- LaTeX2e can be retrieved by anonymous ftp from the CTAN archives: ftp.tex.ac.uk /tex-archive/macros/latex2e/core ftp.shsu.edu /tex-archive/macros/latex2e/core ftp.dante.de /tex-archive/macros/latex2e/core Bug reports - ----------- Please report any problems with LaTeX2e by using the report-generating program latexbug.tex, included in the LaTeX2e distribution. Error reports should be sent to the following e-mail address: latex-bugs@rus.uni-stuttgart.de Help for style/package/class file maintainers - --------------------------------------------- We shall be producing a short document summarising the changes that may be needed in order to turn a style file for old LaTeX into a class or package file. To get the latest information on this subject or to report problems, please send a message to the following address: bugs@minnie.ZDV.Uni-Mainz.de Please ensure that it starts with the following line *exactly*: >Category: latex-class-writing If you want a prompt and useful reply, please make your message as short and precise as possible. Notes on the second test release - -------------------------------- - -- Only the straightforward bugs and the serious bugs found in the first release have been fixed; other problems are still being worked on. Some of the reports uncovered features of the original LaTeX which some consider to be bugs; whether these should be `fixed' is not always clear. - -- There are thus several areas, including things arising from bug reports, on which we are still working. - -- The details of the distribution, unpacking etc are still under development. - -- The details of the typography in the standard classes is not finalised. - -- The precise functionality of the compatibility mode is not fixed. - -- Still no graphics package! Warning - ------- If you have installed the first release then you must remove it completely and start again. This is because there are many small differences, including new file names, and because the installation procedure now behaves differently. For the LaTeX3 Project - ---------------------- Johannes Braams David Carlisle Alan Jeffrey Frank Mittelbach Chris Rowley Rainer Sch\"opf ------------------------------ UK TeX ARCHIVE at ASTON UNIVERSITY >>> UK.AC.TEX <<< *** Interactive and file transfer access *** JANET: uk.ac.tex (DTE 000020120091) Username: public, Password: public Internet: tex.ac.uk [134.151.79.28] -- telnet/rlogin, anonymous ftp ftp.tex.ac.uk [134.151.79.32] -- anonymous ftp, gopher, NFS For telnet access, login: public, password: public For anonymous ftp, login: anonymous, password: *** Mail server *** Send mail to TeXserver@tex.ac.uk with message body containing the word HELP \section FILES OF INTEREST [tex-archive]00readme.txt [tex-archive]00index.files [tex-archive]0000index.zip_vve [tex-archive]00last7days.files [tex-archive]00last7days.zip_vve [tex-archive]00last30days.files [tex-archive]00last30days.zip_vve [tex-archive.doc]TeX-FAQ.txt (Frequently Asked Questions list) [tex-archive.doc]FAQ-Supplement-*.txt (FAQ supplement) \section DIGESTS This year's UKTeX back issues are stored in the archive in directory [tex-archive.digests.uktex.93] This year's TeXhax back issues are stored in the archive in directory [tex-archive.digests.texhax.93] Latest TeXhax: V94 #01 \section MEDIA DISTRIBUTIONS Postal addresses are given below. \subsection Washington Unix TeX distribution tape Our latest copy of May/June 1991 contains: TeX 3.14, LaTeX 2.09, Metafont 2.7, plus many utilities suitable for Unix 4.2/4.3BSD & System V tar format, 1 file (36Mb) Send One Quarter-Inch Cartridge, QIC-120 or QIC-150 format (DC600A or DC6150) with envelope AND stamps for return postage to David Osborne (address below); due to currency exchange, this service is offered only within the UK. \section TeX IMPLEMENTATIONS FOR SMALL COMPUTERS \subsection PC and Mac disks From January 1994 the UK TeX Users' Group is distributing an emTeX kit for PCs, and an OzTeX kit for Macintosh. The cost covers copying and postage costs, and the shareware fee for OzTeX. Each set costs \pounds30, and is available from Peter Abbott, 1 Eymore Close, Selly Oak, Birmingham B29 4LB. Cheques must be payable to `UKTUG'. Please note that this service **is available to UKTUG members only.** Each set comes with an installation guide, and (at least) full TeX and Metafont, a previewer, a PostScript driver, and CM fonts. Two update disks a year will be sent out automatically, with the current version of LaTeXe, and other goodies. A subscription service will be available for subsequent years. In addition, subscribers can request up to 3 disks a year with any material from the CTAN archives, but this will be supplied `as is', without instructions. OzTeX and emTeX are also available on disk from TeX Users Group; mail TUG for details. \subsection TeX for the Atari ST Enquiries for TeX for the Atari ST etc. can be directed to: The Fast Club, 7 Musters Road, Nottingham NG2 7PP. Phone 0602 455250, fax 0602 455305. They also supply a variety of TeX-related software in Atari format. Enquiries for disks etc. can also be directed to: The South West Software Library, P.O. Box 562, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 2YD Internet: mdryden@cix.compulink.co.uk \section POSTAGE RATES Quarter-inch cartridges: UK: 1.00, Europe: 2.00. \section POSTAL ADDRESSES Please include SELF-ADDRESSED ADHESIVE LABELS for return postage. Peter Abbott Information Systems, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET Internet: P.Abbott@aston.ac.uk David Osborne Cripps Computing Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD (for Unix cartridges ONLY -- must include stamps for return postage) Internet: David.Osborne@nottingham.ac.uk TeX Users Group P.O. Box 869, Santa Barbara, CA 93102, USA. Internet: TUG@TUG.org \section UK TeX USERS GROUP Details available from Jonathan Fine, 203 Coldhams Lane, Cambridge CB1 3HY, UK or from Internet: UKTuG-Enquiries@ftp.tex.ac.uk \bye End of UKTeX Digest [Volume 94 Issue 7] ***************************************