April 2004 - ntg-context - NTG Mailing Lists

13 Apr '04

Hello, new user ...having troubles with m-bib ... I did a test file worked fine the file was smiall... Is there a way besides the log to track down errors in your bbl file for bibtex ?? kv

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Re: help required w.r.t " vardef "
by vinuth madinur 13 Apr '04

13 Apr '04

Thankx Hans, But why does this work with "def" and not with "vardef" . "list" is just a macro name i've used. And "A,B,C,A" is just the replacement text I want when I call the macro "list". Is there any other way of doing this? Vinuth. -- ______________________________________________ Check out the latest SMS services @ http://www.linuxmail.org This allows you to send and receive SMS through your mailbox. Powered by Outblaze

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Page number in outer margin?
by John Culleton 12 Apr '04

12 Apr '04

I want to place the page number vertically centered in the outer margin, with some prettyprinting. Does one do this with the \setpagenumber command, the \inmargin command, or some combination thereof? I can figure out how to do it in plain TeX but I hate to revert to plain just for this feature. -- John Culleton Able Typesetters and Indexers http://wexfordpress.com

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Re: ntg-context digest, Vol 1 #715 - 2 msgs
by Jonathan Nicholl 09 Apr '04

09 Apr '04

On 7 Apr 2004, at 11:00, ntg-context-request(a)ntg.nl wrote: > In the following code : > > vardef list = > A , B , C , A > enddef; > > def triangle = > forsuffixes $=list: > pair T.$; > endfor; > enddef; > > beginfig(1) > triangle; > > path T; > > T.A = (2,3); > T.B = (3,5); > T.C = (2,6); > > T = T.A -- T.B -- T.C -- cycle; > draw T; > > endfig; > > end; > > > In macro "list" if i give just "def" instead of "vardef" the program > works fine. > But with "vardef" i'm getting many errors. > I'm not able to figure this out. > Please help; > > thanx in advance. > Vinuth. Vinuth, I've been trying to get clear about issues like this recently. Perhaps my answer will not be completely correct. But here goes. One difference between 'def' and 'vardef' is that 'def' makes the symbolic token which follows into a spark, whereas vardef leaves it as a tag. (This is the language that Knuth uses in his Metafont Book.) The difference between sparks and tags is the readiness with which Metafont interprets their meaning. So far as Metafont is concerned, your input consists of a stream of tokens, and at some point in its digestion of your input file it has to interpret each of these tokens. But the stage of digestion at which it interprets a symbolic token depends on whether it is a spark or a tag. It interprets sparks sooner than it interprets tags. Generally speaking - there are ways to prevent it - Metafont interprets sparks in its mouth, whereas the stage at which it interprets tags depends on the circumstances. This is why your program works if you define the symbolic token 'list' using 'def': 'list' becomes a spark whose meaning is 'A,B,C,A'. As soon as Metafont reads 'for suffixes $=list' it interprets 'list', replacing it with 'A,B,C,A'. So writing 'forsuffixes $=list' is equivalent to writing 'forsuffixes $=A,B,C,A'. Perhaps you have guessed now why your program does not work if you define 'list' using 'vardef': 'list' remains a tag and so when Metafont reads 'forsuffixes $=list' it does not interpret it at once. In fact, it never interprets it. For the tags in the suffixes of variable names are never interpreted, and 'forsuffixes' causes 'list' to be treated as the suffix of a variable name. The tags in the suffixes of variable names just form part of the name. Only the subscripts in the suffixes of variable names are interpreted. 'forsuffixes $=list: pair T.$[]; endfor;' is equivalent to 'pair T.list;' Look at the following program: 1 vardef list = 2 1 3 enddef; 4 5 forsuffixes $=list: 6 T $ = 2; 7 endfor; 8 9 show(T list); 10 show(T 1); 11 show(T [list]); 12 13 end; Lines 1-3 assign the meaning the number 1 to the variable name 'list'; they are equivalent to 'list := 1;'. Lines 5-7 make the number 2 the meaning of the variable name 'T list'; they are equivalent to 'T list = 2;'. Line 9 produces the output '>>2', because 2 is the value of 'T list'. Line 10 produces the output '>>T1' because the variable has no value; 'T1' is undefined. Line 11 is interesting. The square brackets around 'list' force evaluation of the variable 'list', so 'show(T [list]);' is equivalent to 'show(T 1);'. The output is '>>T1' again. What do you think that the output of the following program will be? def list = 1 enddef; forsuffixes $=list: T $ = 2; endfor; show(T list); show(T 1); show(T [list]); end; In summary, vardef is intended for giving meanings to variable names. You should be suspicious of 'vardef list = A,B,C,A; enddef;' because A,B,C,A cannot be the value of a variable name. (I assume that this was Hans's point, when he said that Metapost lacks the concept of a list.) If you want to understand things like this, I strongly recommend that you read Knuth's Metafont Book. It makes everything very clear, and nowhere else is the detail explained. The most relevant chapters are the ones on variables, macros, and loops. Best wishes, Jonathan Afterthought: to grasp the difference between a name and the meaning of the name compare '"Vinuth" contains six letters' with 'Vinuth contains six letters.'

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help required w.r.t " vardef " in mpost.
by vinuth madinur 07 Apr '04

07 Apr '04

In the following code : vardef list = A , B , C , A enddef; def triangle = forsuffixes $=list: pair T.$; endfor; enddef; beginfig(1) triangle; T.A = (2,3); T.B = (3,5); T.C = (2,6); T = T.A -- T.B -- T.C -- cycle; draw T; endfig; end; In macro "list" if i give just "def" instead of "vardef" the program works fine. But with "vardef" i'm getting many errors. I'm not able to figure this out. Please help; thanx in advance. Vinuth. -- ______________________________________________ Check out the latest SMS services @ http://www.linuxmail.org This allows you to send and receive SMS through your mailbox. Powered by Outblaze

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[Thanks !] mpost called from context
by Laurent Chéno 07 Apr '04

07 Apr '04

( please excuse my poor english ) Thank you very much : this works now very well. Best regards, Laurent For others beginners under MacOS X, there is the right way I used : 0. intall the Gerben Wierda's distribution of teTeX : see http://www.rna.nl/tex.html 1. modify line 50 of /usr/local/teTeX/texmf.cnf so it is : shell_escape = t 2. copy /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf.tetex/tex/context/user/cont-sys.rme into ~/Library/texmf/tex/context/cont-sys.tex and delete the %-comment in front of lines 87--88 : \runMPgraphicstrue \runMPTEXgraphicstrue

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Fill-in fields
by olivier Turlier 07 Apr '04

07 Apr '04

Hello Contexers, I try to put a bit of user/reader interaction with javascript fields. (I must thanks Hans for his existing docs, but even if they come in a brilliant fashion, they don't put me to light, must get another fresh new brain) Working step by step, I first try to reproduce Hans given source code exemples. So I've copied/pasted this : By using \fillinfield {objects} when suited, this module saves space anyway. but it does not give the same output than in up-001-s.pdf (the blue frame disapear when you type in the correct text-string, in that case : object. What kind of control, or preamble must I put for having this working? Thankd in advance for your answers. olivier Turlier

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read it immediately
by pragma＠pi.net 07 Apr '04

07 Apr '04

ok

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How to rotate a single character on a line?
by Stefan Wachter 07 Apr '04

07 Apr '04

Hi all. I want to use some arrows of the ZapfDingbats fonts. Most of the arrows included in this font are directed from left to right. I tried to use \rotate to produce arrows directed to different directions. Yet, rotate produces new lines. Example: \definefontsynonym[ZapfDingbats][zd] \definefont[Zapf][ZapfDingbats at 24pt] \rotate[rotation=180]{\Zapf\char234} {\Zapf\char234} The example is intended to produce an arrow directed to the left followed by an arrow directed to the right. The result however is an arrow directed to the left followed by a new line with an arrow directed to the right. intended: <- -> result: <- -> Does someone know how the new line can be suppressed? Thanks, --Stefan

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Changing header size on chapter-pages
by Holger Schöner 06 Apr '04

06 Apr '04

Hi, I am currently trying to create a letter style. The first page of each letter (introduced by the heading-command \letter; many letters could be in one document) should have a high header (11cm) to provide space for logo, etc. (which I am planning to define using layers, inspired by details.pdf). All other pages should have a different and smaller header (1cm). Currently I am playing around with the following setup, which unfortunately does not work (without the \setupheadertexts[\setups{normalpagesetup}] all pages beginning from the first letter have long headers; with this line included, also the first page of each letter has only the short height): %% Start of a new letter; heading text is used only in an optional table of contents \definehead[letter][title] \setuphead[letter][placehead=empty,header=firstpageheader,coupling=title] %% Header for first pages \definetext[firstpageheader][header][\setups{firstpagesetup}][] \startsetups firstpagesetup \setuplayout[header=11.0cm] \stopsetups %% Header for other pages \startsetups normalpagesetup \setuplayout[header=1.0cm] \stopsetups \setupheadertexts[\setups{normalpagesetup}] The attachment gives the complete example ... Is it possible to get a layout on pages with title-headings (eg.), which is different from the usual one? -- Holger F. Schoener TU Berlin; Dept. IV: EE and Computer Science hfsch(a)cs.tu-berlin.de http://www.cs.tu-berlin.de/~hfsch/ Rooms FR2525 Tel: +49-30-314-73115, Fax: -73121 Office FR 2-1 Franklinstr. 28/29, D-10587 Berlin, Germany

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