Re: Context, Latex, or an XML for acaddemic writing?
Just to add a slightly different flavour, I have been using PdfLatex for several years to produce technical manuals for various pieces of software, which have included a lot of graphics and tables. I have recently changed to ConText mainly because it is far easier to set up how you want the text to be displayed and you don't need to include lots of additional packages which often have side effects with each other and need to be included in the correct order. I have also found it very easy to modify Latex input to Context input and particularly like the separation possible with graphics (whereby you can have a separate file that points to the graphics file and not have to embed the file name in the middle of the document) It would be nice if this list could produce some "good" layouts for others to use to provide us all with some defaults and a starting point rather than everyone reinventing the wheel. Dave Waller
David Waller wrote:
Just to add a slightly different flavour, I have been using PdfLatex for several years to produce technical manuals for various pieces of software, which have included a lot of graphics and tables. I have recently changed to ConText mainly because it is far easier to set up how you want the text to be displayed and you don't need to include lots of additional packages which often have side effects with each other and need to be included in the correct order. I have also found it very easy to modify Latex input to Context input and particularly like the separation possible with graphics (whereby you can have a separate file that points to the graphics file and not have to embed the file name in the middle of the document)
It would be nice if this list could produce some "good" layouts for others to use to provide us all with some defaults and a starting point rather than everyone reinventing the wheel.
well, one approach to this is that some folks on the list provide 'i want this, what is the best way' kind of questions and collect the answers in a manual / style Hans ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands tel: 038 477 53 69 | fax: 038 477 53 74 | www.pragma-ade.com | www.pragma-pod.nl -----------------------------------------------------------------
Hans Hagen wrote:
It would be nice if this list could produce some "good" layouts for others to use to provide us all with some defaults and a starting point rather than everyone reinventing the wheel.
well, one approach to this is that some folks on the list provide
'i want this, what is the best way'
kind of questions and collect the answers in a manual / style
Hans
Perhaps one of them would be cloning the default LaTeX style and include it into standard ConTeXt distribution. I guess this would be one reason more for LaTeX people to switch. (I sometimes still use LaTeX if I have absolutely no time and need to think about layout.) Mojca
Le 18 mai 05 à 00:13, Mojca Miklavec a écrit :
Perhaps one of them would be cloning the default LaTeX style and include it into standard ConTeXt distribution. I guess this would be one reason more for LaTeX people to switch. (I sometimes still use LaTeX if I have absolutely no time and need to think about layout.)
I agree I would be a very nice thing to have! The main LaTeX "classes" to emulate would be: - article - rapport - book But this is much work for somebody who is more interested by the content of its document than by the envelope. So this thing (context template) will take much time in collaborating. What kind of stuff do we need for, say, an "article" LaTeX class? \usemodule[latex] \usemodule[latexarticle] This should modify the behavior of all the \section like command, the \startitemize, add some \newtheorem emulation, a decent defaut table of content listing ... Where to start - define a name for the module (e.g. [latexarticle]), - begin an empty template module, - perhaps there should be a common module for all LaTeX emulation which would be called by all "laTeX classes" emulation ? - start the "to ask for / fill request point" cycle ? Maurice
Maurice Diamantini wrote:
Le 18 mai 05 à 00:13, Mojca Miklavec a écrit :
Perhaps one of them would be cloning the default LaTeX style and include it into standard ConTeXt distribution. I guess this would be one reason more for LaTeX people to switch. (I sometimes still use LaTeX if I have absolutely no time and need to think about layout.)
I agree I would be a very nice thing to have! The main LaTeX "classes" to emulate would be: - article - rapport - book
But this is much work for somebody who is more interested by the content of its document than by the envelope. So this thing (context template) will take much time in collaborating.
What kind of stuff do we need for, say, an "article" LaTeX class?
\usemodule[latex] \usemodule[latexarticle]
It would look like this: % be like a standard latex class \setuplayout[margins=verywide] \setuphead[font=too_large,before=enormous_gap,after=big_gap] \setupalign[never] \setupfloats[location=trailing] % uncomment next line for report.cls headline % \setupheader[style=obnoxious] \endinput :-) There must be at least some decent LaTeX layouts out there, surely there is no need to emulate the default classes? Greetings, Taco
At 07:10 AM 5/18/2005, you wrote:
Maurice Diamantini wrote:
But this is much work for somebody who is more interested by the content of its document than by the envelope. So this thing (context template) will take much time in collaborating. What kind of stuff do we need for, say, an "article" LaTeX class? \usemodule[latex] \usemodule[latexarticle]
It would look like this:
% be like a standard latex class \setuplayout[margins=verywide] [...]
:-)
There must be at least some decent LaTeX layouts out there, surely there is no need to emulate the default classes?
In my opinion, the primary utility of this would be an ability to emulate the large quantity of classes that are based on the default classes, but with the margins and stuff adjusted to fit a given journal style (or such). One hopes that this could be done automatically, too, by feeding the appropriate arbitrary style file into ConTeXt, but that may be a bit much to ask at least at first. - Brooks
Brooks Moses said this at Wed, 18 May 2005 09:23:01 -0700:
:-)
There must be at least some decent LaTeX layouts out there, surely there is no need to emulate the default classes?
In my opinion, the primary utility of this would be an ability to emulate the large quantity of classes that are based on the default classes, but with the margins and stuff adjusted to fit a given journal style (or such). One hopes that this could be done automatically, too, by feeding the appropriate arbitrary style file into ConTeXt, but that may be a bit much to ask at least at first.
Okay, I'd agree there's a need for some no-brains default styles. I'd also agree with Taco's point that LaTeX's defaults are pretty ugly. On the other hand, they're *familiar* and widespread. To many with an engineering viewpoint, that can be more important than "attractive". I suspect that going through and emulating individual journal styles is going to be a futile exercise, but we can work through some specific requests of classes with a limited number of options. I suspect that with the "emulation mode" taken care of, some of us will want to give a "ConTeXt remix" slant on it, to show how things can be done better. So: any requests? -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Adam T. Lindsay, Computing Dept. atl@comp.lancs.ac.uk Lancaster University, InfoLab21 +44(0)1524/510.514 Lancaster, LA1 4WA, UK Fax:+44(0)1524/510.492 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
On Wed, 18 May 2005, Maurice Diamantini wrote:
What kind of stuff do we need for, say, an "article" LaTeX class?
Hello, I like the LaTeX-KOMA-classes. Here some setups, that I used for my brother's thesis: \doifmodeelse{A4}{% \setuppapersize[A4]\setupbodyfont[12pt]}{% \setuppapersize[A5]\setupbodyfont[9pt]} \setupheader[style=\it] \setuphead[chapter,title][header=nomarking] \setupindenting[small] \define[1]\LeftAligned{\startalignment[right,broad]#1\stopalignment} \setuphead[title,chapter,section,subsection,subsubsection][% textcommand=\LeftAligned,textstyle=bold,numberstyle=bold] \setuplist[chapter][style=bold,before=\blank] \setupcombinedlist[content][alternative=c] \setuppagenumbering[location=footer] \definemakeup[title][standard,align=middle] \setupbodyfontenvironment[default][em=italic] \doifmodeelse{oneside}{\setupheadertexts[chapter]}{% \setupheadertexts[][section][chapter][] \setuppagenumbering[alternative=doublesided]} %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %% This is an emulation of \usepackage[DIVcalc]{typearea} in LaTeX. \def\BCOR{3mm}% eventual binding correction newdimen\PageWidth \PageWidth=\paperwidth \doifmode{BCOR}{\PageWidth=\dimexpr(\PageWidth-\BCOR)} \edef\Ratio{\withoutpt{\the\dimexpr(2\paperheight/(\PageWidth/32768))}} \setbox\scratchbox\hbox{\dorecurse{26}{\character\recurselevel}} \newdimen\Width \newdimen\Height \newdimen\Back \Width=\dimexpr(2.6\wd\scratchbox) \Height=\dimexpr(\Ratio\Width) \doifmodeelse{oneside}{\Back=\dimexpr((\PageWidth - \Width) / 2)}% {\Back=\dimexpr((\PageWidth - \Width) / 3)} \doifmode{BCOR}{\Back=\dimexpr(\Back + \BCOR)} \edef\Top{\the\dimexpr((\paperheight - \Height) / 3 - 3\lineheight)} \Height=\dimexpr(\Height + 8\lineheight) \setuplayout[backspace=\the\Back,height=\the\Height,width=\the\Width, header=2\lineheight,headerdistance=\lineheight, footer=2\lineheight,footerdistance=3\lineheight,topspace=\Top] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \setupalign[line] \def\upperrightdoublesixquote{\kern-.125em``}% german quotes \def\emph#1{{\em#1}} \def\texttwosuperior{$^2$} \setupcaptions[width=\makeupwidth, style={\switchtobodyfont[small]\setupinterlinespace}] Cheers, Peter -- http://pmrb.free.fr/contact/
participants (8)
-
Adam Lindsay -
Brooks Moses -
David Waller -
Hans Hagen -
Maurice Diamantini -
Mojca Miklavec -
Peter Münster -
Taco Hoekwater