[lug] LaTeX, margins, font size

[J. Wayde Allen]

On Thu, 30 Aug 2001, D. Stimits wrote:

> I guess I'm just used to UNIX style man pages. It would be very pleasing
> to see a man page for each tag format, e.g., "man documentclass" (even
> though it could be just an html document and not really available by man
> page commands). For example, a concise statement of what arguments are
> available to \documentclass and \documenttype, along with an
> explanation.

Well several of the URL's I've provided I thought had exactly this.  Let's
see, maybe I can dig one of those up:

http://www.sci.usq.edu.au/staff/robertsa/LaTeX/latex2e.html
http://www.sci.usq.edu.au/staff/robertsa/LaTeX/latex2e.html#SEC24
http://www-h.eng.cam.ac.uk/help/tpl/textprocessing/teTeX/latex/latex2e-html/ltx-2.html
http://www-h.eng.cam.ac.uk/help/tpl/textprocessing/teTeX/latex/latex2e-html/ltx-22.html

> But then I suppose it would be overwhelming to continue this with the
> same sort of thing for all commands available from a given
> documentclass.

No, that is exactly what is done in some of the URL's I've given
you.  Also, there are not really a big selection of new commands for
different document classes.  The document class mostly just describes the
general look of the text, the default type, one or two column, paper,
etc..

You might not be able to use a \Chapter command in a letter document
class, but most people wouldn't need to do that.  Basically if you are
writing articles or reports you break things up into \sections,
\subsections, \subsubsections, etc., and the book class uses \chapter.  I
think that is about the only differences in commands, and I'd have to run
an experiment to be sure what if anything wouldn't work between classes.  
Mostly it just makes sense.

Basically, think of the document class as a very general style sheet.

> Basically I run into a need to look up the "function prototype" of
> \documentclass, when converting from \documenttype, and can't
> generally find specifics.

The URL's I've given do try to show the differences.  The books also tend
to have a section on errata.

> class. I'm reminded of a Python book I have, which has not only an index
> of Python commands and widgets, but also a picture of what each widget
> does.

The LaTeX books do this too.  That is why we all keep suggesting that
maybe you really need a book.

> This is in fact my really big reason for wanting some sort of gui for
> this...not because I dislike hand editing (I'm a vi guy, I'm strangely
> thrilled by knowing exactly what goes on when I configure something),
> but because it offers a sort of prompting of everything that can be
> done: Just select something and hit the button to see what it does.

OK, lets make this analogy.  This is somewhat akin to asking for a GUI
interface to Python.  Sure such a thing has some value, the popularity of
Visual Basic comes to mind, but you don't really want to be limited by the
GUI.  Most experienced programmers also don't seem to care much for the GUI
based languages.  You've kind of run into the same issue here.  LyX is to
the the LaTeX world kind of like IDLE
<http://www.python.org/idle/doc/idlemain.html> is to the Python world.

LaTeX and TeX are typesetting mark up languages.  They are modeled somewhat
after the "mark up" that the editor would add to someone's text telling the
typesetter how to stack the lead type into the printing press plates.  TeX
computerized this mark up and LaTeX gives you an abstraction to a higher
level.  Kind of like the difference between writing assembly code
(TeX) versus C (LaTeX).

> There is also of course the need to visualize what has been done,
> which is more convenient in a one-piece WYSIWYG editor, versus
> multistage production to see each keystroke result, but it is the
> ability to freeform design without exact knowledge that really makes
> gui useful (thus it prompts to make further creation that might not
> otherwise be possible, simply because of not knowing what is available
> without a long, detailed reading).

Yes and no, again you have to realize that what you seem to want is a word
processor.  If that is what you want, then by all means use one.  Just
keep in mind that LaTeX isn't a word processor.  It is built around a very
different paradigm.

> My LaTeX links are growing. The "holy grail" would have to be a set of
> pages similar to man pages, listing all LaTeX commands for a given
> document class, possibly with a "SEE ALSO" section for relevant older
> document type syntax. Something that would allow a quick browsing of
> features specific to particular styles/classes.

I've given you the best of the URL's that I've been able to find.  If
nothing else, this discussion has significantly increase my personal list
of LaTeX URL's.

- Wayde
  (wallen at lug.boulder.co.us)