From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: R. H. Allen Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Program structure of Pstricks, what is its basic structure? Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 12:54:31 -0500 Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: References: <42414174.0402221953.24c938a6@posting.google.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1077559389 610 80.91.224.253 (23 Feb 2004 18:03:09 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 18:03:09 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Mon Feb 23 19:02:53 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1AvKPs-0001j4-00 for ; Mon, 23 Feb 2004 19:02:52 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1AvKNq-0008RP-En for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Mon, 23 Feb 2004 13:00:46 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!wn52feed!worldnet.att.net!208.49.253.98!newsfeed.news2me.com!newsfeed3.easynews.com!easynews.com!easynews!border1.nntp.sjc.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local1.nntp.sjc.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 11:54:31 -0600 Original-Newsgroups: comp.text.tex,comp.lang.postscript,gnu.emacs.help X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 2.0/32.640 Original-Lines: 55 Original-X-Trace: sv3-C9omz6iUlJr7d2BurdQts6MAUACi2YmiUrJ2Fvs44D/TVq+VoKiJYUziQ8+Xk0/c5GewQQpgJctcjCv!u/lRv7UE5niWpGoXmZ866DepVsEQiEZHSBWrRmdK7rKIqLslSrCrCXDSHkPngH/4jR3jvHmU Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.1 Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu comp.text.tex:271412 comp.lang.postscript:76664 gnu.emacs.help:121150 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.2 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:17101 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:17101 On 22 Feb 2004 19:53:00 -0800, crashedandburnt1@hotmail.com (Crashedandburnt) wrote: >Herbert Voss wrote in message news: >> The problem is, that there is no documentation about this >> low level structure. > >I am sorry to report a telephone conversation that I had some years >ago with >the author of this package. I vaguely remember his exact name, Timothy >van zandt or sth like that. But what I clearly remember is that he was >some kind of >economist and wrote this package to write his book(s). He said that >Leslie Lamport has made millions from his LaTeXbook and he expects >[big] money for his package. I have a hard time believing he said that, considering that his last update to PSTricks apparently came seven years ago and two other people have been maintaining it since then. >He said that he has not released >documentation on the package and will not release the documentation on >how it works. Oh, but he has! One must be careful using it, though, as the current maintainers have made some changes that supersede parts of van Zandt's original documentation. There isn't documentation explaining why he uses each and every Postscript command, but there is documentation for the TeX commands that assemble the Postscript code. It includes enough information that even a rudimentary Postscript programmer like me can usually figure out what the code is doing. >Unless there is real >free software, with good documentation on its usage and implemenation, >it is not free software, but a virus software. I didn't pay a dime for my fully legal TeX installation and learned how to use it entirely from free, online documentation sources. I later chose to buy a book because it was more convenient than printing and carrying a huge binder full of online documentation, and it was money well spent. That's quite the opposite of my experience with a lot of GNU software. Based on your definition, that would make GNU the virus software from my perspective (though I don't really feel that way). While I'm happy to hear that GNU is finally putting decent documentation together, I certainly hope they will bind it and offer it for sale at my local bookstore, even if they do end up making millions (doubtful). >If a group of volunteers want to save TeX/LaTeX, what is needed is to Is it just me, or in the past 6 months or so have there been an usual number of people who aren't regular posters in comp.text.tex barging in to explain how to "save" TeX/LaTeX? alan