117 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
117 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
A portrait of the TeX novice/user/hacker/...
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Novice:
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* Uses LaTeX because his friends told him to.
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* Creates vertical space via
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\hfil\break\hfil\break\hfil\break\hfil\break
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or $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ [or the LaTeX equivalent]
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* Lines up tables with \ \ \ \ \ \ .
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* Uses ... instead of \dots, \ldots, and \cdots.
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* Types $log \, x$ instead of $\log x$.
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* Has heard of macros but has never seen one.
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* Uses grouping but doesn't understand why.
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* Responds to every TeX error with `e'.
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* Isn't sure whether Leslie Lamport is a man or a woman.
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* Wonders why everybody thinks TeX is so cool.
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User:
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* Likes LaTeX.
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* Religiously inserts ties everywhere Chapter 14 tells him to.
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* Frequently puts punctuation marks on the wrong side of the $ sign.
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* Leaves math mode to get math operators that aren't built in.
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For example, $f \in$ Hom $(A, B)$.
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* Has written small style files that change parameters.
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* Writes a `boldface' macro as \long\def\boldface#1{{\bf#1}}
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* Wonders why \def\thing1{...} \def\thing2{...} \thing1 doesn't work.
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* Immediately asks, ``How can I make TeX larger?'' every time he
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gets a `TeX capacity exceeded' error.
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* Doesn't understand why \verb is so fragile.
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* Has heard of catcodes but has never seen one.
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Hacker:
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* Has given up on LaTeX because it's too confining.
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* Has written his own macro packages, but they sometimes produce
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unwanted spaces in the output.
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* Writes a \boldface macro as \def\beginboldface{\bgroup\bf}
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\def\endboldface{\egroup}
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* Understands catcodes but has trouble changing them.
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* Understands why \verb is so fragile, but doesn't know how to get
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around it.
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* Uses \futurelet, but sparingly.
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* Can produce tables, but has trouble with ruled tables.
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* Has read the single-dangerous bends in the TeXbook and tried to
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read the double-dangerous bends with mixed success.
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* Answers LaTeX questions by reading the LaTeX book.
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Wizard:
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* Understands the \tabalign macros in plain.tex.
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* Uses \@ne and \tw@ instead of `1 ' and `2 ' in his macro packages.
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* Omits the `=' from assignment statements.
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* Uses \futurelet and \aftergroup without hesitation.
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* Writes macro packages where nearly half of the punctuation characters
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are \active.
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* Writes macros that define macros.
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* Writes a `boldface' macro via \def\boldface{\bgroup\bf\let\next}
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* Can create ruled tables on the fly.
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* Answers LaTeX questions by typing `more latex.tex'.
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* Has corrected errors in the TeXbook.
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* Has studied the source code to TeX but doesn't understand it all.
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Guru:
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* Has fixed bugs in TeX.
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* Debugs other people's macro packages.
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* Writes macro packages for plain text files, so that a simple
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\input macros
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\input file.txt
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produces nicely formatted output.
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* Understands the LaTeX font selection scheme.
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* Answers LaTeX questions before you ask them.
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* Is on a first-name basis with Don and Leslie.
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(and Michael [Spivak]? Barbara [Beeton]?)
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