Re: [O] Frontmatter / Text before first headline
Hello, Jambunathan K kjambunat...@gmail.com writes: I have trouble understanding what the real purpose of the text before the first headline is. It looks to me more like a placeholder for capturing the Frontmatter [1]. If you're talking about the first section in the parse tree, the e-ascii back-end makes use of it: even if that part of the document, links may have to be collected and displayed before the first headline. Also, Frontmatter probably only makes sense for large documents. I sometimes write documents that doesn't even have an headline. Should they be considered as one big frontmatter? Where would be the matter, then? I have also trouble understanding what the rightful position for it is: Should it be like: (a) Title, Initial Text, TOC, Chapters Or like (b) Title, TOC, Initial Text, Chapters Currently org-latex does a (b). But if I look at an organization of a typical document, I am inclined to think that it should be (a). It is also my contention that Table Of Contents is relocatable only as a means to achieve (b). Honestly, (b) is easier to achieve than (a), since TOC can be stuffed in preamble (that is before reading the parse tree). Also, as it's configurable, I don't think we should bother too much here. I am wondering if you would be interested in formalizing frontmatter in Org documents. Backends will then be obligated to render the front matter headings as centered text. What about using special blocks? --8---cut here---start-8--- #+begin_abstract This is the document abstract. #+end_abstract --8---cut here---end---8--- You can even use a drawer and define its export behaviour in `org-export-format-drawer-function' (current exporter) or an equivalent. Anyway, if it happens that tools to build complex documents are missing[1], I agree that we should provide them, as long as they aren't imposed to the user. Regards, [1] But, first, let's make sure that it's impossible, or at least very difficult, with current ones. -- Nicolas Goaziou
Re: [O] Frontmatter / Text before first headline
Jambunathan K kjambunat...@gmail.com writes: I have trouble understanding what the real purpose of the text before the first headline is. When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less. -- Humpty Dumpty, Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there It looks to me more like a placeholder for capturing the Frontmatter [1]. I have also trouble understanding what the rightful position for it is: Should it be like: (a) Title, Initial Text, TOC, Chapters Or like (b) Title, TOC, Initial Text, Chapters Currently org-latex does a (b). But if I look at an organization of a typical document, I am inclined to think that it should be (a). It is also my contention that Table Of Contents is relocatable only as a means to achieve (b). That would depend a lot on the type of document and the publishing culture it's intended for. If we're talking books, then things are even more complicated, as traditionally you'd have a bastard title(*) before the actual title page. The back of the actual title page (which would be page 3 if it were numbered) almost always has some text, most often the bibliographic entry. (*) The bastard title is a relict from those times when you bought your books as folded signatures as they were coming from the printer and you had to cut and bind the book yourself if you were going to the trouble and expense. The title page(s) and front matter would be printed after the rest of the book had already been off the press on their own signature (you wouldn't know the page numbers for the TOC otherwise). I am wondering if you would be interested in formalizing frontmatter in Org documents. Backends will then be obligated to render the front matter headings as centered text. I'm not sure why you'd insist on centered. - Title Page , Frontmatter | - Copyright notice | - Abstract | - Preface | - Acknowledgements | - Dedication | - Table Of Contents | - List of Tables, Figures and Illustrations etc The title page is considered part of the front matter in traditional printing as it is printed on the same sheet as the rest of the front matter. Regards, Achim. -- +[Q+ Matrix-12 WAVE#46+305 Neuron microQkb Andromeda XTk Blofeld]+ Waldorf MIDI Implementation additional documentation: http://Synth.Stromeko.net/Downloads.html#WaldorfDocs
[O] Frontmatter / Text before first headline
that is every element between the beginning of the parsed area and its first headline. I have trouble understanding what the real purpose of the text before the first headline is. It looks to me more like a placeholder for capturing the Frontmatter [1]. I have also trouble understanding what the rightful position for it is: Should it be like: (a) Title, Initial Text, TOC, Chapters Or like (b) Title, TOC, Initial Text, Chapters Currently org-latex does a (b). But if I look at an organization of a typical document, I am inclined to think that it should be (a). It is also my contention that Table Of Contents is relocatable only as a means to achieve (b). I am wondering if you would be interested in formalizing frontmatter in Org documents. Backends will then be obligated to render the front matter headings as centered text. --8---cut here---start-8--- document meta data contributes to Titlepage * FRONTMATTER Abstract This is the document abstract * FRONTMATTER Contents toc * Chapter1 * Chapter2 --8---cut here---end---8--- Footnotes: [1] I see that documents - books as wells as theses - are roughly ordered as follows: Title Page, Frontmatter, Chapters TOC and other listings are considered as part of Frontmatter but act as fences between the Chapter and preceding text. - Title Page , Frontmatter | - Copyright notice | - Abstract | - Preface | - Acknowledgements | - Dedication | - Table Of Contents | - List of Tables, Figures and Illustrations etc ` - Chapter Texts - References --
