On Wed, 13 Mar 2002 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > On 11 Mar, Rev Simon Rumble wrote: > > > Eh? I use it all the time. Unless you mean, "use groff instead"? I > > > have to agree, that I think nowadays the groff version of troff is > > > better than the original, as of about last year. > > > > No, don't use troff or groff. There are _FAR_ better ways to lay out > > a document that don't have you learning incredibly obscure commands > > and syntax. Troff has had its day. > > > > > it's almost fast enough to do interactively. > > > > My point precisely. Use something that _IS_ interactive, or at least > > something that is a bit easier to learn. > > For a start, it's unusual to bother to learn to use raw troff. One > generally picks a macro package, and uses that instead. I use mm, and > man for man pages; some people like the me or ms macro packages. A > rare few write their own packages. > > All these packages are easier to learn than HTML, IMHO. > > Things like troff and TeX are good because they separate the layout from > the input, and don't require manual intervention to construct the source > files, and can easily use scripts and filters to do complex things that > in Word, say, requires a monolithic piece of software with some added > scripting language grafted on. > > troff and TeX and Lout follow the Unix philosophy (programs that you > can use as building blocks or pieces in bigger systems), and still have > their place, IMHO. For some things they're better than WYSIWYG > systems, for other purposes they're not.
I have a book on order "Text processing and typesetting with Unix" that is one of the only books I can find on Troff thats NOT out of print.. Hopefully it will be a good one.. (if it ever turns up). -- Anthony Rumble - Managing Director EverythingLinux.com.au - The Alternative Operating System Store LinuxHelp.com.au - Support,Training,Development,Consulting Phone: 0500 500 368 Direct 02-9712-1799 Fax 02-9712-3977 -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ More Info: http://lists.slug.org.au/listinfo/slug
