4allTeX

============================== README.TXT ================================ Welcome to the TeX CDROM (disc #1)! This CDROM contains TeX, the professional typesetting system created by Professor Donald Knuth of Stanford University. These CDROMs contain everything you need to install and use TeX and LaTeX. ========================================================================== Here is a list of some important files and directories of the disc. view.exe MSDOS File Browser/Uncompressor 00global.txt Global index of both discs docs/ Documentation regarding these discs docs/view.doc Documentation regarding VIEW.EXE filename.txt A list of all the files on this disc readme.txt Walnut Creek CDROM's Readme file biblio/ bibliography formatting and maintenance dviware/ utilities for .DVI files graphics/ graphics programs macros/ TeX macros and extensions systems/ OS specific TeX systems/msdos/4alltex/ MSDOS systems systems/msdos/4alltex/INDEX Index file for MSDOS systems tex-k/ Karl Berry's TeX for Unix systems web/ A Literate Programming System ========================================================================== This disc set contains a snapshot of the CTAN archive. This snapshot was made in February and March 1995. The installation of TeX, LaTeX, Metafont, and a DVI converter can be complicated. Fortunately many popular systems already have binaries or patches available. Look on disc 1 in the /systems subdirectory for a complete list. These text files contain installation instructions for the most popular operating systems: Unix: Disc 1 /tex-k/unixtex.ftp MSDOS: Disc 1 /systems/msdos/4alltex/INDEX Macintosh: Disc 1 /systems/mac/oztex/Read-Me All of the material you need to start out with can be found on disc 1 - the Programs disc. Some of the more advanced packages were moved to disc 2 - the User disc - for space reasons. There is a lot more material here than most people will ever need, but if you need it - it's right here on these discs! ========================================================================== WHAT IS TeX? TeX is one of the first real computer typesetting programs ever developed. It was conceived of and developed by Prof. Donald E. Knuth of Stanford University. TeX is not a WYSIWYG text formatter as is now common in programs such as Microsoft Word and WordPerfect. With TeX instructions are embedded into an ASCII document file, which is then processed by TeX to produce a typeset document. TeX is similar in concept to the *roff programs, if you are familiar with those. TeX despite its primitive interface is incredibly powerful in its ability to format text and formulas - but like many powerful things, it is often difficult to use. The answer to this difficulty is LaTeX by Leslie Lamport. LaTeX adds the concept of logical mark-up to TeX. LaTeX provides a system where you specify the type of document you are writing and it uses logical mark-up and its notion of the document style to produce the final output. LaTeX's style sheets radically simplify TeX for most users. And since LaTeX incorporates an open and flexible interface by which it can be extended, LaTeX maintains access to the power of TeX for advanced users. Most users today, will use LaTeX and extend it where necessary rather than use raw TeX. Prof. Knuth developed TeX to be readily usable on many systems and freely available. In order to satisfy these goals he developed Metafont, and DVI utilities. At the time TeX was initially being developed, fonts were expensive and non-standard. As a solution for this problem, Metafont was developed. Metafont has two functions: as a design tool for fonts, and as the font renderer for TeX output. The DVI utilities were developed to solve the problems of incompatible output systems. Essentially DVI is an intermediate file output by the TeX program that describes the final output down to the finest detail. The DVI utilities convert these files into something your printer can understand and use to produce a page that faithfully reproduces the DVI file - thus whether you have a 9-pin dot matrix printer or a 1200dpi typesetter, you get results that are as close as the differing printers can make. Of course, the 1200dpi typesetter is going to produce much better quality output than the 9-pin printer could! Over the years, many others have contributed add-on utilities (for document types like bibliographies, graphics, indexes, etc.) which make TeX and LaTeX even more useful. You will find all these add-ons here on these discs. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Special thanks to Karl Berry for his distribution found on disc 1 in /tex-k, Dr. George Greenwade and the CTAN people for their work in maintaining the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network, Jack & Bob for their patience, and Corinna for her proofreading and moral support. FOR MORE INFO: TeX: The definitive book of course is D. E. Knuths "The TeXbook" - hard to read but full of lots of useful info for all levels of users. Another useful book is "TeX by Example" written by Arvind Borde. LaTeX: Definitely Leslie Lamports "LaTeX: A Document Preparation System" and "The LaTeX Companion" by Michel Goossens, Frank Mittelbach, and Alexander Samarin. Users Groups: The TeX Users Group (TUG) P.O. Box 869 Santa Barbara, California 93102 USA Tel.: +1 (805) 963-1338 Fax: +1 (805) 963-8358 email: tug@tug.org There are other groups listed on disc 2 in the directory /usergrps. Support these groups, really. They are working to keep a free and useful piece of software free and useful. BASIC INSTRUCTIONS: There are two discs in this set: disc 1 is the Programs disc and disc 2 is the User disc. In general disc 1 contains the files you will need to install TeX, LaTeX, Metafont, and the necessary DVI drivers you need. Unless you're using a Unix or Unix-like system, the best starting place is the /systems directory on disc 1. If you find a subdirectory for your system, you're in luck - just follow the instructions in the subdirectory to install. If you're using a Unix(-like) system or you can't find a subdirectory for your system, the best starting place is the /tex-k directory on disc 1. This is Karl Berry's TeX distribution for Unix which contains everything needed for a basic installation. Once you've gotten TeX installed, I strongly recommend that you read the books listed above. You can also find some introductory material on disc 2 in the directory /docs. FINALLY: Again, I strongly encourage you to join the TeX Users Group or your local users group. I also recommend that if you have access to Usenet subscribe to the newsgroup comp.text.tex, which is also a good source of information. Buy Walnut Creek CDROM products - they're good people. If you have any comments or suggestions about the TeX disc email me at dave@cdrom.com. If you have comments for Walnut Creek CDROM email them to info@cdrom.com. Thanks again for buying this disc set! Dave Cornejo ========================================================================== Disclaimer: This CDROM comes with a full money back guarantee. If you are dissatisfied for any reason, you can return it for a full refund. Walnut Creek CDROM makes no warranty about any file on this CDROM, including any written by Walnut Creek. You, not Walnut Creek CDROM, assume all risk of using any of the files on this CDROM. We reserve the right to limit any effort on our part to rectify problems with any file on this CDROM. ========================================================================== You also need to be aware that we cannot accept any responsibility, or liability in the event that using the software on this disk causes you grief, malfunction, data loss or thinning of the hair. As with any new software, make sure that you back up your system regularly so that you can recover from unforeseen crashes. Although we have made every attempt to examine every program on this disc, some non-shareware or public domain programs may have slipped by. If you find such a program on this disc, please notify us immediately so we can rectify the situation. Thanks. ========================================================================== All trademarks belong to their respective trademark holders. Third-Party applications/software/information are copyrighted by their respective owners. ========================================================================== This CDROM copyright (c) 1995 Walnut Creek CDROM. All rights reserved. ========================================================================== This CDROM is unconditionally guaranteed. If you are dissatisfied for any reason, simply return it with a short note and your contact information for a full refund. Walnut Creek CDROM Suite 260 1547 Palos Verdes Mall Walnut Creek CA 94596 USA 1 800 786-9907 (Toll Free Sales) 1 800 731-7177 (Toll Free Tech Support) +1 510 674-0783 (Sales) +1 510 603-1234 (Tech Support) +1 510 674-0821 FAX Email: orders@cdrom.com (Orders) Email: info@cdrom.com (Information) Email: support@cdrom.com (Tech Support) WWW: http://www.cdrom.com/ FTP: ftp.cdrom.com =============================== README.TXT ==================================