eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 1 #1

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1 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 1 #1 ISSN Σ ΑΥΤΟΤΟΤΕΥΧΟΣ: TEX ΕνTEXνα &ἄtexνα... iii Οἱσημειώσειςτοῦτυπογράφου... iv Οι ολυμπιακοί αγώνες του TEX The Olympics of TEX... 1 Steve Mayer Two L A TEX-to-Web Tools... 7 Βασίλης Η. Τριζώνης Σωτήρης Ζήσης( ): Μὲ τοὺς χάρτες του ταξιδέψαμε...27 Ιωάννης Α. Βαμβακᾶς καὶ Παναγιώτης Κοτοπούλης Μία πρώτη προσπάθεια στοιχειοθέτησης κειμένου τῆς ἑλληνικῆς ἐκκλησιατικῆς μουσικῆς μὲ τὴ βοήθεια τοῦ L A TEX TEXνικές...61 Βιβλίο-Παρουσίαση L A TEX dvipsbabel!"#!$% &$#"'( )"* +,--./", )"* TEX :

2 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 2 #2 ISSN (Eutypon) is a publication of the Greek TEX s Friends ( εϕτ ) Group. It is published twice a year and it is distributed for free to the members of the εϕτ Group, to selected libraries and to the public in general through Internet. Its articles deal with TEX and, in general, with tools for the electronic typesetting of printed matter. Editor-in-Chief of is Prof. Basil K. Papadopoulos of the Department of Civil Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. The address of is: Greek TEX s Friends (c/o A. Syropoulos) 366, 28th October Street GR Xanthi Greece URL: obelix.ee.duth.gr/eft eft@ocean1.ee.duth.gr Articles appearing in have been carefully and critically refereed with the responsibility of the Editorial Board. Only papers judged to be original and of high quality are accepted for publication. Articles already published in may be copied and redistributed for free, provided their origin is mentionned. and the εϕτ Group do not assume any responsibity for methods, products, instructions or ideas described or expressed in authored articles published in this periodical. The Editorial Board of constists of: Basil K. Papadopoulos (Xanthi, Greece), Apostolos Syropoulos (Xanthi, Greece), Dimitrios Filippou (Volos, Greece) and Ioannis Dimakos (Patras, Greece). +,--./", ")-5-43 )"*!"#!$% &$#"'( )"* TEX,$-"" 3 (3" $ #!3 )! εϕτ ') -( )"* +,--./",! '" #!-/ 3$ #4 %!%-!"& 3 '($$ #!$)*", $ ') ) *) " $"!3 '+ )"*,!& '.)!$ " +)$ '-#$ )", #("'!*"3)! - ' ) $ TEX.!"'' #3)*43 /3!$.) )%3 /-$) "3!$% ')"!& 01.!',3)$)($ $ 2*',3"$ ) 33! 4 $ $) ) 3." /! -"$!$'(/()%$ )"* 2)"$ 5 '-!"$ 6"-!)!$73 6#.",& 3!$73 )"*,("$!)", (.& 09 #!*',3'( )"* :; 63!')(", 33!< 8 $($ +*--"/"$ )"* TEX 2.=( >?($ 01.')"-", 0@$)4% ", +, ABB.",-", BCD EE F3'( URL: obelix.ee.duth.gr/eft H/T: eft@ocean1.ee.duth.gr.",3 - $ '!' "G $ #("'!*"3)! #!-/ "'$)!$ ') " )'*3( && 3"3 )($ +,3)$)!$($ 4).), - 01!) ' 2=(-($ "($ )"* "!.)()$!"#!$"* /3"3)!.& #!3"% #$) - $ ' #("','( 43 "G &.",3 09 H#( 3#("','( #("'!,' ') $ )! J " #!) -,'2 )!2 )3 I " I)!' 3 & /"$ )",$ $! 4 +*--"& '.#",$! εϕτ #"3 "K.3)! 3-%3",3 4#(/$ $ $ L# $ )'*3( "G /!!/ "3)! M #$ N"3)! #3)$ #43*43 - & ' 43 #("'!, 343 ')!"#!$. & 09 +,3)$)!$% 01!) "% )"* :; )! )3 ")-& )3 01.')"-" 5'-!" +,.",-" 6#.",-" F3'(! )!" 1 F3'(! )3,(2& $" 5!-", 5.-"$ $)3 0O433(,(& 6 )

3 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 3 #3 TEX & TEX Φίλοι συνtexνίτες, Ἀπὸ τὴν τελευταία μας ἐπικοινωνία μέχρι σήμερα μεσολάβησαν κάμποσα TEXνικὰ συμβάντα. Κατ ἀρχάς, πέρυσι ὁ Σύλλογος εἶχε τὴν τύχη νὰ φιλοξενήσει στὴν Ξάνθη τὸ συνέδριο TUG2004. Οπως μπορεῖτε νὰ διαβάσετε καὶ στὶς σελίδες ποὺ ἀκολουθοῦν, ἡσυνεύρεσημὲ TEXνίτεςἀπὸὅλοντὸνκόσμοἦτανμίαμοναδκὴ ἐμπειρία καὶ μία πολὺ καλὴ εὐκαιρία συζήτησης γιὰ τὸ μέλλον τοῦ TEX. Στὸν καθαρὰ TEXνικὸ τομέα, πέρυσι καὶ φέτος εἶχαμε τὴν ἐμφάνιση στὸ CTAN πολλῶν νέων ἐργαλείων γιὰ στοιχειοθεσία ἑλληνικῶν μὲ τὸ TEX καὶ τὴν παρέα του. Οἱ Alexej Kryukov καὶ Christian Justen παρουσίασαν τὰ πακέτα psgreek καὶ antomega γιὰ τὴν χρήση ὁρισμένων ἑλληνικῶν γραμματοσειρῶν Type1 μὲ τὸ TEXκαὶτὸΩ. Ο Laurie Fieldπαρουσίασεμίανέαἑλληνικὴ γραμματοσειρά, ἀποδεικνύοντας ἔτσι ὅτι τὸ METAFONT ζεῖ καὶ βασιλεύει(στὸ πακέτο lfd). Νέα ἐργαλεῖα παρουσιάστηκαν γιὰ τὴν στοιχειοθεσία ἀρχαίων ἑλληνικῶν(στὰ πακέτα ibygrk, ibycus-babel καὶ bgreek). Βελτιώσεις εἴχαμε καὶ στὰ πακέτα cbgreek καὶ greektex. Εἴχαμε, τέλος, τὴν δημιουργία τῶν γραμματοσειρῶν byzfonts γιὰ τὴν στοιχειοθεσία ἐκκλησιαστικῆς μουσικῆς ἀπὸ τὸν Γιάννη Βαμβακᾶ(λεπτομέρειες σὲ ἄρθρο ἰδιάζουσας ὀρθογραφίας ποὺ δημοσιεύεται στὸ παρὸν τεῦχος). Ενα δυσάρεστο συμβὰν ἦταν ἡ διακοπὴ τῆς συνεργασίας τοῦ Συλλόγου μὲ τὸ Δημοκρίτειο Πανεπιστήμιο γιὰ τὴν ἔκδοση τοῦ Εὐτύπου, λόγῳ στενότητας χρημάτων ἐκ μέρους τοῦ Πανεπιστημίου. Πάντως, ἐξ ὀνόματος ὅλων τῶν μελῶν τοῦ Συλλόγου, ἐμεῖς εὐχαριστοῦμετὸδπθγιὰτὴνσυμβολήτουστὴνἔκδοσητοῦπεριοδικοῦ. Αὐτὸν τὸν καιρὸ ἀναζητοῦμε νέον ἐκδότη, ἀλλὰ μέχρι νὰ βρεθεῖ νέος ἐκδότης, εἴμαστε ἀναγκασμένοι νὰ ἀναστείλουμε τὴν ἔντυπη ἔκδοση. Θὰ προσπαθήσουμε πάντως νὰ κρατήσουμε τὴν ἠλεκτρονικὴ ἔκδοση τοῦ Εὐτύπου, γιατί, ὅπως δείχνουν τὰ πράγματα, τὸ ἐνδιαφέρον τοῦ κόσμου γιὰ τὸ TEX καὶ τὴν ποιοτικὴ τυπογραφία γενικότερα παραμένει ἀμείωτο. Μὲ TEXνικοὺς χαιρετισμούς, Η Συντακτικὴ Επιτροπὴ

4 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 4 #4 Τὸ στοιχειοθετήθηκεμὲτὸ L A TEX. Ωςβασικὰπακέταχρησιμοποιήθηκαντὸ article,τὸ eutypon(ἕνανέοδικόμαςπακέτοποὺὁρίζειτὴνδιάταξητῆς σελίδας), καὶ τὸ babel μὲ τὴν ἀγγλικὴ καὶ τὴν ἑλληνικὴ ἐπιλογή. Γιὰ τὶς διάφορες γραφικὲς παραστάσεις, χρησιμοποιήθηκαν ἐπίσης τὰ πακέτα graphicx, color καὶ wrapfig. Η γκραβούρα ἑτούτης τῆς σελίδας μὲ τίτλο«compositeur d imprimerie» («Στοιχειοθέτης τυπογραφείου») προέρχεται ἀπὸ τὸ βιβλίο τῆς G. Bruno: Francinet, livre de lecture courante: Cours moyen et supérieur (Frères Belin, Paris 1884). Η γκραβούρα μὲ τίτλο«jeu de chat» στὸ τέλος τῆς Βιβλιοπαρουσίασης εἶναι παρμένη ἀπὸ παλιὸ γαλλικὸ σχολικὸ ἐγχειρίδιο καὶ προέρχεται ἀπὸ τὸ εἰκονικὸ μουσεῖο Η εἰκόνα τοῦ ὀπισθόφυλλου(«επιστρέφω σὲ λίγο») εἶναι μιὰ πρόχειρη σημείωση ποὺ μᾶς ἄφησε ὁ πιεστὴς τοῦ τυπογραφείου μας. Εκτοτε ἔχουν χαθεῖ τὰ ἴχνη του. Ο γραμμικὸς κώδικας τοῦ ὀπισθόφυλλου εἶναι μιὰ εὐγενικὴ προσφορὰ τοῦ Γιάννη Χαραλάμπους(yannis@fluxus-virus.com). Η πρώτη ἐκτύπωση ἔγινε μὲ τὸ πρόγραμμα dvips σὲ ἐκτυπωτὴ HP LaserJet 1200 Series (1200 dpi). Η φωτοτυπικὴ ἀναπαραγωγὴ καὶ ἡ βιβλιοδεσία πραγματοποιήθηκαν στὴν Ξάνθη.

5 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 1 #5!)*."$ DA D 0@$)%!"$ >EE 1 The Olympics of TEX! " # $ % & ' () *+, TEX -. / :;< = A:BCD =E F8 9 AF6B6 G EH 56@;< B>IJ? C6H K6< L IJ> = >:AM I8= 8 F8 BE: NOE 8B;= 56 = >:P:BE=E BJ> L 758Q;R9 E = BE: TEX Users Group S P:9 E BJ T 8IBAFU C5J BJ> NVVW X Abstract An international meeting on digital typography, which coincided with the 25th annual meeting of the TEX Users Group, took place in Xanthi, Greece, in September of Ενώ όλη η χώρα ετοιμαζόταν να ξα- While Greece was still huffing and ποστάσει από τη φρενήρη κούρσα των puffing from the final sprint for the Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων της Αθήνας και Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and ναξαναρχίσειμίανέαεξίσουσυναρπα- was about to start a new run for the στική περιπλάνηση στους παραολυμπια Paraolympics, the small town of κούςαγώνες,ηακριτικήπόλητηςξάν- Xanthi, in NE Greece was about to θης φιλοξενούσε τους δικούς της αγώ- start its own Olympics. But in Xanthi, νες. Δεν έγιναν φυσικά αγωνίσματα ή there were no track-and-field games άλλες εκδηλώσεις που να αφορούσαν nor anything else related to common την Ολυμπιάδα. Η Ξάνθη υποδέχθηκε Olympiads. Xanthi was playing the εκπροσώπους της διεθνούς κοινότητας host for representatives of the world σε μια συνάντηση με θέμα το TEX, τη community who attended a meeting γλώσσα XMLκαιάλλαθέματατουευ- on TEX, XML and other issues of what ρύτερου χώρου πουκαλούμε ψηφιακή is commonly called digital typography. τυπογραφία.μάλιστα,ησυνάντησηαυ- In fact, this meeting was the first (silτή συνέπεσε με το πρώτο(το ασημένιο) ver) jubilee of the annual TEX Users ιωβηλαίο της ετήσιας συνάντησης του Group meeting. TUG, του TEX Users Group. Beyond the beautiful city of Xan- Οικοδεσπότες ήταν η πανέμορφη α- thi, other hosts included the Democriκριτική πόλη, το φιλόξενο Δημοκρίτειο tus University of Thrace, which of- Πανεπιστήμιο, που διέθεσε το συνεδρια- fered its conference centre, and our κότουκέντρο,καιοδικόςμαςσύλλο- own Greek TEX Friends group. With

6 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 2 #6 2 The Olympics of TEX γος φίλων του TEX. Με εξαίρεση κά- the exception of a few international ποια διεθνή ή και ελληνικά συνέδρια τυ- or national conferences on typography πογραφίας που γίνονται σε μεγάλα αστι- that take place in big urban centres, κάκέντρα,νομίζουμεπωςαυτήήτανη we believe that this was the first time πρώτηφοράπουτέτοιαδιεθνήςσυνάν- that such a conference took place in a τηση έγινε στη χώρα μας και μάλιστα σε small remote town in Greece. μια ακριτική περιοχή. Among the many nice surprises of Στις πολλές εκπλήξεις του συνεδρί- the meeting, we must first highlight ου πρέπει να συγκαταλέξουμε την πολύ the very good work of the organising καλή δουλειά τόσο της οργανωτικής ε- and scientific committees. The scienπιτροπής, όσο και της επιστημονικής tific committee had arranged for the επιτροπής του συνεδρίου. Μάλιστα, η ε- timely publication of the meeting proπιστημονική επιτροπή είχε ήδη μεριμνή- ceedings by the international publiσειγιατηνέγκαιρηέκδοσητωνπρα- cation house of Springer in the clasκτικών του συνεδρίου από το διεθνή sic LNCS (Lecture Notes in Computer οίκο Springer,ταοποίακαιεντάχθη- Science) series. 2 As far as we know, κανστηνκλασικήπλέονσειρά LNCS: this was the first time that the pro- Lecture Notes in Computer Science. ceeding of a meeting on TEX were pub- Από όσο γνωρίζουμε είναι πρώτη φορά lished ahead of the meeting (usually it που πρακτικά συνεδρίου του TEX εκτυ- takes some time after the meeting until πώνονται πριν γίνει το συνέδριο(συνή- the proceedings appear in TUGboat or θωςαργούν,πολλέςφορέςμάλισταπερ- elsewhere). This way, the participants νούν χρόνια μέχρι να εκτυπωθούν στο in the meeting had the chance to read TUGboat ή αλλού). Ετσι, όλοι οι σύνε- the papers that they were presented δροι είχαν τη δυνατότητα να διαβάσουν while still in the conference, and this τα άρθρα που παρουσιάστηκαν κατά τη allowed for a constructive and fruitδιάρκεια του συνεδρίου και να γίνει μια ful exchange of opinions and ideas. γόνιμη και δημιουργική ανταλλαγή ιδε- Moreover, the organising committee ών και απόψεων. Φυσικά, η οργανωτική had arranged for some more perks επιτροπή είχε φροντίσει και κάθε σύνε- for the attendees: Each attendee reδρος έπαιρνε και ένα κομψότατο t-shirt ceived a very nice t-shirt with a drawμε σχέδιο που φιλοτέχνησε ειδικά για το ing made exclusively for the meeting συνέδριο ο Duane Bibby, που είναι και by Duane Bibby, who is the official οεπίσημοςσκιτσογράφοςτου TEX.Ε- TEX cartoonist. Also, for the needs of πίσης, και για τις ανάγκες προβολής του the meeting, the Greek TeX Friends συνεδρίου, ο σύλλογος απευθύνθηκε asked Stathis Stavropoulos, a wellστον έλληνα σκιτσογράφο Στάθη Σταυ- known Greek cartoonist (also known ρόπουλο(ο γνωστός«στάθης»), ο ο- by his first name only as Stathis ) ποίος έφτιαξε την αφίσα του προγράμ- to make the drawing for the meeting ματος του συνεδρίου. Στον διαδικτυακό poster. The web site of the Democritus χώρο του Δημοκρίτειου Πανεπιστημί- University of Thrace still has informaου φιλοξενείται η σελίδα με πληροφορί- tion about the meeting. The interested

7 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 3 #7 Οι ολυμπιακοί αγώνες του TEX 3 ες για το συνέδριο. Η διεύθυνση είναι: reader can find more information at: και εκεί θα βρείτε περισσότερες πληρο- The meeting coincided with the φορίες για το συνέδριο. Upper Town festivities, which take Το συνέδριο συνέπεσε και με τις place in Xanthi every summer. That γνωστές γιορτές της άνω πόλης που was a good opportunity for Greek and γίνονται κάθε καλοκαίρι στην Ξάνθη. non-greek TEXnicians alike to learn Μια ευκαιρία για έλληνες και αλλοδα- about the cultural life of Xanthi and πούς TEXνίτες να γνωρίσουν την πολι- Greece, to walk in Xanthi s neighbourτιστικήζωήτηςπόληςκαιτηςχώρας, hoods and to taste a bit of its life and να περπατήσουν στις γειτονιές της και spirit. ναγευτούνλίγοαπότηζωήκαιτοκέφι Many attendees came from all over της. Europe, America and Africa, but ad- Αν και οι επισκέπτες-σύνεδροι προ- mittedly the participation of Greek atέρχονταν από πολλές χώρες της Ευρώ- tendees was rather limited. Obviously, πης, της Αμερικής αλλά και της Αφρι- there was Apostolos Syropoulos with κής, δυστυχώς, η ελληνική συμμετοχή his collaborators and colleagues from ήταν πολύ περιορισμένη. Φυσικά παρών the Laboratory of Data Analysis of ήταν ο Απόστολος Συρόπουλος, μαζί με the Democritus University of Thrace. πολλούς συνεργάτες και συναδέλφους There was Ioannis Dimakos. Our good από το Εργαστήριο Ανάλυσης Δεδομέ- collaborator Dimitrios Filippou was νωντουδπθ.παρώνήτανκιογιάν- absent, even though he had to present νης Δημάκος. Απουσίαζε ωστόσο ο κα- a very good piece of work about λός μας συνάδελφος Δημήτρης Φιλίπ- what else? hyphenation of ancient που, αν και είχε να παρουσιάσει μια πο- and modern Greek. λύ καλή δουλειά που αφορούσε τι άλ- The opening ceremony of meeting λο συστήματασυλλαβισμούγιατην took place while Athens was celebratαρχαίακαιτηνέαελληνικήγλώσσα. ing the end of the 2004 Olympics. Af- Η τελετή έναρξης του συνεδρίου έ- ter the usual salutes from local ofλαβε χώρα όταν στην Αθήνα εόρταζαν ficials, Barbara Beeton from TUGτηντελετήλήξηςτωνΟλυμπιακώνα- boat opened the meeting and in fluent γώνων. Μετά τους καθιερωμένους χαι- Greek welcomed in Xanthi the meetρετισμούς από τους επίσημους, η Bar- ing attendees. Then Apostolos came bara Beeton από το TUGBoat άνοιξε to the podium to present his general τη συνάντηση και σε άπταιστα ελληνικά concerns about the meeting and the καλωσόρισε τους σύνεδρους στην Ξάν- interferences from some other TEX θη.οαπόστολοςπήρετησκυτάληστη LUGs, which tried in vain to cancel συνέχεια και έθεσε τους γενικούς προ- the meeting in Xanthi. βληματισμούς του συνεδρίου, ενώ δεν Browsing through the very nice παρέλειψε να αναφερθεί και σε κάποιες proceedings volume, one notices a παρεμβολές που έγιναν από άλλους ε- great variety of subjects, which gave θνικούς συλλόγους με σκοπό να μη γί- the meeting participants a unique

8 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 4 #8 4 The Olympics of TEX νει το ετήσιο συνέδριο του TEX στην chance to talk freely, bring out their Ξάνθη. concerns and ideas, and pose questions Ξεφυλλίζοντας τον ποιοτικότατο τό- like: where s TEX heading to? what s μο των πρακτικών, βλέπει κανείς μια going on with the new L A TEX? is TEX ποικιλία θεματολογίας που έδωσε τη eclipsed by XML and Internet? Above δυνατότητα στους συνέδρους να μιλή- all, the meeting gave an opportunity σουν, να αναπτύξουν την προβληματική to TEXnicians and TEXperts to meet τους, και να θέσουν ερωτήματα, όπως: with each other and to exchange exπού πηγαίνει το TEX; τι γίνεται με το periences and ideas about the typesetνέο L A TEX;θαξεπεραστείτο TEXαπό ting tools they are using. τη γλώσσα XML και από το διαδίκτυο; The meeting was a valuable experi- Κυρίως όμως, το συνέδριο έδωσε την ence for the Greek TEX Friends, the orευκαιρία σε πολλούς TEXνίτες και αρ- ganising committee, and the meeting χιtexνίτες να συναντηθούν, να γνω- attendees. Until the next Olympiad ριστούν και να ανταλλάξουν εμπειρίες eh, until the next Greek TEX meeting, και απόψεις για το σύστημα τυπογρα- let s keep up the spirits and continue φίας που χρησιμοποιούν. to produce wonderful prints, techni- Το συνέδριο ήταν μια πολύτιμη εμ- cal and non-technical, with the help of πειρία για το σύλλογο, την οργανωτική TEX. επιτροπή που μερίμνησε με πολύ κόπο ώστεόλαναείναιέτοιμα,καιτουςσύνεδρους που το παρακολούθησαν. Μέχρι τηνεπόμενηολυμπιάδα,... εεε,μέχρι το επόμενο ελληνικό συνέδριο του TEX, ας συνεχίσουμε να παράγουμε πανέμορφακείμενα,τεχνικάήμη,μετηβοήθεια του TEX. D $)!$ 5-43 )", )", ',3# T ", " ) 3 ) /" ') $!$),'3. )" +*--"/" +,.",-" ')(3 (-$) EX')!2 "3!$2 #!*',3'(< "'" $! -( "" $!/ =) ')"3 1.')"-" apostolo@obelix.ee.duth.gr > The Greek TEX Friends group has still some left over copies of the meetings proceedings. These copies are available at reduced price. For more information, please contact Apostolos Syropoulos at the address: apostolo@obelix.ee.duth.gr.

9 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 5 #9 Οι ολυμπιακοί αγώνες του TEX / 2 TUG 2004 Xanthi, the beautiful host of TUG / Barbara Beeton Some TUG attendees during a break in the sun. Barbara Beeton with a cow-boy hat.

10 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 6 #10 6 The Olympics of TEX / / Intense discussion by meeting attendees around a burger steak TEX TEX 2 2. / 0 Some Greek TEXnicians, together with a TEXling, in search for calories.

11 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 7 #11!)*."$ DA D 0@$)%!"$ >EE 7 Two L A TEX-to-Web Tools Steve Mayer Poole, UK mayer@dial.pipex.com Abstract This paper discusses two tools which can help users produce mathematical output for use on the Internet. TeX Converter is a Windows front-end to four different command line L A TEX to HTML conversion programs. These will convert documents from a single sheet up to books divided into chapters. TeX Converter allows users to run these programs easily without having to deal with complicated command lines, create batch files, DOS windows or worry about paths. The options that these programs offer can be chosen from a graphical interface. In addition, TeX Converter can be used to produce DVI and PDF files. LatexRender is a series of scripts written in PHP that can be used in programs such as online forums to allow users to type L A TEX commands in their basic text editors. LatexRender will convert these commands into images showing the mathematical formulæ. This is particularly useful to students who wish to discuss mathematical ideas and problems. LatexRender uses a cache to re-use previously rendered images and takes into account security considerations. A number of online sites using LatexRender are listed, including ones that use mimetex as an alternative to L A TEX. 1 Introduction There is a growing demand for mathematics to be viewed on the Internet and L A TEX is a good place to start, because: L A TEX is the natural way to typeset mathematics; many people have L A TEX expertise; there is a large number of L A TEX resources; only a text editor is required to input L A TEX commands;

12 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 8 #12 8 S. Mayer L A TEX outputs high quality mathematics. There are two quite distinct requirements for putting mathematics on the web: 1. use of complete documents, from a single sheet to complete books with chapters, which may need to be revised frequently; 2. insertion of a mathematical formula into a text discussion. MathML 1 has been developed to include mathematics in web pages. It has the great advantage that it is text, so it loads quickly and it is also resizable and can satisfy disability requirements. 2 But MathML suffers from two flaws unlike L A TEX it is complicated to type manually, requiring a specialized editor, and it is not natively supported by mainstream browsers without plug-ins such as MathPlayer 3 for Internet Explorer 6. MathML could be a format for the future, if all browsers choose to support it. This paper discusses two tools which can help to deal with putting math into the Web, namely, TeX Converter and LatexRender. The latest versions of both of these tools are available from tex.htm. 2 TeX Converter 2.1 Background A number of programs have been developed to tackle the conversion of L A TEX documents to HTML. Since HTML does not have the precision that L A TEX uses and different browsers can present information quite differently, this conversion process can never be exact. However, there are structural similarities between the two systems (for a discussion, see [1], pp ) which means that acceptable results can be obtained. Two approaches to the conversion are common: 1. rely on HTML s facilities (such as symbols and tables) with a text driven page. Such pages are fast to produce and quick to load in a browser; 2. use images to give much more precise output. The mathematical output can be excellent. Samples of such output can be found at samples/example.htm from four different programs: HeVeA, TtH, TeX4ht and LaTeX2HTML. The differences between these programs are summarised below

13 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 9 #13 Two L A TEX-to-Web Tools HeVeA 4 Advantages Fast conversion Understands L A TEX so does not require a compiler or other external programs Produces fast-loading text-only pages Customisable using configuration files Can produce plain text or info files French version available Installation instructions 5 Native-code version may allow real time conversion 6 User mailing list 7 Disadvantages Cannot display complicated mathematics Support for other languages limited User may need to write additional L A TEX macros Cannot convert Plain TEX source 2.3 TtH 8 Advantages Incredibly fast conversion Can be used for real time conversion Extremely simple to install and use. Only requires one.exe file Converts Plain TEX source 4 maranget/hevea/index.html

14 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 10 #14 10 S. Mayer Understands L A TEX so does not require a compiler or other external programs Produces fast-loading text-only pages Online manual 9 MathML version available 10 Disadvantages Cannot display complicated mathematics Limited options Advanced options available in commercial version TtHGold 11 MathML version needs to be purchased 2.4 TeX4ht 12 Advantages Excellent output Can show any mathematics that L A TEX can produce Highly configurable Includes all the features of L A TEX such as automatic numbering, Babel, table of contents, etc. Converts Plain TEX source MathML, XHTML and other output options Installation instructions for MiKTeX 13 and Scientific Workplace 14 Detailed description in The L A TEX Web Companion [1] Output log files can produce further guidance gurari/tex4ht/mn.html

15 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 11 #15 Two L A TEX-to-Web Tools 11 Constantly upgraded without imposing any requirements for user to upgrade Author provides support in comp.text.tex 15 Author provides upgrade for feature requests Disadvantages Conversion can be slow Graphics files can produce slower loading pages High degree of flexibility can make the program complicated to use Requires L A TEX compiler and external programs such as ImageMagick and Ghostscript 2.5 LaTeX2HTML 16 Advantages Good output Can show any mathematics that L A TEX can produce Includes all the features of L A TEX such as automatic numbering, Babel, table of contents etc etc Highly configurable Open source maintained by its users Most well-known of the programs; support via other users readily available Detailed description in The L A TEX Web Companion [1] Mailing list for support news:comp.text.tex

16 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 12 #16 12 S. Mayer Disadvantages Conversion can be slow Graphics files can produce slower loading pages High degree of flexibility can make the program complicated to use Requires L A TEX compiler and external programs such as Perl, Netpbm and Ghostscript Installation can be tricky May have memory problems with large files All of these programs are free 18 and work on a variety of operating systems. They all use command lines to run, which is where TeX Converter comes in. Windows users are not comfortable with command lines and DOS; even if they were happy to do so, lines such as htrun -mz myfile 3 "xhtml,jpg,fn-in,pic-tabbing" " -g.png" (for TeX4ht) or complicated set and path commands in, perhaps, a batch file, which have to be learned and typed and retyped correctly, make the business of conversion rather complicated. TeX Converter gives a Windows front-end to these programs, allowing the user to choose what they wish to do in a familiar graphical user interface environment (Figure 1). It automatically writes the relevant batch files, sorting out any environment, path or other variables, then runs the conversion program, showing the user the result (more details in Section 2.7). A number of examples of conversion to HTML, from a single formula to long documents with linked pages in frames produced using TeX Converter, can be found at More preview images can be found at preview.htm. Users of Scientific Workplace, Scientific Word and Scientific Notebook 19 have the option, within those programs, of converting to HTML. However, whilst being very fast, they do not offer the facilities that TeX4ht provides. Philip Viton s manual for TeX4ht discusses the details. 20 TeX Converter supports the files that these programs produce. 18 for some definition of free - Robin Fairbairns,

17 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 13 #17 Two L A TEX-to-Web Tools 13 Figure 1: TeX4ht Conversion 2.6 Using TeX Converter The desired conversion program(s) should be installed before using TeX Converter, though further programs can be installed later. TeX Converter has a standard Windows installer and it may be put in any directory since it can cope with long file and directory names; indeed it will help if an underlying L A TEX program has a problem with such file names. On starting TeX Converter for the first time, the user is asked to specify where the conversion programs, plus their dependent programs, are installed (Figure 2). The option of searching the drives for the relevant programs is also offered. It should be noted that not all four programs need be installed, just those that the user wishes to use. Once the program locations have been set, TeX Converter is ready to use. Having chosen the TEX file, pressing the Convert button will start the conversion process. On completion, the resulting HTML file will be shown in TeX Converter s own browser. This makes the whole process very fast and makes the inevitable repetition of 1. edit the TEX file 2. convert to HTML 3. re-edit the TEX file 4. change some options 5. re-convert

18 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 14 #18 14 S. Mayer Figure 2: Program Locations very easy to do. HeVeA and Tth are fast programs which run without user intervention. The error messages flash by too quickly to read, so TeX Converter saves them in a log file, which can be read using the View Log button. TeX4ht, LaTex2HTML, TeXify and pdflatex all use L A TEX and may need user input so the messages are shown in the DOS window. An option is available to pause the DOS window before it closes so that any messages can be read. The programs still produce a log which again will be shown by the View Log button after conversion. All four conversion programs have a number of options which affect the output and these options can be set (and remembered between sessions) inside TeX Converter. For example, the user may wish to output the HTML files into a different directory, use PNG files for images instead of GIF files, cut up the files into chapters, or use numerous other options (Figure 3). The aim however is that conversion can be effected with the default settings. Indeed, since there are DVI and PDF output tabs, it can be simple to use TeX

19 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 15 #19 Two L A TEX-to-Web Tools 15 Figure 3: Advanced Options for TeX4ht Converter this way as a GUI for MiKTeX. 2.7 How TeX Converter Works TeX Converter is written in Visual Basic. This allows the program to interact deeply with Windows and be reasonably sure that it will remain compatible with future and past Windows versions. Since the Visual Basic compiler is a commercial system, the source code is not supplied, though TeX Converter itself is freeware. P. T. Kornan is hoping to port TeX Converter to MacOS X, but this is definitely non-trivial considering the close relationship between Visual Basic and Windows. TeX Converter is compatible with all current version of 32-bit Windows ie Windows 95 onwards; in Windows 9x, however, the supplied convert.bat file may need extra memory allocated to it to prevent Out of Environment messages appearing. This is easily achieved by: Open Windows Explorer Right-click on convert.bat and choose Properties Click on the Program tab Ensure that the Close on exit box is ticked Click on the Memory tab

20 eutypon /11/25 11:49 page 16 #20 16 S. Mayer In the Initial Environment dropdown box select 1024 Press OK TeX Converter passes instructions to DOS to run the conversion program. However, the command line on older Windows systems is restricted to under approximately 127 characters, which is far too small for some complicated commands, especially if accompanied by deeply nested filenames. Instead, TeX Converter runs a batch file. Normally, batch files use parameters on the command line for their variables but, here again, this runs up against the 127 character limit. The solution to this is for TeX Converter to write the version of the batch file (convert.bat) it needs; or rather, it replaces a few lines of a pre-written convert.bat and then runs the program. This is very fast so that there is no noticeable speed drop doing this. With the close relationship between Visual Basic and Windows, TeX Converter is able to run the DOS program asynchronously whilst still monitoring its progress. For long conversion processes (large documents with TeX4ht or LaTeX2HTML can take some time to process, depending on the power of the computer), the user can then continue to use TeX Converter, even running another conversion if they wish. On completion of the process, TeX Converter then opens the resulting HTML file in its own browser, or another browser if so selected. During and after the call to the conversion program TeX Converter may need to make changes to the files being used, including the original TEX file. It is a cardinal principle that TeX Converter does not alter the original files. The user will always be able to go back to these files and make their own changes without finding them already altered. To do this, TeX Converter copies all the original files to a user-defined directory and only makes alterations to these files. Some of the changes that may be made are: 1. L A TEX and its associated programs do not cope well with spaces in filenames so TeX Converter will offer to replace spaces or the~(tilde) symbol in a copy of the file. 2. In TeX4ht the line \usepackage[options]{tex4ht} may need to be added. 3. Included files (including graphics) may need to be brought together into the destination directory, in which case the paths in the (copied) TEX file may need altering. 4. The resulting HTML file(s) may need altering to point to images in a separate images directory. All of this is transparent to the user.