Contents of this readme: * Why TeX? * Where can I get TeX for my local computer? Here is the reasoning behind using TeX, as opposed to any other format, for distributing the latin texts. Whatever format is used, it must meet certain criteria: 1. READABILITY. Anyone, anywhere, on any computer, ought to be able to read the texts as they are without any modification whatsoever. This refers both to the use of ``special'' characters and to the basic intelligibility of the file. 2. CONVERTABILITY. Whatever format it is, it has to be able to be converted to at least ASCII, and preferably to other formats as well. (ASCII is the best format for searches; alia aliis.) 3. PRETTINESS. Someone with sufficient resources---a workstation, or even a personal computer of moderate capability, provided it can deliver quality output on video or hardcopy---should be able to get professional quality output in a direct manner from the text, without doing too much work and especially without having to spend any money. Most word-processing formats, although they meet criteria (2) and (3) admirably, fail (1) entirely. PostScript and RTF, although they are written in subsets of ASCII, are not intelligible to a normal human, and so they too fail condition (1). Most PostScript fails (2) as well. ASCII and SGML fail condition (3).(*) (*) - Actually SGML can be made to produce high-quality output. However the tools to do this are not as common as TeX; and one of the ways is to convert the SGML to TeX---so why not have it in TeX to begin with? The TeX family of text formatters does the job well. It is free, to be had by anonymous FTP (OzTeX for the Mac, EmTeX for the IBM PC, and others by other names); TeX documents are written in a subset of standard ASCII; they are understandable even without TeX to format them; and TeX can produce professional-quality output if given a suitable output device. The only sticky point is point (2). Although it is simple enough to strip off the formatting codes from a TeX document, (a la the l2a program) some more complicated formatting would be desireable; in particular, automatic line numbering for poetry and preparation of footnotes are necessary. There is not any package that currently offers this sort of translation for a full-blown TeXnical manuscript, at least none that I am aware of; however, for the subset of TeX that the classical MSS. will be written in, it is easy anough to make a translator adequate to the purpose. So, the tex2asc program is in libellus/utils waiting to transform the TeX of the documents into ASCII, for use in word searches and such things. The following is from Bobby Bodenheimer's TeX FAQ list, posted often to the newsgroup comp.text.tex; the excerpts tell how to get TeX for a given machine and OS. ======================================================================== 7) What is OzTeX and where can I get it (TeX for the Mac)? OzTeX is a public domain version of TeX for the Macintosh. A DVI Previewer and PostScript driver are also included. It should run on any Macintosh Plus, SE, II, or newer model, but will not work on a 128K or 512K Mac. It was written by Andrew Trevorrow, and is available via anonymous ftp from from midway.uchicago.edu (128.135.12.73) in ./pub/OzTeX, which contains other public domain TeX-related software for the Mac as well, or on a floppy disk from TUG (see question 11). Questions about OzTeX may be directed to oztex@midway.uchicago.edu. 19) Where do I get TeX/LaTeX for machine Y running Q? Unix - The Unix TeX distribution is no longer available via anonymous ftp from one location. An up-to-date version of Unix TeX can be assembled, however, by ftp'ing from several different sites. If you don't want to do this, you can order it from the University of Washington, for a small [OK, not very small --ks] fee. Contact: Director Northwest Computing Support Center Thomson Hall, Mail Stop DR-10 University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195 (USA) (206)543-6259 or send electronic mail to Elizabeth Tachikawa at elisabet@max.u.washington.edu (note the ``s''). The fee charged for getting the TeX distribution through the University of Washington helps fund the further development of Unix TeX, so it's a good idea to order it this way. This distribution compiles under Ultrix. Executables for the 386/ix are available via anonymous ftp from tik.vtt.fi (130.188.52.2) in ./pub/tex/bin-386ix and from math.berkeley.edu (128.32.183.94) in ./pub/tex386ix.tar.Z. To get TeX via anonymous ftp, first get the current web2c distribution from ftp.cs.umb.edu (192.12.26.23) in ./pub/tex. If you plan on using METAFONT, also grab the current version of modes.mf (see question 18). The web2c distribution will allow you to create initex, virtex, inimf, virmf, bibtex, and several programs for manipulating fonts. Next you will need the basic TeX and METAFONT macro files, available from labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.112) in ./pub/tex/lib. The basic BibTeX style files are here as well, in ./pub/tex/bibtex. If you want LaTeX, the current distribution is available from rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) in ./soft/tex/latex. I recommend LaTeX be installed with the New Font Selection Scheme (NFSS) (see question 35). It resides in ./soft/tex/latex-style-supported/nfss. If you want AMSLaTeX or AMSTeX, get them from e-math.ams.com (130.44.1.100) in ./ams. Finally, you need fonts. TeX itself needs font files with the extension ``.tfm''. Your output device driver needs fonts in a different format, probably ``.pk''. Both ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) and rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de maintain collections of fonts in these formats. These collections contain the necessary fonts for the plain format and LaTeX, and other fonts you might want. Alternatively, the necessary font formats can be generated from the METAFONT source, either by you, or automatically if you use the dvips driver mentioned in question 2. The METAFONT sources are available from the ymir and rusinfo archives. Note that I have tried to mention the definitive sources for all the programs above. The nearest archive server (see question 22) may have everything mentioned above, without having to ftp around the world. AIX - TeX for the IBM RS6000 running AIX can be found on rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) in ./soft/tex/machines/unix/aix3.1. PC - A TeX package for the PC, including LaTeX, BibTeX, previewers, and drivers is available via anonymous ftp from vax.eedsp.gatech.edu (130.207.226.7) in ./pub/TeX. The variety here is sbtex version 30 by Wayne Sullivan. EmTeX, another TeX package for the PC by Eberhard Mattes, is available via anonymous ftp from rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) in ./soft/tex/machines/pc/emtex and also from niord.shsu.edu (192.92.115.8) in [.emtex]. This package includes LaTeX, METAFONT, BibTeX, etc., as well. Documentation is available in both German and English. All Public Domain TeX software for the PC is also available through TUG. A catalog is available free from them at the address given in question 11. This collection is maintained by Jon Radel, who will answer technical questions on the material (with no service guarantee). Send electronic mail to jon@radel.com. Mac - see question 7 for a public domain version. TOPS-20 - TeX was originally written on a DEC-10 under WAITS, and so was easily ported to TOPS-20. A Distribution that runs on TOPS-20 is available via anonymous ftp from science.utah.edu (128.110.198.2) in ./pub/tex/pub/web. VAX/VMS - VMS executables are available via anonymous ftp from ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) in [.tex.exe]. Source is available in [.tex.sources]. Version 3.1 is available in [.tex.sources.tex3_1]. Ymir has a mailserver for those without ftp access, although executables are not available through it. Send a message containing the line ``help'' to mailserv@ymir.claremont.edu. Standard tape distribution is through DECUS or Maria Code. Atari - TeX is available for the Atari ST from atari.archive.umich.edu (141.211.164.8) in ./atari/tex. If anonymous ftp is not available to you, send a message containing the line ``help'' to atari@atari.archive.umich.edu. The mail server can uuencode binary files. Another version can be obtained via anonymous ftp from ifi.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.211.1) in ./pub/atari.st/tex. There is also lots of TeX stuff for the Atari on the rusinfo and ftp.cs.ruu.nl archives mentioned in question 22. Amiga - Disk 1 of the Amiga CommonTeX distribution is available via anonymous ftp from ab20.larc.nasa.gov (128.155.23.64) in ./amiga/commontex.lzh. The file copying.tex in the distribution contains information on how to obtain the other disks. Also, experimental versions of TeX 3.1 and METAFONT 2.7 are available in ./incoming/amiga/TEX. There is also a full implementation of TeX 3.1 called PasTeX available via anonymous ftp from forwiss.uni-passau.de (132.231.1.10) in ./pub/amiga/tex. Tandy 6000 - If you are interested in building TeX on this machine contact Ken Yap (ken@syd.dit.csiro.au), and he'll help you. \bye