The 2008-3 issue of The PracTeX Journal is now online. Below is the Table of Contents.<br><br>If you would like to contribute an article or note to the next issue, contact <a href="mailto:pracjourn@tug.org" target="_blank">the editors.</a><br>
<br>We hope you enjoy this issue.<br><br>Best regards,<br>Lance Carnes<br>Editor<br><br>
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<div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/" target="_blank">The PracTeX Journal</a></div>
<div>An online journal containing articles and news about TeX, LaTeX, and related publishing tools.
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<div><br><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/editor/" target="_blank">From the Editor</a></div>
<div>In this issue;
<br>Next issue: Best of PracTeX;
<br>Editorial: LaTeX and TeX on the Web</div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/feedback/" target="_blank">Feedback from readers</a></div>
<div>Letters to the editors.</div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/news/" target="_blank">News from Around</a></div>
<div>What is New in LaTeX; User group news — three print journal releases
<br></div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/wholeissue/" target="_blank">Whole Issue PDF for PracTeX Journal 2008-3</a></div>
<div>The 2008-3 issue in a single PDF.</div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/gratzer/" target="_blank">A gentle learning curve for LaTeX</a></div>
<div>George Gratzer. Is there an easy way to get started in LaTeX? I suggest that there is. </div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/morales/" target="_blank">Writing posters in LaTeX</a></div>
<div>Tomas
Morales de Luna. LaTeX is an excellent editor for the creation of
poster presentations. When writing a poster with LaTeX, several options
are available. Here we would like to present some of these options and
in particular the a0poster class and Brian Amberg's poster template. We
shall introduce the basics as well as some useful packages and
techniques to make your poster look nice. You can even choose to write
your poster sequentially or up from different text blocks positioned
absolutely or relatively within the page. </div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/thompson1/" target="_blank">Clinical trials management on the internet — I. Using LaTeX and SAS to produce customized forms</a></div>
<div>Paul
A. Thompson. In clinical trials, forms are used to gather data which is
then entered into a database. Paper-based forms are still the standard
for data collection, due to portability, stability, and storage
considerations. In producing forms, SI (a SAS product which works with
the Internet) is used to facilitate the entry of information about
participants in a clinical trial over the internet. Using LaTeX, the
forms are then processed to produce a .pdf file. The .pdf is returned
to the requesting party using a return page on the web browser. The
entire process takes about 20 seconds. The system allows highly
customized forms to be produced, in which values are inserted into
appropriate locations on the forms. LaTeX is important due to its
superior scripting capabilities, while SAS provides a very flexible
database to pull information to be inserted into the forms, as well as
providing a method for scripting up the entire transaction. The code
required for the process and general approach is outlined. </div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/thompson2/" target="_blank">Clinical trials management on the internet — II. Using LaTeX, PostScript, and SAS to produce barcode label sheets</a></div>
<div>Paul
A. Thompson. In clinical trials, it is often necessary to print labels
with barcodes to identify samples. The availability of open-source
tools for barcode management is still somewhat limited. Until recently,
no LaTeX tools existed for the manipulation and encoding of barcodes.
Using direct PostScript, barcode can be defined for strings to be
printed on labels. Using LaTeX, the labels can be queued up into
appropriate sizes for specific label sheets, and tnen converted into
.pdf files. Using SAS, the label sheets can be ordered in a web
environment, queued up into& appropriate files, and returned to
users in a printable file. </div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/arnold/" target="_blank">plasTeX: Converting LaTeX Documents to Other Markup Languages</a></div>
<div>Tim
Arnold. This article introduces plasTeX, a software package for
converting LaTeX documents to other markup languages. It begins with
usage details including examples of how to create HTML and DocBook XML
from LaTeX sources. Then, it describes development details: how plasTeX
works and how developers can use it to create or extend a publishing
workflow in a production setting. Finally, it ends with some examples
of customizing the parser and renderer as well as suggestions of how
others can contribute to this open source project. </div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/walden/" target="_blank">Travels in TeX Land: A sidebar for a book</a></div>
<div>David
Walden. In this column in each issue I muse on my wanderings around the
TeX world. In this issue I describe a small effort to typeset a sidebar
for a book project.
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<br></div></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/reviews/" target="_blank">Book reviews</a></div>
<div>More Math into LaTeX, by George Gratzer
<br>Tout ce que vous avez troujours voulu savoir sur LaTeX sans jamais oser le demander (in French), by Vincent Lozano
<br></div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/edwebs/" target="_blank">LaTeX & TeX web sites</a></div>
<div>A selection of LaTeX and TeX web sites that PracTeX Journal editors recommend.</div><br></div><div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/asknelly/" target="_blank">Ask Nelly: Q&A</a></div>
<div>How do I replace one overlay with another on a Beamer slide?
<br>How do I typeset ancient Greek quotations? </div><br></div><div><a href="http://tug.org/pracjourn/2008-3/distract/" target="_blank">Distractions: Writing recipes with LaTeX </a></div>
For
this issue of TPJ, we selected a package from an area which is usually
overlooked: cooking. There are several packages allowing you to have
fun writing your own recipes. We selected one: recipe.cls, by Maurizio
Loreti (it can be found on CTAN or you can take it from here). For an
example we chose an Italian recipe, from the book In a Roman Kitchen,
by Jo Bettoja (John Wiley, 2003). So, here they are, the Taxi Driver's
Eggplants and the source.
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