[texhax] TeX Queries (1)
Paul Stanley
paulrichardstanley at gmail.com
Mon Jul 9 17:19:43 CEST 2012
Hi folks
A few Tex queries from the TeXBook. I'm looking at the TeX source,
however, you can download the PDF version at
http://net.ytu.edu.cn/share/%D7%CA%C1%CF/texbook.pdf :
chapter 1, page 1, paragraph 1:
English words like `technology' stem from a Greek root <elipsis>
which is an uppercase form of $\tau\epsilon\chi$.^^{TeX (actually
\TeX), meaning of} ^^|\tau|^^|\epsilon|^^|\chi|
Does `^^{ ... }' signify a margin note? I'm calling it a margine
note because it appears separate from the main text on the right edge
of the page.
I understand that in `^^|\tau|^^|\epsilon|^^|\chi|' each of the greek
letters is displayed as a separate margin note. What is the role of
the `|' in the script? I could be wrong, but it looks like a sort of
flag for bypassing code that is enclosed within (`| ... |' ). That
said, what's interesting is that the `\' in `\tau', `epsilon' etc. is
missing from the PDF.
paragraph 4:
On the other hand, it's important to notice <elipsis> other system
names. In fact, ^{TEX} (pronounced <elipsis> processor developed by
^{Honeywell Information Systems}. <elipsis> other medium that doesn't
allow lowering of the `E', is to type `^|TeX|'. <elipsis>
I've also noticed that text preceded by just one `^' appears both in
the paragraph where it's coded and as a margin note. Is that the
function of the single `^'?
chapter 2, page 3, paragraph 2:
In the first place, there are two kinds of <elipsis> that shows up as
something like {\tt\char'22}, and an apostrophe or right-quote that
looks like {\tt\char'15} or {\tt\char'23}.
`\char' according to some web sources maps numeric values to their
corresponding unicode characters. in the above extract the macro is
separated from the numeric value by an apostrophe. I've seen both a
grave accent (`) and a double quote mark (") used in examples on the
web. Do the symbols declare different things about the number that
follows them?
finally, what's the difference between `\eject' and `\vfil\eject'? I
understand `\ject' forces a page break. A `\vfil' prefix I hear
improves/mitigates the visual effect of `\ject' in certain
circs. Unfortunately, the text doesn't explain exactly what form the
improvmenet takes. Any clues would be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Paul
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