[OS X TeX] Card Format

[David Watson]

On May 6, 2009, at 2:23 PM, Alain Schremmer wrote:

> Is there a way to get something like the following look for each  
> single page of a book? (Hence the name "card format")? The idea is  
> that the outer lines are always on the margins and the inner lines  
> can be changed to accommodate the contents of the boxes.
>
> In other words, the line between Example and Solution should be  
> easily changeable from page to page, ditto for the line between  
> Exercises and Answers and same for the horizontal double line  
> between top and bottom. (No need for such a separation as in the  
> sample)
>
> I was thinking of minipages with the contents done as usual but I  
> don't see how to ensure that each "card" is exactly on one page nor  
> how to make the sum of the widths of the boxes equal to the width of  
> the page, nor how to make the sum of the heights of the boxes equal  
> to the height of the page.
>
> From a quick read of Companion 2ed, the geometry package does not  
> seem to deal with that, tabulars are not fixed and Companion 2ed  
> does not seem to address this type of stuff at all.
>
> Very hopeful regards
> --Regards

I know it's apples and oranges, but I always liked the kinds of  
textbooks that provided something like the following

---- begin demo ----
| Example: given the two functions whose rules are...
|     ...elaboration of example
|
| Solution: to compute fog(x), evaluate f(x)
|     ...elaboration of solution

Exercise:
1)

2)

3) ...
---- end demo ----

There would be a bar to the left of the example and solution, then  
exercises would follow.
This would be simple enough using a self-rolled environment, along  
with an appropriately placed \vrule

I know this isn't what you are looking for, but it keeps the flow  
going linearly, instead of breaking up the natural flow of text.
I think this helps when it comes to challenged students who have a  
hard time following instructions.