I need some help!

[Denis Girou]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the PSTricks mailing list, devoted to discussions about computational
graphics in (La)TeX using the PSTricks package from Timothy van Zandt.
For help using this mailing list, see instructions at the end of message.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>>>> "Isaiah.Shavitt" == Isaiah Shavitt <shavitt at chemistry.ohio-state.edu> writes:

    Isaiah.Shavitt> ...
    Isaiah.Shavitt> but I need to write more complex
    Isaiah.Shavitt> and more general macros that require more knowledge.

  Your requirement is obviously very relevant but unfortunately the situation
is clearly not good from this point of view.

  By itself, it would be already not easy as PSTricks require both a rather
good knowledge of both TeX and PostScript programming, which are two very
powerful languages, but both specially "surprising" for programmers using
"normal" procedural languages, and more with nothing in common each other.
There are rather good documentation on PostScript programming, but, from my
point of view, not really on TeX as a programming language (everything needed
is in the TeXbook, I surely know, but for more pedagogical presentations,
they are always embedded inside general TeX books and without concentrating on 
this subject).

  And the most important here, and specially for you who have already insights
on both TeX and PostScript, for PSTricks itself there is no programmer
documentation and even no commented code (in fact, there is the commented code
for PSTricks 0.93a in /home/alg/girou/tex/pst97/obsolete/src, but you must
know that there are a lot of changes in PSTricks 97, including the "pst-beta"
old material - and anyway you would be probably disappointed on it).

    Isaiah.Shavitt> Can somebody tell me where I can find definitions and information for 
    Isaiah.Shavitt> the following items:

    Isaiah.Shavitt> 	\pst at .... commands of various types

  No real hope... They are spreaded in all the code: just reserve some
numberous nights...

    Isaiah.Shavitt> 	\tvput command (I cannot find it in the PST documentation)

  CTAN/graphics/pstricks/obsolete/doc/betadoc1.ps page 23
(I recall that it is in an "obsolete" directory because this is the
documentation for the version 0.93 plus the old beta material, which doesn't
exactly describe PSTricks 97 - for a more up to date description, see the
PSTricks chapter of "The LaTeX Graphics Companion").

    Isaiah.Shavitt> 	Items such as ED, CLW, etc. which appear in PS code
    Isaiah.Shavitt> 	    (I assume these are defined in the PS dictionary stack used 
    Isaiah.Shavitt> 	    by PST, but how can I find out what they do?)

  In the PostScript header files. See for instance
CTAN/graphics/pstricks/dvips/pstricks.pro

    Isaiah.Shavitt> 	I still have difficulty getting PST lengths into the PS code in
    Isaiah.Shavitt> 	    (!ps) constructs, etc.  I can get arguments (#1, etc.) in 
    Isaiah.Shavitt> 	    without difficulty (as long as they are substituted by pure 
    Isaiah.Shavitt>            numbers), but not PST variables.

  Better send a reduced test case with what is working and what is not working.


  P.S. For the question you asked me previously on arrows inside lines, you can
look at my attempt two years ago:
http://www.tug.org/ListsArchives/pstricks/msg00093.html
(it could be also a good exercice for you on PSTricks programming!)
       For the other question you asked, I have still not look at it (my
backlog after holidays is still rather huge...)

D.G.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The list interface (subscription, information, access to the archives) is on:
http://www.tug.org/cgi-bin/lwgate/pstricks
Otherway to unsubscribe, send mail to pstricks-request at mail.tug.org
with a blank subject and in body the line unsubscribe <email-address>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------