[tex-eplain] Indexing and how to determine file dependencies

Guy Worthington guyw@multiline.com.au
21 Feb 2001 22:29:10 +0800


Hello John, 

You are perfectly correct in reading my Makefile.  I am using just one
tex source file to create all my auxiliary files (well just a .toc and
.idx file) and create a dvi file; I am also using the same sequence as
you describe. 

> Perhaps Guy has a situation in mind where the make program would add
> value and can explain that situation to us.

There's no deep significance in my using a Makefile except, perhaps,
that I use emacs as my text editor, and that Makefiles are well
catered for within emacs.

As you gently hint (and everyone else has been kindly biting their
tongues) I think I'm asking a question as unique to each project as
how do I format my book.  I guess I'll keep pottering away at my
Makefile 'til it behaves.

On an eplain note, I like the \description environment in TeXsis,
except for I have no control over where it breaks the label text for
an item, so I dug into the TeXbook, to come up with the following
solution:

-snip--------------------------------------------------------------
% byte.tex
{
    \parindent0pt \clubpenalty10000 \widowpenalty10000
    \def\exception_list#1&{
        \hangindent8em \hbox to7em{#1\hss}
        \ignorespaces
    }  
    \everypar={\exception_list}
    \def\\{\leavevmode{\tt }}

    \\{\bf Method} & {\bf Description}

    \smallskip

    \\write(int b) & This is an abstract method that is intended to
    write the low order byte of the argument~b to the output stream.

    \\write(byte[] b) & This method writes the array of bytes~b, to
    the output stream.

    \\write(byte b, & This method writes length bytes from the array b
    to the output

    \vskip-1\jot

    \\ int offset,\ \ & stream, starting with the element
    b[offset].

    \vskip-1\jot

    \\ int length) &

}

\bye
-snip-----------------------------------------------------------

This looks awful! Where I want the description to have TeX's normal
quality alignment (or at least left-justified) I have the poor quality
alignment as displayed.

Is there any chance of eplain being extended to include a description
environment?