[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?