[texhax] Typing Chinese with plain TeX

唐 亚光 texnician at gmail.com
Fri Sep 3 18:42:09 CEST 2004


> Wouter wrote:

Hello Rodolfo:
I'm a Chinese and I'm glad to help you.
I translated the chinese install information for you, my english is
very poor, so I hope I will not mislead you.


>
>>> /usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lncurses
>
>>If you're on a linux distribution, it will probably feature a package
> called
>>ncurses-dev or libncurses-devel or something like that. On my Debian
>>GNU/Linux  system, the exact name is `libncurses5-dev'.
>
> Thanks indeed. By typing:
>
> #urpmi libncurses-devel
>
> cxterm could be installed.
> Edward G.J. Lee wrote:
>
>>> http://cxterm.sourceforge.net
>>
>>  This term is obsoleted in new Linux system. You can't compile it
>>  without modified the code. What Prof. Chen mean is you have to
>>  have a Chinese environment in your system to display Chinese
>>  messages.
>>
>>  You can install rxvt-CJK/rxvt from your CD or rpm sites instead.
>>  And you will need Chinese font too.
>
> On my pc I have Mandrake Linux 9.1,
> and now I can read and input Chinese on my terminal,
> so the installation of cxterm seems to have been succesful.
> Maybe you mean that there is some other problem with cxterm
> that I don't see yet now?
>
> My next problem now seems to be
> that during the installation of ChiTeX
> the user is asked in Chinese language to choose between different options,
> and I don't know Chinese.
> In particular, at a certain point you get a sort of a list of 4 different
> options:
>
> 已测到或你输入的目录:
>          1.  texmf 的目录 (一般为 /usr/.../texmf) 为:
>                2
>          2.  *.fmt 档所在的目录 (一般为 /usr/.../texmf/web2c) 为:
>                2
>          3.  .../texfonts 的目录 (一般为 /var/tmp/texfonts 或
>            /var/lib/texmf 或 /var/texfonts 其中含有子目录 tfm, pk 等) 为:
>                /var/lib/texmf
>             若无此目录, 你可能必须 run 'texmfconfig' 去设定出此目录
>          4.  可执行档 latex 所在的目录为:
>                /usr/bin
>
>          以上测到的目录若不是空目录就是正确.
>
>          若全部正确键入 y 键, 否则请键入 '1' 或 '2',..
>          (以便重新输入该项目之错误目录)
>          :

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The directory that has been detected or you have inputed:
           1. The 'texmf' directory (generally is /usr/.../texmf) is:
                2
           2. The '*.fmt' files are in the directory (generally is
            /usr/.../texmf/web2c):
                2
           3. .../texfonts directory (generally is /var/tmp/texfonts
           *or* /var/lib/texmf *or* /var/texfonts containing
            subdirectory  tfm, pk etc.) is;
                /var/lib/texmf
             If no such directory, you maybe need to run
              'texmfconfig' to creat this directory.
           4. The executable file 'latex' is in the directory:
                /usr/bin

           Above directorys MUST *not* empty!

           If you make sure all are right, type 'y', otherwise
           type '1' *or* '2' ...
           (in order to correct the wrong directory)
           :
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

In my opinion, the '1' and '2' items maybe wrong, because no
directory names '2'. So perhaps your ChiTeX installation is corrupt.


> . Now after the installationall of cxterm
> all this stuff is displayed with chinese character on the terminal,
> but for me it's ununderstandble just the same.
> I would need the English meaning of this output
> and of the other Chinese inputs that should occur
> further on during the installation of ChiTeX.
>
> Actually, the installation of ChiTeX seems to partly done.
> In fact, when I type
>
> $chitex
>
> I get the followiong output:
>
> Usage: chitex [option [option]] sourcefile
>
>   where sourcefile is a TeX/LaTeX source file, option are:
>   -pdftex  compile with pdftex/pdflatex
>   -xdvi    with compile + xdvi
>   -psv     with compile + dvips + gv(ghostview)
>   -dvipsgv with compile + dvips + gv(ghostview)
>   -dvips   with compile + dvips
>   -dvipdfm with compile + dvipdfm + acroread
>   -gb      using in GBchinese, this option must appear as the 1st option
>            using '\GBchinese' in GB chinese document may omit this option
>   -big5    using in Big5 chinese (default is with option -big5)
>            this option must appear as the 1st option
>   -e       with error message and .log file non-chineses
>   -c       with chinese error message and .log file, default is with
> option -c
>   -batch   with chinese .log file generated at run time
>            but without prompt error message which is only suitable
>            for compiling in 'batchmode' or in 'nonstopmode'
>   -nonstop  same as '-batch'
>   -chitexhelp  call program 'chitexhelp'
>   -chitexconfig  call program 'chitexconfig'
>   -fonts    help to use default chinese fonts macros
>   -new      message of new version:
>   -help    help
>
> ; besides, when I try to compile one of the sample files
> featured in the ChiTeX package, I get the followiong output:
>
> [carolina at localhost carolina]$ chitex math1gb
>     **************************************************
>     *                                                *
>     *  The compiled document is a plain TeX document *
>     *                                                *
>     **************************************************
> .This is TeX, Version 3.14159 (Web2C 7.4.5)
> (./math1gb.tex
>
> ****************************************
> ***** ChiTeX version 6.1.2 - by
> ***** 陈 弘 毅 (Hung-Yih Chen)
> ***** 国立中央大学数学系
> ***** (Dept. of Mathematics, National Central Univ.)
> ***** email: yih at math .ncu.edu.tw
> ****************************************
>
> (./chitex.fdfile
> ! Undefined control sequence.
> l.54 MOEKAI
>
> ?
>
> . This partial installation is due to the fact
> that the first time I got the lines above,
> the ones with the 4 options,
> I typed at random some keys from the keyboard,
> and the installation went on in some way.
> Did I maybe this way create another problem?
> Or maybe I am a little step before the goal?
>
>>  Could you tell us why you need Chinese Plain TeX? Maybe LaTeX
>>  CJK will be suitable for you? Or you just need some Chinese
>>  characters in your article only?
>>
>>  If you don't know Chinese, how can you use the Chinese TeX
>>  system? I mean how you write your Chinese article?
>
> I use plain TeX to write mathematical notes and any other document,
> in normal european characters. ChiTeX would be instead for my sister,
> who is a Chinese-speaking tour guide
> and often needs writing documents in Chinese language for her job.
> I'm sure there must exist other easier chinese writing systems under MS
> Windows,
> but since I'm used by now to the high quality of TeX
> I meant to achieve also this purpose with TeX beauty and power.
> LaTeX would not be suitable for me because I'm not good at using it
> and couldn't help my sister with the different matters and difficulties
> that should arise writing documents.
> Now my sister is leaving off and can't help me with the chinese characters
> occurring in the installation of ChiTeX,
> but yesterday when she read the output above
> she found it too techincal and hard for her to understand.
>
> Thanks indeed for your attention and your help,
> 								Rodolfo Medina
>
> P.S.: If I understand well, after the installation of ChiTeX
> you also have to configure Emacs
> in order to make it able to type chinese characters?

>
I'm a Emacs user. Emacs support chinese characters.
  First of all,
  you need at least one chinese font files in your system and
  configure Emacs to recognize it. You should read the Emacs manual's
  *mule* section for more information. You can type:
  
      M-x view-hello-file
      
  to see if your Emacs can display chinese characters correctly. If
  you are very lucky, you will seen this line:

              Chinese (中文普通话,汉语)	你好

         Secondly, you need a chinese input method to input chinese. You
  can use X input method(XIM) to do this. The SCIM input method is an
  excellent input method platform, you can download it form:
  
     http://freedesktop.org/~suzhe/
     
  Fortunately, You have another more convenient choice. Emacs itself
  has various of language input methods including chinese. You can
  try:

      C-u M-x toggle-input-method RET TAB

  to see is there any chinese input method? If you use Emacs 21.3 or
  other older version, maybe you have to install leim package. It
  can be found in:

      http://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/emacs/

  The leim package has been included in CVS Emacs now.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

  At last, although you have your own reason to use plain TeX to
  typeseting chinese. I strongly recommend you to use LaTeX whith CJK
  macro package. It is easy to use and more sophisticated than
  ChiTeX. As far as I known, all the chinese TeX(LaTeX) users are use
  CJK or CCT to typesetting their papers.

  If you have any question, please mail to me, I will do my best to
  help you.

祝你好运(Best Regards)!
Tang
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
> TeX newsgroup: http://groups.google.com/groups?group=comp.text.tex
> Mailing list archives: http://tug.org/pipermail/texhax/
> More links: http://tug.org/begin.html
>
> Automated subscription management: http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo/texhax
> Human mailing list managers: postmaster at tug.org



More information about the texhax mailing list