[UK-TUG] UKTUG Funds

[heckle]

Dear Membersl,

"I have, with sadness (1), dipped into the public exchanges about 
dissolution of UK-TUG over the past couple of years (2). I have been but 
a passive member wishing to maintain a connection with a straightforward 
markup language that promotes content over typography in the production 
of  printed material (3) because it focusses the mind of the author on 
content over appearance (4)."

The above recent contribution adds focus to what has been taking place 
(2). The following is offered in the same spirit of sadness (1), and 
noting there has not been an announcement of an annual general meetings 
via the tug.org/uktug.org web sites since 2019.

Systems fail for one or more of three reasons. 1. An internal subsystem 
failure. 2. The system and environment are at odds. 3. Human interference.

Tex as a 'system' is functioning, it appears to fit its environment and 
is adaptable after many years of use, and is perhaps impervious to 
interference.

When considering UKTUG as a system, its subsystem TEX is in working 
order, but UKTUG may not necessarily fit its environment, and may be 
subject to human interference (ie. from what the above quote is taken).

The last UKTUG DVD issue did not function in this Ubuntu use of Linux 
for two reasons. If  TEX was available but unusable within an existing 
Ubuntu system, then it interfered with the new installation. If the 
computer was reprogrammed without the pre-installed TEX, the DVD version 
still did not function because (according to a USTUG member) a vital sub 
program had not been included in the DVD (ie. It had been removed from 
the system). However, a TEX version that operates could be downloaded 
from the US; which would make the cost and issue of the UKTUG DVD seem 
unnecessary (for a Linux OS at least).

It is suggested that there is potential for UKTUG to make use of their 
funds in an innovative manner, using (a) university student(s).

It has been observed that there are two unfilled UTF8 slots. Those of 
the 'shorthand' functions. It is suspected that this is because all 
(European) text manipulation places one 'symbol' after the other 
successively and horizontally as in his Wordpro text, mapped to the 
keyboard. However, for shorthand (ie. in either of the two main systems 
Gregg or Pitman) symbols need to be joined successively diagonally or 
downwards in addition to horizontally. A program has been produced 
already that provides Gregg using TEX, but the author keeps it close; so 
we know it is possible. However, it would be possible to use TEX to 
produce very many other non European 'texts' without having to construct 
thousands of preformed symbols (ie as in Chinese, or Japanese) by 
providing a set of program symbols that may be manipulated appropriate 
to the language word symbol construct. As all written languages since 
the Phoenicians  and Egyptians are based on phonetic symbols (as with 
shorthand - the simplest of forms), it is possible for TEX to provide a 
universal language in a shorthand form for the first time (3 & 4) that 
can be 'read' phonetically by all and translate. Even better would be a 
version that could be modified as in this text and that at the 
beginning. Anyone having worked in Japan (or China probably) will 
understand what this is all about.

This offering will have many errors (or mistakes) as a UKTUG/TEX life 
support, but it tried.

best wishes,

derek heckle

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