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* T typesetting system by Richard Beigel
* freeware for NeXT users (I'll compile FAT if I figure out how)
* fully functional (not a demo)
* easy to install (Makefile included, no root permissions needed)
* beigel@eecs.lehigh.edu
* 23 July 1998
T is a user-friendly preprocessor for tex and latex. You can write
most math formulas in T the same way you would write them in informal
email to your colleagues. Compared to tex, T source documents are
easier to write, easier to read, and less error-prone. If you like
tex, but can't stand a few little things about it, then T is for you.
* Does your pinky finger ache from pressing the \ key on your black keyboard?
* Having trouble keeping \ldots and \cdots straight even though you
know which to use? Wouldn't you rather just type "..."?
* Do your math formulas break in funny places? Are you tired of fixing
them by hand? Wouldn't it be nice if tex broke "(a+b)(c+d)" after
the first ")" instead of one of the "+"s?
* Are you tired of having "2^10" typeset as "2^1 0"?
* Would you like common words like "iff" to look right in math mode?
* Maybe you'd like to get a not-equals sign by typing "<>" or a rightarrow
by typing "->"?
* Are you a little tired of telling tex that "vs." doesn't end a sentence?
(Or hadn't you noticed?) How about adding that tie after "pp."?
T handles all of these things and a whole lot more like them.
It's easy to run (no extra step involved). Just type "t file.t"
instead of "tex file.tex" or "latex file.tex".
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I originally developed T while on sabbatical at U Maryland in 1996.
Since then, 11 research articles, 2 sets of transparencies, and 1
doctoral dissertation have been written in T. Since T is what I write
in, I plan to support T until I stop publishing (without a vow).
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T takes the eX out of TeX. (Consult the TeXbook for the proper
pronunciation of this claim.)
What's T? T is a tex preprocessor that understands tokens. OK, tex
understands tokens, too, but only if they start with \.
Copyright: T is copyright (C) by Richard Beigel. The NeXTStep version
is freeware, but you may not re-distribute it or share it. Files may
be obtained only from the author or authorized download sites. T is
provided without any warranty or guarantee, whether express or
implied.
Installation: Edit the Makefile, define the environment variable
THOME, and type make.
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Token formatting defaults: The most useful feature of T is that it
understands alphabetical tokens and it lets you specify a consistent
treatment for them, possibly depending on whether the token appears in
math mode. Treatment of tokens is specified by the following T
commands:
rmlist(tok1 .. tokn): toki should always be typeset in the roman font,
even in math mode. This is useful with tokens like P and NP.
sflist(tok1 .. tokn): toki should always be typeset in the sans serif
font, even in math mode. This is useful with tokens like N and R.
mathwordlist(tok1 .. tokn): toki should always be typeset in the text
font, even in math mode. This is useful with tokens like if, or, and,
and, otherwise.
mathsymlist(tok1 .. tokn): inside math mode, toki should be replaced
by \toki. This is useful with tokens like in, exists, and forall.
mathvarlist(tok1 .. tokn): toki should always be typeset in math mode.
This is useful with tokens like x, y, z, m, and n.
A T file may contain any number of rmlists, sflists, mathwordlists,
mathsymlists, and mathvarlists.
Warning: no token may occur more than once as an argument to rmlist,
sflist, mathwordlist, mathsymlist, or mathvarlist.
Overriding: to override the behavior specified by any of the commands
above, simply precede the token by \bf, \rm, \sf, \em, \it, or \mathit.
Format of a T file:
token formatting defaults (rmlist, sflist, etc.)
tex-like (or latex or latex2e) commands to be preprocessed by T
Usage: "t file.t". Make sure that tnichal.sty is somewhere in your
tex path. The environment variable $THOME should point to the
directory containing tnichal.m4. If $THOME is undefined, then T looks
for tnichal.m4 in ~/t. Make sure that t, pret, righttex, and the
standard unix programs sh and m4 are somewhere in your $PATH.
Compatible with latex, tex, and latex2e: T will preprocess your file,
produce a tex file, and then figure out whether to run latex, tex, or
latex2e on it.
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Other Features:
3 dots: To get 3 dots, always type "...". T will lower them or center
them according to context. Examples: $1,...,10$; $1 + ... + 10$.
Subscripts and superscripts: numerical and alphabetical subscripts
and superscripts are allowed. Examples $x_1, ..., x_10$;
$2^10 + 2^10 = 2^11$.
Shortcuts: in math mode, <=, >=, <>, ->, and ~ are expanded to \leq,
\geq, \neq, \rightarrow, and \sim respectively.
Italics: T will automatically italicize "i.e." and "e.g."
Line breaks: T prefers to break lines at high-precedence math operators,
rather than low-precedence operators. T also prefers to break outside
of parentheses, rather than inside them. The penalty for breaking
at a low-precedence operator like + is
\binoppenalty + depth * \depthpenalty,
where depth is the depth of parenthesis nesting.
The penalty for breaking at a medium-precedence operator like \circ is
\binoppenalty + 100 + depth * \depthpenalty.
The penalty for breaking at a high-precedence operator like \cdot is
\binoppenalty + 200 + depth * \depthpenalty.
The default value for \depthpenalty is 1000. The default value for
\binoppenalty is given in the TeXbook.
T will also avoid line breaks after certain abbreviations, such as
Mr., vs., and pp.
End of sentence: With a few exceptions, T ends a sentence at a period
if the *next* word starts with a capital letter. T will not end
a sentence at certain abbreviations, such as Mr., vs., and pp.
Avoiding T processing: to avoid having T process part of your document,
use tex's \input statement, or latex's \include statement.
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Limitations: If you use multiple files, only the top-level file is
processed by T.
Problems: T only works with some versions of m4. If you have two m4's
on your system, you may need to change your path to use the other one.
Common errors:
inputting tnichal.sty
declaring a token twice in different ways
declaring a token twice the same way
Bugs: Please report to beigel@eecs.uic.edu (Richard Beigel).
1. With latex2e, T does not work with 2.09 compatability mode at all.
Either convert to latex2e (this is often as simple as changing
\documentstyle to \documentclass) or use the old latex209.
2. With latex209, T does not handle \begin{array}{...@{...-...}}
properly, so avoid negative hskips in array's formatting argument.
You can use \! instead. However, I recommend converting to latex2e,
which does not have this problem.
3. T may not handle $-n$ correctly. Try ${-n}$ instead.
4. T makes (, ), +, and - active in order to break lines sensibly in
math mode. If you use (), +, or - to delimit parameters in your own
macros, T will react very badly. I have tried to handle all latex209
and latex2e builtins, e.g., \cline and {picture}. Please let me know
if I missed any.
5. Ditto for parameters to picture environments.
6. verbatim and verbatim* are not supported. Use \verb instead.
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Files: T, pret, righttex, tnichal.m4, tnichal.sty, tnichal.doc
Version: 0.0
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Netfuture.ch.