⟦f7d848289⟧

TextFile

\Section{Composing Text}
\SubSection{Paragraphs and All of That}
99\% of the time, \Troff/ is reading text (with the occasional
font change), filling up output lines as best it can, and outputting
them (with occasional interrupts at page breaks).

\TeX\ is doing
something similar 99\% of the time.  It reads text (with occasional
font changes) into a buffer.  Whenever an end of paragraph is found
(the |\par| macro or an empty line), \TeX\ breaks the text in its
buffer up into lines, breaking those lines at the points which
will produce the most attractive output.  For example,
it may space out an
early line a little more to keep a line with a big word
in it from looking too spaced out later.
Because \TeX\ composes paragraphs, not lines, its output can look
better, and strange tricks are possible.  For example,
the last sentence of this paragraph
ends {\bf flush} with the right margin because I told 
\TeX\ to allow no space at the end of the paragraph.  Another result
of setting paragraphs is that \TeX\ can usually avoid
``widow'' lines at the top and bottom of pages, setting paragraphs
a little more spaced out, if necessary.
{\parfillskip=0pt\par}
One useful feature of the line-breaking algorithm for \TeX\
\tolerance 500
is found in the use of {\sl ties\/}.  Ties
are typed using the character |~| (the tilde character), and
behave just like spaces, except that \TeX\ will never split a line
at a tie.
In \Troff/,
the special sequence `\\\]' (backslash-space) is used
similarly,
but in \Troff/ this is also an ``unpaddable'' space that
cannot be stretched; in \TeX, the {\bf only} effect of the analogous
tie character, the tilde, is to prevent
line breaking.
There are no strict rules for the placement of ties; they
should be used according to stylistic considerations, in places
where a line break is unacceptable.
For example, a phrase like `Chapter~2' should be typed as `|Chapter~2|'
to avoid something that looks like `Chapter
{\parfillskip=0pt\par\parskip=0pt\noindent}2'.  Other
good places for ties
\tolerance 200
include (1)~after the number
in enumerated cases like these; (2)~The space between the
surnames in phrases like `Vincent~Van~Gogh'; (3)~Between math symbols
in apposition as in `dimension~$d$'.

Frequently, one wishes to change the normal paragraph indentation,
or indent a paragraph at both margins, or adjust the amount of space
between paragraphs.  \Troff/ allows one to set registers
and specify local motions for these operations.
\TeX\ allows
something superficially similar, but the actual mechanism is
quite different.  A discussion of {\sl glue\/} is thus appropriate.
\SubSection{Boxes and Glue}
Because \Troff/ targets its output for a phototypesetter
that produces its output on a continuous form, the
composition of elements on the page involves commands to move
up and down the page, or left and right.  Even a `begin page'
command just causes movement downward to the length of the
current page\note{This causes problems when the phototypesetter
is simulated on a page-oriented device and a page length other
than 11 inches is specified.}.

\TeX, however, composes pages
as units rather than as a stream of commands, and builds
them from blocks of text called {\sl boxes\/} (typically paragraphs),
much as hand-set print was built from composing sticks filled
with letters.  The blank space around the boxes (such as the
paragraph indentation or the space between lines) is called
{\sl glue\/}---it is much like the wedges, or {\sl quoins\/}, that
printers used to set a page of print.  Thus, while a \Troff/ command
like |.sp .4i| means ``move down .4 inches,'' the corresponding
\TeX\ control sequence, |\vskip .4in| means ``at this point, there
should be .4 inches of glue.''  Although the difference may seem
to be minor, \TeX's behavior at paragraphs, page breaks, and so on
can only be properly understood if the picture of ``boxes of text
separated by glue'' is kept in mind.  Of course, these boxes
{\sl should not\/} be confused with the boxes that can be drawn around
``boxed tables'' in {\it tbl\/}, or the |.bx| macro in the |-me|
package.  \TeX\ boxes
are simply the units into which text material
is organized on the page.

Of course, the boxes themselves are often composed of other boxes,
surrounded by glue.  The page that gets output is a box made up
of paragraph boxes separated by vertical glue; these paragraph
boxes are composed of line boxes with vertical glue (baseline
spacing) between them; and these line boxes are in their turn
made up of word boxes with horizontal glue (interword spacing)
between them.  If one wants to get really fancy, one can even
put together a box explicitly with |\hbox| (for horizontal boxes)
and |\vbox| (for vertical boxes), as in
\begintt
for \vbox{\hbox{`A box}\hbox{of Text.'}}
\endtt
for \vbox{\hbox{`A box}\hbox{of Text.'}}
This is a vertical box (|\vbox|) composed of two horizontal boxes
(|\hbox|)---the first contains ``|`A box|'', the second ``|of Text.'|''.
Such constructions are usually undertaken by
\TeX perts, and are rarely needed in ordinary applications.
However, one special type of box, called a {\sl rule\/}, is
frequently useful.  A rule is a box that is filled entirely
with ink.  Normally, rules are very thin and are used for
horizontal and vertical lines.  The control sequences |\hrule|
and |\vrule| are used to construct horizontal and vertical rules
respectively.  For example, to construct
the little blot `\vrule height 8pt width 4pt',
I typed
\begintt
the little blot `\vrule height 8pt width 4pt',
\endtt
Vertical rules should be used within paragraphs, horizontal
rules between paragraphs, even if this
means having to specify a wide, flat ``vertical'' rule
in order to get a horizontal line into a paragraph.
Rules have default thicknesses
of 0.4pt, appropriate to thin lines.

Finally, a rule will have a default length equal to the box which
contains it.  This can sometimes be confusing, but one important
result is that a horizontal rule, when between paragraphs,
is as wide as the page.  This can be useful in setting off diagrams
and the like.  For example, |\hrule| was typed after this paragraph.
\hrule\smallskip
\SubSubSection{Dimensions}
Just as \Troff/ lets you describe distances in inches, points, ems,
etc., \TeX\ permits a variety of units in which the dimensions of
glue and boxes can be specified:
$$\halign{\indent\tt#&\quad#\hfil\cr
pt&point (baselines in this paper are 12 pt apart)\cr
pc&pica ($\rm1\,pc=12\,pt$)\cr
in&inch ($\rm1\,in=72.27\,pt$)\cr
bp&big point ($\rm72\,bp=1\,in$)\cr
cm&centimeter ($\rm2.54\,cm=1\,in$)\cr
mm&millimeter ($\rm10\,mm=1\,cm$)\cr
dd&did\^ot point ($\rm1157\,dd=1238\,pt$)\cr
cc&cicero ($\rm1\,cc=12\,dd$)\cr
sp&scaled point ($\rm65536\,sp=1\,pt$)\cr}$$
\filbreak
In addition, there are two other context-dependent units of measure
whose actual size depends on the current font:
{\par\narrower\parskip 0pt\obeylines\nobreak
{\bf em} is the width of a ``printer's em'' in the current font.
\nobreak{\bf ex} is the ``x-height'' of the current font.
}
The ``em'' will be familiar to \Troff/ users---it is the same
as the |m| unit used in such \Troff/ parameters as |10m|, and, in the
days of mechanical type, was based on the width of the letter
`M'.  This is typically the same as the point size of the
current font.
Similarly, the ``x-height'' is nominally the height of the
letter `x', although this may not be exactly true in
every font.  

In fact, each font defines its own em and ex values.  In 10-point
roman, the font
you are now reading, $1\,{\rm em}=10\,{\rm pt}$
and $1\,{\rm ex}\approx4.3\,{\rm pt}.$
The figures for {\bf Bold face} type of the same size are
11.5 and 4.44 respectively.
\SubSubSection{Using Glue}
When glue is placed into the document, it appears as white
space.
\TeX\ provides several control sequences that place glue
into the document.  |\hskip 1in| will insert one inch of
horizontal glue
(i.e. a one-inch space)
between words at the current position in the document..
|\vskip 8pt| will terminate the current paragraph and
follow it with 8 points of (vertical) glue.  One very useful type
of horizontal glue is |\quad|, which simulates a ``printer's
quad'', i.e. a 1-em space.

There are also three types of useful vertical glue defined
as plain \TeX\ macros, which are
sometimes helpful in formatting.  The control sequence |\smallskip| generates
a 3-point skip, |\medskip| a 6-point skip, and |\bigskip| a 12-point
skip.
$$\vbox{
\hbox to 4in{This line is followed by a |\smallskip|,\hfil} \smallskip
\hbox to 4in{this by a |\medskip|,\hfil}\medskip
\hbox to 4in{and this by a |\bigskip|.\hfil} \bigskip
\hbox to 4in{The sizes of these skips are independent of the current font size.\hfil}}$$

Several parameters can be set to govern the glue
to be placed at critical points in the document.  For example,
the glue between lines in this document is set so that the distance between
baselines is 12 points.  This can be adjusted by saying
|\baselineskip=14pt|, for example,
if wider spacing is desired (e.g. for 12-point type).  Here are
some other useful
parameters:
$$\vbox{\halign{#\quad\hfil&\it#\hfil&\quad#\hfil\cr
\hfil\sl Name&\hfil\rm\sl Default\hfil&\hfil\sl Description\hfil\cr
\noalign{\smallskip}
|\parskip|&0pt&Space between paragraphs\cr
|\leftskip|&0pt&Placed at left of each line of a paragraph\cr
|\rightskip|&0pt&Placed at right of each line of a paragraph\cr
|\topskip|&10pt&Glue at top of page\cr
|\parindent|&20pt&Paragraph indentation\cr
|\hsize|&6.5in&Width of text on the page\cr
|\vsize|&8.9in&Vertical size of text area on the page\cr
}}$$
\SubSubSection{Stretching and Shrinking}
Actually, glue is more than just rigid wedges between boxes.
It also has a certain amount of elasticity.  For example, when
\TeX\ sets a line of text, the glue between the words in the
line is able to shrink or stretch a certain amount in order
to adjust that line's spacing.  Similarly, the |\parskip| glue
between paragraphs is actually able to stretch an additional point
if necessary to improve the appearance of a page, and
the |\smallskip| series of skips can shrink {\bf or} stretch by as
much as 33\% of their natural lengths to assist in page formatting.

Some glue is infinitely elastic.  If you think of the printer's
page filled with rigid steel boxes of type and wedges between, this
infinitely stretchable glue is like a powerful spring.  
The name of horizontally stretchable glue is |\hfil|\note
{You can also specify such glue as {\tt\\hskip} or {\tt\\vskip} glue,
with a dimension of {\tt0pt plus 1fil}.  The {\tt plus 1fil} tells
\TeX\ that this glue can stretch to ``one degree of infinity''
as needed.  You can even make it ``infinitely shrinkable'' by
saying {\tt0pt minus 1fil}, or both at the same time.}.  If you type
|\line{\hfil Text}| then \TeX\ will set a line of type
the width of the page, with
the word ``Text'' at the far right end.  The |\centerline| macro
seen at the beginning of this paper is a |\line| with springs
at {\sl both} sides of the text.
\SubSection{Up, Down, Left, Right}
We've already seen how to add vertical and horizontal glue (effectively
skipping down and right) to create ``white space'' on the page.
One can also use vertical and horizontal glue with a {\sl negative\/}
dimension to move upwards or to the left, although this is rarely
useful.
There are a few other useful primitives for ``moving around'' the
page.  The primitive control word |\kern| specifies unstretchable
glue.
The name derives from a printer's term referring to type that projects
beyond the body of a letter.  |\kern| is normally used between letters
to move them further apart or closer together (|\hskip|, nearly identical
in semantics, can be used as well).
For example, the letters `T' and `E' in ``\TeX'' have been
moved closer together by the command |\kern-.1667em|.  Notice the
size of this glue is negative and pulls the letter boxes on either
side closer together than normal.  The `E' in `\TeX' has also been
lowered; this was done with the control sequence |\lower .5ex\hbox{E}|.
This is rather complex.  The |\hbox{E}| places the letter `E' in its
own horizontal box; the |\lower .5ex| sequence moves the baseline
of that box lower by .5ex.  Similarly, one can raise a box above
its normal baseline by using |\raise| instead of |\lower| (or
by using |\lower| with a negative dimension).
Normally, someone setting a simple document
will not need to set up his or her own |\hbox|es, just as one
rarely requires the horizontal and vertical movements of \Troff/.

Sometimes, one wishes to set type that
behaves
as if it takes up no space at all (e.g., for overstriking).
Plain \TeX\ provides two macros, |\rlap| and |\llap| for this.
|\rlap{something}| sets `something' and then backspaces as if
nothing had been set at all.  Similarly, |\llap{something}|
sets `something' at the left of the current point, overlapping
whatever was on the left.
Using typewriter font, for example,
one can typeset `{\tt\rlap{/}=}' by saying `|\rlap{/}=|' or `|/\llap{=}|'.
DataMuseum.dk

DKUUG/EUUG Conference tapes

⟦f7d848289⟧ TextFile

Derivation

TextFile
