From LOJBAN%CUVMB.BITNET@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU Mon Jan 29 13:01:50 1996 Received: from VMS.DC.LSOFT.COM (vms.dc.lsoft.com [205.186.43.2]) by locke.ccil.org (8.6.9/8.6.10) with ESMTP id NAA00751 for ; Mon, 29 Jan 1996 13:01:34 -0500 Message-Id: <199601291801.NAA00751@locke.ccil.org> Received: from PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (205.186.43.4) by VMS.DC.LSOFT.COM (LSMTP for OpenVMS v1.0a) with SMTP id 0BE11A39 ; Mon, 29 Jan 1996 12:30:32 -0500 Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1996 10:53:24 -0500 Reply-To: "Robert J. Chassell" Sender: Lojban list From: "Robert J. Chassell" Subject: Re: hard copy publication X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu, bob@rattlesnake.com To: John Cowan In-Reply-To: (sbelknap@uic.edu) Status: OR X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 Content-Length: 2279 Since I have done this a bunch of times, I volunteered last fall to help Lojbab and John Cowan with hard copy publication of the Reference Grammar. As I understand them, current plans are for John Cowan to write the chapters of the Grammar in plain ascii in a consistent and orderly format. This will permit him to write a script to convert the papers to HTML automatically. I will take either the plain ascii version or, more likely, the HTML version, and automatically convert that to Texinfo. Texinfo is a mark up language that enables you to use a single source file to produce plain ascii output, nicely typeset.dvi or PostScript output, and online Info or HTML output --- that is, a single source for both printed outputs of various sizes and formats as well as for online, hypertext formats. I have worked with both Texinfo and HTML. Texinfo is designed for multi-format output; in particular, it is much better than HTML for printed output. The hard copy typeset version will be printed in a 7 by 9.25 inch size (178mm by 235mm), which is a standard book size I have used with another dozen books. (You can configure Texinfo to produce any size below about 18 feet (6m); other standard sizes are A4 paper and 8.5 by 11 inch.) For on-line browsing, you can use HTML format or Info format. Or, of course, you can read the plain ascii version. In any case, please focus your attention on the *content* of the Reference Grammar, not the superficials of presentation. I know it is easy (and fun!) to get distracted by particular formatting issues, but such distraction can waste time. When ready, we will have a document that you can read in HTML, plain ascii, and in a typeset, printed book format. You can use the formats you prefer. Meanwhile, you can go to the archives and see the various papers in their current forms (plain ascii and HTML). URLs: ftp://powered.cs.yale.edu/pub/lojban/draft/refgrammar/ http://xiron.pc.helsinki.fi/lojban/ .a'o se'inai .a'u se'inai (See `lojban/draft/refgrammar/attitude', sections 3 and 7.) Robert J. Chassell bob@gnu.ai.mit.edu 25 Rattlesnake Mountain Road bob@rattlesnake.com Stockbridge, MA 01262-0693 USA (413) 298-4725