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9. Built with Linux (DOS readers)

9.1 Built with Linux Doc SGML!

Raven is produced using freely available tools running on Linux.

For more information on SGML production, see a later issue! For those who want to know more now, look in sunsite /cdrom/utils/text/linuxdoc-sgml-1.5.tar.gz

linuxdoc-sgml takes a single file.sgml, and produces one of several output formats, for sending to a postscript printer, use on the web, or even a line printer.

Each of the formats is neat (well you judge for yourself).

The .txt file can be read by the less utility, which interprets backspace ("reverse motion control chars") to give bold. These simple .txt files are supprisingly easy to read, and navigable with a printed table of contents.

Linuxdoc-sgml also generates the .html pages, though the file names have been renamed. It generated the default table of contents top page, with one html_page_file per section. By default the sub-sections are numbered 1.2, and appear in the top index.

linux-doc sgml also produced a TeX source file, which it delivers as a pre-compiled .dvi file. That can be viewed by xdvi, and it looks excellent, but html is a lot faster.

Some people have established their own TeX profiles, and macros that they trigger with SGML tags defined in a customised DTD. However, that looks a bit complicated, and sometimes it's better to stick with the "supported" established default configuration, and treat it as a "predictable sub-system" that gives you consistent GI-GO every time.

You then build a convery belt of filter/converters such as:

        generate .sgml source through M4 and sed  filters,
        generate TeX.dvi output using patched mapping files,
        rename generated .html files from .toc 

The technical document layout is a tad boring for a magazine, but helps to make the text have a consistent style. If you write "numbered paragraphs" style documents, it is worth investigating, but be aware that you have to adopt it's overall indexing style, rather than adapting it to you.

Browing Authors

If you produce your own WEB pages, you may have some opinion on the production. To properly show off Linux capabilities, I should be using a web oriented page editor, and producing dramatic looking documents.

If you use a really neat production system, gimme a call, I suspect that somewhere in the 'tk' archives, is a rock stable word processor and html page layout designer. I haven't found them yet.

For the time being, I'm happy with linuxdoc (and if not - why not). As for the graphics content, the eye_view .gif was generated by raven using xearth, then xpaint added the title lettering.

9.2 mkdir Raven

After down-loading the .tgz file(s), untar it and browse the files. This will create a directory called Raven and the files in it.

        cd $HOME
        tar -zxf Raven01-1b.tgz 
        mosaic Raven &
#
#       you should now be browsing Raven Locally
#

9.3 DOS Readers

If you are a DOS user, you will want GZIP.EXE, GUNZIP.EXE and/or GTAR.EXE, or other UNIX-DOS utilities. But you knew that already.

If it works, use a browser, such as Mosaic to view the html files. If the filenames are all mangled, or it just doesn't work, read the .txt file (I have :-). It's a but monolithic, but it works.

The .txt file looks strange with some browsers, and crystal clear on others. If you see BBoolldd TTeexxtt (Bold Text), and think it's ugly, look again with a different tool. If you have Linux running, use less.

Remember to locate your resources, does your browser work ?

9.4 mc # F3 filename.txt

mc can understand the backspace formatting, but you might have to tell it to try, using the F9 key to (un-)format the text.

mc can also browse compressed man pages, and wander around inside compressed tar archives.

9.5 less filename.txt

If you don't have a browser running, the files are available as mildly formatted text files. The Linux utility less is very good at displaying backspace formatted text, you might find something that works under DOS, or get rid of the formatting.

9.6 ddoouubbllee vviissiioonn -- b^Hbo^Hol^Hld^Hd

It looks good when viewed with the less or zless utiltity, but dreadful when looked at in an editor, or most HTML browsers.

Bold Text is done as Letter BackSpace Letter, so that on plain printers, (dot matrix), each letter gets printed twice, and appears bold. Within editors, you also see the ^H character making it almost unreadable.

9.7 getting rid of the backspace formatting

You can convert the files to boringly plain text files, using using sed or vi.

These may also be available on DOS - CICA or elsewhere.

        sed 's/.^H//g'  # substitute /Any-Letter BackSpace/nothing/g-flag
If you have trouble typing CTRL-H to the command line, prefix it with CTRL-V to tell bash that the next character (key) is to be taken as data.

If typing this command is difficult, put it into a script and run it. Remember to tell it to read from the input file and pipe it to less. You can also use a supprisingly similar syntax with vi

        : 1,$  s/.^H//g
The quotes are optional (elvis allows them), and you still need the CTRL-V key. If you put
        map #1 : 1,$  s/.^H//g
into your $HOME/.exrc it might make the F1 key do it (if it isn't already busy).


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