The UK List of TeX Frequently Asked Questions
The list of TeX Frequently Asked Question is one of the most useful online resources for TeX users. Since the list was first published some years ago by UK-TUG it’s grown to include over 400 questions and answers. Most of the work has been done by one person, Robin Fairbairns. Robin’s contributions to the TeX community, both in maintaining the FAQ and running one of the three core CTAN nodes, are really vital to all TeX users.
At the moment, there’s a thread on comp.text.tex where the subject of adding new information to the FAQ has been mentioned. Getting new material (for the FAQ or anything else) is always a problem, and so most of the text in teh FAQ is written by Robin. That’s a lot to do for one busy person, and we all need to play our part. The question is hoe to do that. The advantage of having one person writing everything is that the quality is good, and there is care taken to keep material up to date. So if you spot a gap, your best sending some (good) text as detailed in the FAQ itself. One suggestion that’s come up is setting up a wiki, with the idea being that contributions there can then be used as ‘source’ for adding to the FAQ. Time will tell if this comes to pass: it might be interesting, but I suspect the same people will still be doing the writing!
I think wiki is good since it will also bring version control. BTW, I think I ran into Robin this morning I didn’t realise until I got passed him
Leo
18 Mar 10 at 9:06 pm
Well, there is version control at the moment: Robin gives each release a version, and I guess has the old versions available! I do hope you didn’t “run into” Robin too violently! (Are you a computer scientist, then?)
Joseph Wright
19 Mar 10 at 8:20 am
Robin probably uses some sort of version control system for his local copy. A wiki will allow other people to contribute and Robin can do quality control. No I am not a computer scientist but my supervisor used to take up part of the space on the second floor of the computer lab where I spent 1.5 years.
Leo
20 Mar 10 at 9:42 pm
i do of course have version control of my own copy.
i have an offer of an svn on tug.org (could of course
do it anywhere, but tug.org seems sort of canonical).
the faq is actually written in an arcanely-restricted
version of latex: the constraint arises from the need
to generate online text from it, dynamically, and to
produce readable printed copies.
why printed copies? well, the first release (100
answers, including one invented by jonathan fine and
me to make that nice round number) was printed and
distributed as a copy of baskerville (uk tug
magazine).
web delivery was an afterthought. we had imagined
publishing it on comp.text.tex in ascii, but i
rather quickly realised that wasn’t on. hence
the dynamic translator from latex to html, written
by alan jeffery, and originally hosted in sussex.
now, though, the web is the only substantial means
of delivery … except to me. i don’t have the
eyesight (or something) to enable me to proof-read
on-screen, so i print things and read them that
way.
so i keep up the print version, and produce pdf
on ctan as a side-effect. which in turn makes for
contorted latex, and a contorted dynamic translator.
but the contortion means that it’s difficult to get
the latex right (in the sense of looking good on
paper, on the web, and as a pdf file).
so if someone’s going to work on “my sources” (as
they are now), there’s a learning curve to climb
before making stuff i don’t have to correct before
putting into the published distribution.
this is not good, and it’s why i’ve not proceeded
with opening access to the thing.
sorry tale, and all that.
Robin
14 May 10 at 5:55 pm
Thanks very much for the detailed explanation, Robin. It’s easy to say “something should happen” but a lot harder to actually do it. As you *are* doing things, you’re in a much better position than the rest of us to appreciate the requirements for the FAQ, and the effort it needs to write them.
Joseph Wright
14 May 10 at 9:13 pm