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From: eijkhout@s41.csrd.uiuc.edu (Victor Eijkhout)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex
Subject: Re: TeXbook for version 3.0 of TeX ?
Message-ID: <1990Nov19.211343.21155@csrd.uiuc.edu>
Date: 19 Nov 90 21:13:43 GMT
References: <510@research.cc.flinders.oz> <1990Nov16.202645.10216@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU> <1990Nov17.183845.24090@csrd.uiuc.edu> <1990Nov18.171830.8860@ioe.lon.ac.uk>
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teexdwu@ioe.lon.ac.uk (DOMINIK WUJASTYK) writes:

>In article <1990Nov17.183845.24090@csrd.uiuc.edu> eijkhout@s41.csrd.uiuc.edu (Victor Eijkhout) writes:
>>glenn@suphys.physics.su.OZ.AU (Glenn Geers) writes:
>>
>>> A good book that covers the new features is `TeX
>>>For The Impatient'. If you want details (can't remember the authors) send me 
>>>email.
>>
>>Yes, it does cover TeX3.0, but no, it's not really a good book.
>>Let me qualify that: it is a good introduction, and it contains
>>a good chapter systematically covering the concepts of TeX,
>>but it's not a hackers' bible. It keeps referring to the TeX book
>>for all the details. And there are quite some errors in it.
>>Rather esoteric, but errors nonetheless.

>I reckon you are being pretty ungenerous.  And -- as any reviewer
>should understand before all else --  you absolutely cannot criticise a
>work for failing to do something it never set out to do. 
[...]
> So why should you criticise
>Abrahams et al. for not writing The TeXbook?  In their introduction
>they explicitly say that is *not* what they are doing;  they are
>precisely trying to write a book that is not a hackers' bible.  

Ah, but read the blurb on the back of the book:
`What book would I need now, as an experienced TeX user'
(quoted from memory, but not far off).
And standing in a bookshop I don't read the whole book,
just the back cover and the table of contents.

>TeX for the Impatient is an excellent manual to give someone who wants
>a reliable introduction to TeX, but who isn't ready or willing to
>tackle the TeXbook.  

Now who's ungenerous. I think I said (see quote above) that it's
a good introduction. It can even teach people who have gone
through the TeX book some things.

>I think the eplain macros that are documented in TeX for the Impatient
>are also a very valuable collection.  

Agreed. I didn't mention them, but they are indeed valuable
in giving some of the functionality of LaTeX without forcing people
to use LaTeX :-) Pity tho' that the macros are never explained.

Probably the main value of them is that even if people cna't write
this sort of stuff themselves, they can still modify these macros
to their needs once they have a working set.

And to name another good point about the book: there is a chapter
that explains the infamous error messages of TeX...

Victor.