Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!mailrus!cwjcc!pirate!chet
From: chet@pirate.CWRU.EDU (Chet Ramey)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: HP Widgets PostScript documentation
Message-ID: <357@cwjcc.CWRU.Edu>
Date: 21 Dec 88 19:43:20 GMT
References: <393@elan.UUCP> <100920033@hpcvlx.HP.COM>
Sender: news@cwjcc.CWRU.Edu
Reply-To: chet@cwjcc.CWRU.EDU (Chet Ramey)
Organization: CWRU Andrew R. Jennings Computing Center
Lines: 43

In article <100920033@hpcvlx.HP.COM> ben@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Benjamin Ellsworth) writes:
>> ... if I post documentation to 
>> comp.sources.x, what format should it be in, troff, PostScript, or
>> some other format.

>In whatever format it is available in, and all formats that it is
>available in.

I could handle the posting of the shortest of all possible formats
(probably the troff one), but not from HP.  Let's remember why the
PostScript was called for in the first place (in this one case, mind you) -- 
many people, myself included, could not get a clean printed copy of the
original source distribution (the one in -- I think -- MS format, but with
all of HP's special homemade tools to do indexing, table of contents, etc. 
that would just NOT BUILD AT ALL). 

The other formats should be made available in the archives for just that 
reason.

>The first (any format) is justified because the
>information should be made available ASAP, and distribution shouldn't
>have to wait until the format suits the archive.

If there is sufficient disk space at the archive sites, I would like to see
all the possible formats archived.

>The second (all formats) is justified because of the diversity of user 
>environments.

Case in point, above.

>For instance, I do not have reasonable access to a postscript printer,
>but I can easily handle troff and nroff (MS, MM, and ME macros).

And I, on the other hand (and many of the people using Berkeley Unix and its
derivatives like Ultrix or SunOS), have no reasonable access to the MM macro
package, but there are three PostScript printers in this building, one right
down the hall. 


Chet Ramey			"His efforts in support of this worthy cause
Network Management Group	 were warmly applauded by the doctors; several
Case Western Reserve University	 nurses also gave him the clap." 
chet@{cwjcc,pirate}.CWRU.EDU			--  "Weekend Warriors"