Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!mks!mike
From: mike@mks.UUCP (Mike Brookbank)
Newsgroups: comp.text
Subject: Re: pic preprocessor for troff
Message-ID: <641@mks.UUCP>
Date: 16 Jan 89 21:28:08 GMT
References: <1000@cmx.npac.syr.edu>
Organization: Mortice Kern Systems, Waterloo, Ont.
Lines: 25

In article <1000@cmx.npac.syr.edu>, crockett@top.cis.syr.edu (Peter Crockett) writes:
> A professor came here with some troff source which uses a troff
> preprocessor called pic.  He had the code for pic sent here, but it
> generates a troff directive D which is not understood by any troff on
> campus.  Anyone know anything about pic and/or the nature of this
> mysterious directive?
> 
> Peter Crockett

The `D' directive to which you refer is understood as \D and is part of
the enhanced version of the Documenter's Workbench.  Most likely, your
campus has an old version of Troff which understood a limited number of
horizontal and vertical line commands and no spline commands.  The
newest versions have a very much more intelligent pic and a grap
function which passes through the pic pre-processor.

My firm manufactures a Dos port of the enhanced DWB called MKS SQPS.
This software has been ported from the new enhanced versions for Unix
machines manufactured by Softquad Inc.
 
-- 
     Mike Brookbank                          Phone: (519)884-2251
Mortice Kern Systems Inc.               UUCP: uunet!watmath!mks!mike
   35 King St. North                             BIX: join mks
Waterloo, Ontario  N2J 2W9                  CompuServe: 73260,1043