[TUHS] TeX and groff (was: roff(7))

Jon Steinhart jon at fourwinds.com
Wed Jan 12 10:06:44 AEST 2022


Blake McBride writes:
> I suppose #4 was my whole point about both TeX and troff.  They're both
> great tools.  Perhaps people used them in the past because there weren't
> many other solutions.  You had to learn them.  These days people prefer the
> simpler tools such as Word, OpenOffice, etc.  Although they can't produce
> the same quality, they can produce sufficient quality with a smaller
> learning curve.  Don't get me wrong, I despise Word.  I just don't find my
> feelings echoed very much.  Some things TeX and troff are going to need in
> order to continue:

I disagree with your characterization that things like Word are simpler tools.
They're way more complex than troff or TeX, both in code and usability.

FYI, last time I saw Don he was asked what his biggest mistake ever was.
His response was making the basic unit size in TeX a power of 2 instead
of a power of 10.

While I'm at it, a shill also asked him what his favorite joke was.  His
answer:
  A guy goes into the county clerk and asks to legally change his name.
  The clerk asks "What would you like to change it to?"
  The guy responds "Control G".
  The clerk says "That rings a bell."


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