Comp.text.tex is a forum for the discussion of TeX, LaTeX and other related things. TeX is a software system written by Donald Knuth to typeset text, especially text containing mathematics. LaTeX is a set of macros written in TeX, designed to simplify the the typesetting of a document by allowing the user to concentrate on the content and structure of the document rather than the exact appearance of the finished product. METAFONT, also discussed here, is a program which allows the user to design their own fonts. The definitive reference for TeX is _The TeXbook_, by Donald Knuth (Addison Wesley, 1984, ISBN 0-201-13447-0). For LaTeX, see _LaTeX, a Document Preparation System_ by Leslie Lamport (Addison Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-15790-X). For METAFONT, see _The METAFONTbook_ by Donald Knuth (Addison Wesley, 1984, ISBN 0-201-13445-4).
This article contains answers to some frequently asked questions on comp.text.tex. Please don't ask these questions again, as they've been answered many times before. Note that Guoying Chen (chenguo@spunky.cs.nyu.edu) posts the monthly document ``Supplementary TeX Information'' to this newsgroup which contains other information and software relevant to TeX users but beyond the scope of this article.
This is version 1.27 for July, last changed 7/8/92.
This article includes answers to:
If you are looking, for instance, for the answer to question 17, and wish to skip everything else, you can search ahead for the regular expression ``^17)''
These are all legitimate questions, but they seem to appear too frequently for long-time readers of the list.
Many of the answers below tell you that you can obtain something through anonymous ftp. ``Ftp'' stands for file transfer protocol, and is also the name of a program which implements the program. The program allows users to transfer files to and from remote sites, if the sites are connected via a network such as the Internet. ``Anonymous ftp'' indicates that a user may connect to a remote site as the user ``anonymous'' with a password consisting of their email address, and thus be able to retrieve files from that site. Remember, anonymous ftp is a privilege and the system administrators for these sites have made these files available out of their own generosity. Therefore please restrict your ftp'ing to non-prime hours at the various sites.
I would like to acknowledge Don Hosek, Ken Yap, Tomas Rokicki, and Micah Beck, whose postings provided many of the answers. Joe Weening, Hal Perkins, Walter Carlip, Max Hailpern, Tad Guy, Raymond Chen, Henning Schulzrinne, Sebastian Rahtz, Mark James, Peter Galko, Mike Ernst, Rainer Sch\"opf, Oren Patashnik, Philippe Louarn, Rafal Zbikowski, and Anita Marie Hoover provided additional material and criticisms. The format of this document is based on the Frequently Asked Questions appearing in comp.unix.wizards, and written by Steve Hayman. Any mistakes are mine.