Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2010 January 11

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January 11

Specification for TeX / LaTeX?

I'm looking for a specification for either the TeX or LaTeX languages. (I already have a decent /working/ knowledge of LaTeX, but I'm looking for more complete information than just introductory tutorials.) I tried googling around a bit but the obvious searches didn't give me anything useful. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks, Eric. 131.215.159.171 (talk) 01:59, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

You've exhausted http://www.latex-project.org/ ? TeX is well covered in the TeX reference manual - --Tagishsimon (talk) 02:21, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the links. The information I'm looking for is not the nitty-gritty of complicated type-setting commands, but rather information on how the fundamentals of TeX, the language, works -- e.g., how the \def, \let, \futurelet, \if, etc. etc. commands work. While it looks like the TeX reference manual has a lot of very useful information, however it appears to only contain a list of high-level descriptions of commands, without e.g., formally defining what a "token" means and such. Also, the google-books version is limited preview -- and I'd rather not pay $150! Do you happen to know where I can find this kind of information? Thanks, Eric. 131.215.159.171 (talk) 10:50, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Does doc/latex/base/source2e.pdf have the information you need? There is a copy at http://www.tug.org/texmf-dist/doc/latex/base/source2e.pdf if you don't have one locally. Certes (talk) 20:15, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

That looks helpful, I'll take a look. I wish that TeX simply had a thorough reference manual like most modern programming languages, but I'll work with what I've got. Eric. 131.215.159.171 (talk) 02:22, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Have you looked at The TeX Book (Computers and Typesetting Volume A)? It even used to be available (in TeX, of course) online. Also, the complete TeX source code is (as a literate program) on CTAN. That's the bible of TeXs inards and design. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 10:15, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Blog, but on my computer

I would like to have a blog software that exists only my computer. I'm interested in using it as a electronic journal; I'm not interested in publishing it. (This technically isn't a web log, I know.) Is there any free software that can accomplish this? Thanks. ÷seresin 02:36, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Why not just use Microsoft Word? HalfShadow 02:39, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Simplest approach is just to use your favourite word processor. Otherwise search for free software that includes "journal" functionality. Mitch Ames (talk) 02:39, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

If you just plan to use it to write down your thoughts, always go with the least complicated method, and you're bound to have a couple on hand as it is. HalfShadow 02:46, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

You might be interested in our article on Personal wikis—they are like Wikipedia but run off of your own computer, can have categories, internal links, etc. A bit more functionality than something like Word. --Mr.98 (talk) 03:09, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Within this, a TiddlyWiki is a good place to start. ike9898 (talk) 23:26, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

A google doc perhaps? Then you can access it from anywhere you have internet and it's still not "published" (although you could share it with specific people if you wanted). If you're looking for a free version of Word (ie you don't want to access it from other computers), open office is probably the closest thing. TastyCakes (talk) 20:20, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

The mouse & computer hardware development...

Has any aspect of computer hardware remained as relatively unchanged for as long as the mouse? Save for the basic additions of more buttons, and revised tracking methods (optical vs ball), the functional use and input method are identical. Are there analogously "perfect born" equipment in other industries? 218.25.32.210 (talk) 04:50, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

The PC keyboard has lasted far longer with fewer changes. If you go to a low level, how about the resistor? Comet Tuttle (talk) 05:18, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

The hard disc drive (a mechanical device) has been around for over 40 years, ancient in computing terms. I don't think there have been any major quantum leaps. The interfaces have changed several times. Parallel ATA was around for a long time(≈20years?) and is now basically replaced by Serial ATA. Other than that steady ↑ in capacity, ↓ in price per Gb & ↓ in physical size. But 'basically' the same? (A spinning platter with movable heads). Until the Solid-state drive replaces it, which seems to be starting.

Many of the changes are 'unseen' by the average user. So even mice have probably seen more change than most think initially, ie. USB, wireless, electro-mechanical ball sensors, electronic ball sensors, optical ball sensors, now "no balls at all" sensors. ;) Note that the first computer mouse didnt have a ball either! Oh, the fans in IT equipment don't seem to have altered much!

In reality the insides of PCs are radically different from 20 years ago, but they are doing much the same job, a lot quicker inside, a bit quicker from the users POV (IMHO), much prettier graphics, higher resolution, higher frame rates, cheaper. MUCH better value for money. eg transistor count in current microprocessors is almost 2,000 million, up from ≈5,000 in early IBM PCs.

You were also asking about "perfect born equipment in other" industries? Hammer and nail come to mind, but I bet they really took some time to get right! Many things seem to be 'perfect born' but are most likely the result of many years of work and disparate technologies eventually coming together, and 'suddenly' you have a TV that you can hang on a wall. Next, 3D tv? --220.101.28.25 (talk) 13:45, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

The first ever mouse

I worked in personal computer research before the mouse became commercially available on the Xerox Star in the early 1980's. We were doing research into graphical user interfaces. Instead of the mouse we used touch-screens (awful!), light pens (doubly awful!), joysticks and digitizing tablets (which are actually really neat - much better than mice if you have enough desk space). Almost everything in a modern PC was available in stores before the mouse - CD-ROMs, floppy disks, CRT's, IBM-style keyboards, hard drives, ROM, RAM, CPU, color graphics - all of that pre-dates the mouse. If you open up a modern PC, pretty much the only things that an engineer from the early 1980's wouldn't recognize as a natural evolution of 1980 tech (faster, smaller, cheaper) would probably be the GPU on your graphics card, that flat-screen monitor, writeable CD's, flash memory...and the pretty blue LED's on the front panel.

Also, the original implementation of the mouse wasn't what we have today. The early Xerox parc mice had two wheels instead of the ball. The modern mouse is really just an upside-down trackball - and those are older than computers! SteveBaker (talk) 04:22, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

All the stuff has been around for ages, and it has ll been improved in various ways. Have a look at Video game#History, the first patent for a video game dates to 1947. Dmcq (talk) 11:25, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

computing

which device is used to convert source code into objectcode? is compiler convert only apllication programs or not? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sathish1283 (talk • contribs) 06:52, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

You are indeed thinking of a compiler. Compilers will create executable code not only for applications but for other sorts of computer programs, including things like libraries and device drivers. Alternatively, an interpreter is a program that, usually, reads source code and executes some corresponding code that's built into the interpreter; so the interpreter doesn't really convert source code into object code, as such. In-between are just-in-time compilers, which are "run-time environments" like interpreters, but are like compilers, in that they sit there and compile a line of source code into object code only when that line of source code is executed. Comet Tuttle (talk) 08:34, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

VC++

What is the role of windows event handler ? Write any 10 keyboard events? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ms.Monu04 (talk • contribs) 08:27, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Please do your own homework.

Welcome to Wikipedia. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misinterpretation, but it is our aim here not to do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn nearly as much as doing it yourself. Please attempt to solve the problem or answer the question yourself first. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, feel free to tell us where you are stuck and ask for help. If you need help grasping the concept of a problem, by all means let us know. Meanwhile, you might like to read our articles on Event handler and Event log. Dbfirs 09:17, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

CD/DVD

How can I make my CD or DVD as a copyright CD / DVD???? Please Help me........ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ms.Monu04 (talk • contribs) 08:33, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

I think you mean to say a copy protected DVD that cannot be copied, and you don't really mean a copyrighted DVD (see the articles for the difference). If you do mean a copy protected DVD, I have never done it; I googled "how to create copy protected dvd" and there were some articles that made claims about some software you can buy that supposedly create copy protected DVDs. These solutions are presumably worse than SecuROM and the Macrovision solution and other "professional" solutions — and you should be aware that even the "professionally" copy protected DVDs are pretty easy for consumers to copy with their PCs, if the consumers have a $50 piece of software that was designed to copy them. Comet Tuttle (talk) 08:39, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Almost any CD or DVD you create yourself with your own material will be copyrighted by you. There is a bit that can be set that says that it is copyrighted, but it is pretty meaningless since just about everything is or was copyrighted in some form. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 20:31, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

If you want to copy protect it virtually (as opposed to legally) then there are a few ways to do that as above. But DVD encryption, which is not very secure, is stored on an area of the disk that most commercial DVD Writers are unable to write to, but are able to read. Which means you'd need a high end commercial writer to author your own DVDs with full CSS. Shadowjams (talk) 08:04, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Website

How can I make my OWN website can you Guide me please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ms.Monu04 (talk • contribs) 08:36, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

I usually recommend Google Sites, which is free and lets you experiment, and is pretty straightforward to figure out. Comet Tuttle (talk) 08:40, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

If you really want to make your own site, you either need to learn HTML and CSS, or you can simply create your HTML documents in a WYSIWYG editor such as Dreamweaver. Then you need to find a web hosting service that can host your site. Then you upload your files (HTML, CSS, pictures, ...) to the server via FTP, and you register a domain name, such as monu04.com. --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 13:18, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

FrontPage is easier than DreamWeaver but DreamWeaver is better IMHO. Kittybrewster ☎ 21:46, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

If you liked FrontPage, consider trying Microsoft Expression Web. It's based on FrontPage, but contains far more features, and the code it produces is more compliant with web standards. It's also easy to use, just like FrontPage.--Drknkn (talk) 22:31, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Installing flash on an offline computer.

I have an iMac which I keep offline. My PC is my internet computer. I need to get Adobe Flash installed on the iMac, but when I go to the Flash download site and try to download for Mac OS 10, it looks like it's just going to "seamlessly install" Flash on my PC. So is there a way that I can download it to my PC and then burn it to disc to get it to my iMac and install it there???? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.111.116.253 (talk) 11:29, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

In here.--Drknkn (talk) 11:43, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

click the "Different operating system or browser?" link on the flash download page (or go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/) --Spoon! (talk) 19:46, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Installing VLC plugin for Firefox on RHEL or CentOS

How do you install the VLC plugin for Firefox on RHEL (or CentOS)? I've checked the VLC website but the information there is not helpful. The information I need is:

1. the name of the package(s) I need to get,
2. where to get them, and
3. the command(s) (including command-line options) for installing the package(s).

I need something that's known to work. Thanks in advance. --173.49.10.171 (talk) 13:02, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Combining gifs

Is there any free software for Mac and PC which I can use to combine 2 separate animated gif files together? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 153.20.24.67 (talk) 13:53, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

The GIMP can do this [1] and so can ImageMagick's animate tool [2]. Both of which are easier to install on a PC than a Mac, incidentally. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:42, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Any other software I could use? I tried GIFfun and GIFbuilder, but they're not that good. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.74.225.75 (talk) 15:22, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Microsoft Works Problem

At home I only have microsoft works, however at work and Uni I do my work in microsoft word. This creates problems as works wont open word documents directly. You firstly have to open works version of word and then open it through file open rather then just double clicking on the word document. This also creates problems with saving as everytime i have to save it in the correct format (97 - 2000).doc in order to be able to open with word. Are there any free versions of programs similar to word that will let me simply edit text and save in the correct format with no hassle and also will directly open word documents.

Many thanks.--195.49.180.146 (talk) 15:07, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

You might want OpenOffice on your home machine. Free, compatible with MS-Word. There may also be downloads from MS that will allow Works to open Word docs; I don't know one way or another. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:55, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

If you use a Windows PC, you can change the file association for .doc to Works under Windows Explorer in Tools - Folder Options - File Types, but personally I prefer Open Office. Certes (talk) 19:22, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

You could also buy Microsoft Office for your home PC - there are discounts available for students (and teachers and school kids) so it's only £39 (see this page).

Word VBA code - select all text boxes

I currently have some code which does what I want it to - but it only works on one text box (or TextFrame) in a document, however I want it to apply to ALL text boxes in the document. Can anyone help here? I think I may need to do some kind of loop to count all of the text boxes and then run that many times, applying my code to a different box each time. Any help is appreciated!

• FYI - I do not know VBA at all. Can you give answers in the form that they will be written into the VBA script, please.

e.g. Sub specialCode()

    loop blah blah blah....

Thanks!90.196.69.233 (talk) 18:03, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

You probably need something that iterates through ActiveDocument.StoryRanges(wdTextFrameStory), eg something like this (untested):

For f = 1 To ActiveDocument.StoryRanges(wdTextFrameStory).Fields.Count
    ' do something with ... ActiveDocument.StoryRanges(wdTextFrameStory).Fields.Item(f)
Next f

Mitch Ames (talk) 09:38, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

This code snippet looks promising. --Mr.98 (talk) 16:33, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Is there I way I could have this connect to the internet?

[3] I want to see the updates via the web. Will any of this software [4] help me to do it? Btw the Weather Station does not connect to the internet out of the box.Accdude92 (talk to me!) (sign) 20:10, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

If it doesn't connect to the Internet, it doesn't connect to the Internet. End of story. Adding this capability would require some work on your part, by either adding some sort of wired interface, or by fashioning some sort of receiver to enable your computer to receive the 915 MHz transmissions from the weather station and then writing custom software to do something useful with those waves. Even if you did all that there are certainly no guarantees that it would work. You would be better off buying a station that already can communicate with the computer, usually this point is well advertised (especially if it comes with its own software) so you shouldn't have trouble finding one. If you read the second page you linked, you would find a list of manufacturers that sell equipment that works with wxug; note that the manufacturer of the station you give does not appear on that list. Xenon54 / talk / 21:34, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Weather display is one of the programs that supports a wide variety of weather stations, including those made by LaCrosse. However, it does not appear to support this one, and it would appear that the one you've linked to does not have an interface that allows it to be connected to a PC or other internet-linked device. I would suggest investigating a weather station that is designed to interface with a PC. --Phil Holmes (talk) 09:54, 12 January 2010 (UTC)