Hi TEX fans, the time has come to document the new version of the macro package, PHYZZX. Vadim Kaplunovsky has updated it to run under TEX1. Since we envision this to be the penultimate version of PHYZZX, except for minor corrections to remove heretofore undiscovered bugs, it now pays to explain what PHYZZX is and how to use its various features in some detail. For those of you who are familiar with the old version of PHYZZX you can rest easy, this version has been designed to be as upward compatible as possible. Unfortunately, there are a few minor changes in the way some macros work simply because Knuth changed TEX and made it impossible for us to keep some of the old commands. In general the changes make things easier to use and any file written for TEX97 will, with very few changes, run on TEX1. For this reason the adventurous user can begin by ignoring this writeup completely and try to run his old files. If luck is with you, you will not have to change anything; if luck deserts you, then either PHYZZX will help you along (only somewhat likely) or you will have to do a little reading.
Our present incarnation of PHYZZX resides in two places. The FMT file (a term designed to strike terror into the hearts of those who have not been initiated into the high mysteries) is on the T–disk, and this is the version you really want to use. One uses the FMT file because it loads much faster and so you don't have the interminable wait for something to happen while the computer is reading all of the definitions contained in PHYZZX TEX. To use the FMT file all you have to do is make the first command to TEX say &phyzzx instead of putting % phyzzx in the file.
For the curious we try to keep an updated version of the file PHYZZX TEX on the theory group disk. People interested in mucking around in the guts of this file in order to see how things were done and what goodies, not described in this writeup (and there are many), are available can access this disk by saying GIME PUB$TH If you wish to use this file to convince yourself how much better it is to use an FMT file, you can do this by accessing the PUB$TH disk and starting your file with % phyzzx For cognoscenti: as in earlier incarnations you can tailor much of PHYZZX to your liking by having a file MYPHYX TEX on your A disk. Each time you run PHYZZX it loads this file. Any definitions which are in this file then take precedence over those specified in PHYZZX. So much for generalities, now on to specifics.