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READ.ME
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1988-10-03
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DosTeX version 2.93a Release Notes
(c) Electronetics, Incorporated
September 15, 1988
NEW FEATURES
DosTeX version 2.93a corresponds to TeX version 2.93, currently the
latest revision from Don Knuth. This version contains support for
run-time sizing of the mem[] array within INITEX. In addition, a
utility is provided to allow construction of preloaded versions from
INITEX dumps. Preloaded versions are therefore no longer distributed.
Instead, example .BAT files are provided which may be used to produce
preloaded versions of "plain" and LaTeX. A bug related to invisible
rules has been fixed as well as all previously reported bugs.
The Epson printer driver (based on Nelson Beebe's version 2.10) no longer
swaps the bitmap to disk. Instead, two passes are made over each page
with a half-size bitmap. This gives approximately double the performance
of swapping. The bug related to closing log files is fixed.
The Hercules previewer is no longer distributed with screen resolution
(120 dpi) fonts. The default is now to subsample the Epson (240 dpi)
.pk fonts. Screen resolution fonts may still be selected, but the user
must provide these.
INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
Successful installation of DosTeX requires at least
4,500,000 bytes of free space on the default drive.
Operation of the DosTeX software requires over 500,000 bytes
of free memory to be accessible. The exact amount depends on
how much memory is set aside for the mem[] array.
An automatic installation procedure
is provided with DosTeX. To use it:
1. Make backup copies of the distribution diskettes to
use in installing DosTeX. The distribution consists of
six 5.25" diskettes (360k).
2. Create an empty directory in which all DosTeX files
and subdirectories will be created (e.g., MKDIR \TEX).
3. CD to this directory (e.g., CD \TEX).
4. Insert distribution diskette #1 in drive A: and
give the command A:INSTALL.
You will be prompted to insert the remaining diskettes as needed.
Subdirectories INPUTS and FONTS will be created to contain
TeX input files, font metric and raster information.
Several environment variables must be set for proper operation of
the DosTeX package. For example, environment variables
TEXINPUTS and TEXFONTS should be set to the paths containing TeX
system input files and .tfm information, respectively. The variable
TEXMEM is used to override the default size for mem[].
The installation procedure attempts to append some of this
information to the file \autoexec.bat on the default drive. Assuming
\autoexec.bat is not write-protected, it should suffice to
re-execute \autoexec.bat to set the environment properly.
Otherwise, the variables will have to be set manually.
Following installation, read the general information in GENERAL.DOC
and the redistribution policy in COPYING.DOC.
To produce correct TeX results, the last line of each file processed must
end with a carriage return. Everything following the final carriage return
in a file may be ignored by DosTeX.
LIMITATIONS
Preloaded versions are not distributed with DosTeX anymore. The INITEX.EXE
executable swaps both mem[] and font_info[]. The default size for mem[]
is 65530 words. The font_info[] array is fixed at 21000 words.
Sizes of all other arrays are as given in the WEB source
of TeX: The Program. A disk file VM.TMP is used to hold the
swapped-out pages. At least 512k free disk space must be available for VM.TMP.
If the environment variable TMP exists, it will be used as the
directory for the VM.TMP file (hopefully, a RAMdisk).
Otherwise, the default directory will be used. A typical
setting would be set TMP=E:\ to use E:\VM.TMP as the swap space.
INITEX will dump and read .FMT (format) files. Pre-loaded versions do
not read any format files.
There is no check in any of the versions for a disk-full condition.
Symptoms of this may include truncated .dvi and other output files.
CREATING A PRELOADED TEX
VIRTEX and preloaded versions are no longer distributed. Instead, preloaded
versions may be produced using PRELOAD.EXE. Since none of the DosTeX utilities
check for a disk-full condition, the user must monitor disk space closely
during the following steps.
First, decide how much memory
to allocate to mem[]. The .BAT files supplied with DosTeX use a size of 30000
words. The default size is 65530, which will almost certainly be too large,
since the preloaded version will not swap the array. Set the TEXMEM
environment variable accordingly. For example,
SET TEXMEM=30000
indicates that 30000 words are to be reserved for mem[].
Second, run INITEX.
You may wish to use the TMP variable to force swapping to a RAMdisk, although
this is not absolutely necessary. The dump command will cause INITEX to write
two files to the current directory. One is the .fmt file, which may be read
again (by INITEX) with the "&" notation. The second is a file named IMAGE.MEM.
This contains the array contents to use for preloading.
Third, run PRELOAD.EXE. PRELOAD requires that IMAGE.MEM be present. It also
requires source and destination filenames. The source should always be the
file PRELOAD.PRE, supplied with the distribution. This is the template from
which all preloaded versions are built. The destination is the name of the
preloaded .EXE file. NOTE: To run any preloaded TeX under versions of DOS
prior to DOS 3.0, an additional environment variable named TEXEXE must be set.
It should be set to the full pathname of the preloaded executable.
Example: SET TEXEXE = C:\TEX\LATEX.EXE
Example scripts for producing preloaded versions of "plain" and LaTeX are
provided in PLAIN.BAT and LATEX.BAT. The memory allocated for mem[] should
be modified as needed in the local installation environment.
SUPPORT POLICY
There is no warranty of any kind for DosTeX. Don Knuth of Stanford
University is the original author of the TeX system. DosTeX is
simply a port of his work to the MSDOS operating system. In the
WEB source of TeX Knuth writes,
Although considerable effort has been expended to make
the TeX program correct and reliable, no warranty is
implied; the author disclaims any obligation or liability
for damages, including but not limited to special,
indirect, or consequential damages arising out of or in
connection with the use or performance of this software.
This disclaimer applies equally to DosTeX. Nevertheless, it is
the intent of Electronetics, Inc. to continue to update DosTeX
as new versions of TeX become available and to correct bugs
which may have been introduced by the porting process. This version
of DosTeX has passed the TRIP validation test specified
by Knuth.
Support of DosTeX at present consists of correction of bugs
reported to and verified by Electronetics, Incorporated.
It is currently provided at no charge. Anything that prevents
or hinders the proper operation of producing documents using DosTeX
consitutes a potential bug. If applicable, a DosTeX bug should
exhibit behavior not shown by other versions of TeX.
Bug reports must contain sufficient information to reliably reproduce the
aberrant behavior. Other pertinent information such as your name and address
must be included. Telephone support is not available at present.
Suggested fixes or workarounds are welcome. Enhancements to DosTeX
or requests for other TeXware will be handled on an individual basis.
Send bug reports and other correspondence to:
Gary Beihl
Electronetics, Incorporated
Paine Field, Bldg. 335
Everett, WA 98204 USA
The current distribution may be ordered from the above address by
sending (check or money order to Electronetics) for US$75
(US$85 foreign).
HINTS
The DosTeX preloaded versions require access to over 500,000 bytes free memory.
The amount of free memory may be checked using the CHKDSK command under DOS.
If you experience difficulty finding enough free memory, the
following hints may be useful. Reboot after any changes to CONFIG.SYS,
then rerun CHKDSK.
1. Try making a preloaded version with a smaller value for TEXMEM.
2. If you have a CONFIG.SYS file, remove all device driver
entries from it. These are lines beginning with `DEVICE = ...'.
If your device drivers are small, you may be able to squeeze them back in.
We have run DosTeX with drivers for a RAMdisk and a harddisk present
(DOS 3.1). Buffers also occupy substantial memory. For example,
changing `BUFFERS=20' to `BUFFERS=10' will save over 5000 bytes.
If you have difficulty opening files for no apparent reason, try adding
`FILES=10' (or larger) to your CONFIG.SYS file.
3. Remove any memory-resident (`pop-up') utilities. Note that
PRINT.COM leaves behind a resident portion after the first execution.
Try `COPY /B A.FILE PRN' instead of `PRINT A.FILE'.
4. The environment also occupies space. This is the /E:nn option in
the `SHELL=...' line of CONFIG.SYS, where nn is the
number of 16-byte paragraphs reserved for the environment (DOS 3.1).
The environment variables TEXINPUTS and TEXFONTS tell DosTeX
where system input and .tfm files are located. TEXFORMATS tells where
to look for .fmt (format) files. You won't need TEXFORMATS unless you
use INITEX. Example settings are
SET TEXINPUTS=C:\TEX\INPUTS
SET TEXFONTS=C:\TEX\FONTS\TFM
SET TEXFORMATS=C:\TEX\FORMATS
The environment variable FONTDIR tells the Epson .dvi driver (DVIEPS) and
Hercules previewer (DVI2HERC) where
to find the font raster images. They assume subdirectories for each
magnification. For example, with
SET FONTDIR=C:\TEX\FONTS\PK\
DVIEPS will look for \magstep0 font cmr10 (PK format) in file
C:\TEX\FONTS\PK\240\CMR10.PK
since the Epson is a 240 dots per inch
device (horizontal).
The 4,500,000 byte disk space requirement is only approximate. Should you
experience unexplained difficulty in installation or production of preloaded
versions, you may need to free up more disk.