Index preparation is a tedious and time-consuming task.
This paper indicates how the indexing process can be automated
in a way that is largely independent of a specific typesetting system
and independent of the format being used.
Fundamental issues related to this process are identified and analyzed.
Specifically, we develop a framework for placing index
commands in the document. In addition, the design of
a general purpose index processor that
transforms a raw index into an alphabetized version is described.
The resulting system has proved very useful and effective in producing
indexes for several books, technical reports, and manuals.
A comparison of our system with indexing facilities
available from a variety of other document preparation environments is given.
Keywords: index placement, index processing, source-language model,
direct manipulation.