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mdwtools package release note
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Copyright (c) 1996 Mark Wooding, except doafter, which is Copyright (c) 1996
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Peter Schmitt and Mark Wooding.
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These programs are free software; you can redistribute them and/or modify
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them under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
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the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
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(at your option) any later version.
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These programs are distributed in the hope that they will be useful,
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but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
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MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
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GNU General Public License for more details.
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You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
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along with these programs; if not, write to the Free Software
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Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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--- What it's all about ---
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This is a bunch of LaTeX 2e packages which have made my life as a LaTeX user
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easier, so I thought I'd share them. I'm mainly an ARM assembler hacker
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(which explains why my TeX code looks so horrible), although I have been
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known to write documentation for programs. This may explain the sort of
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things these packages do, and where I'm coming from.
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The packages are made available under the GNU General Public Licence (not the
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usual LaTeX agreement). A copy of this licence is supplied in the file
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COPYING. You should read this document if you haven't read it already, even
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if it's just for educational value. I'm not actually sure how good a thing
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the GNU GPL actually is, so I'm sort of testing the water. The idea that
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this is how all software should be distributed still fills me with a certain
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amount of trepidation.
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--- What's in the box ---
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You should have received the following files in whatever sort of archive
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thing this suite came in:
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README -- You've got this file for sure, because it's this one
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COPYING -- A textual version of the GNU General Public Licence
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at.dtx -- Documentation and code for `at.sty' package
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cmtt.dtx -- Documentation and code for `cmtt.sty'package and
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doafter.dtx -- Documentation and code for `doafter.sty' package; the
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code is also used in `syntax.sty' and `mdwtab.sty'
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mdwlist.dtx -- Documentation and code for `mdwlist.sty' package
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mdwmath.dtx -- Documentation and code for `mdwmath.sty' package
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mdwtab.dtx -- Documentation and code for `mdwtab.sty' and `mathenv.sty'
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footnote.dtx -- Documentation and code for `footnote.sty' package; the
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code is used in `mdwtab.sty'
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sverb.dtx -- Documentation and code for `sverb.stx' package
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syntax.dtx -- Documentation and code for `syntax.dtx' package
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mdwtools.ins -- Installation script for all the packages
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gpl.tex -- LaTeX version of the GNU General Public Licence
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mdwtools.tex -- Definitions for typesetting the documentation
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If you're missing any of these files, complain at whoever gave the rest of
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them to you, and get them quickly. However, if you're lucky, you may have
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received some other files:
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at.sty -- Unpacked `at.sty' package
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cmtt.sty -- Unpacked `cmtt.sty' package
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mTTenc.def -- Unpacked encoding definition file for `cmtt.sty'
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mTTcmtt.fd -- Unpacked font definition file for `cmtt.sty'
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doafter.sty -- Unpacked `doafter.sty' package for LaTeX
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doafter.tex -- Unpacked `doafter.tex' package for Plain TeX
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mathenv.sty -- Unpacked `mathenv.sty' package
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mdwlist.sty -- Unpacked `mdwlist.sty' package
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mdwmath.sty -- Unpacked `mdwmath.sty' package
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mdwtab.sty -- Unpacked `mdwtab.sty' package
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footnote.sty -- Unpackad `savenot.dty' package
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sverb.sty -- Unpacked `sverb.sty' package
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syntax.sty -- Unpacked `syntax.sty' package
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at.dvi -- Typeset documentation for `at.sty'
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cmtt.dvi -- Typeset documentation for `cmtt.sty' and co.
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doafter.dvi -- Typeset documentation for `doafter.sty'
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mdwlist.dtx -- Typeset documentation for `mdwlist.sty'
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mdwmath.dvi -- Typeset documentation for `mdwmath.sty'
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mdwtab.dvi -- Typeset documentation for `mdwtab.sty' and `mathenv.sty'
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footnote.dvi -- Typeset documentation for `footnote.sty'
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sverb.dvi -- Typeset documentation for `sverb.sty'
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syntax.dvi -- Typeset documentation for `syntax.sty'
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If you've already got these, then great, because you don't have to generate
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them. If you haven't, it's not a big deal. You might also have a bunch of
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files with extensions like `.log', `.aux', `.tmp', `.ilg' and so on. These
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files are really not at all interesting, and you might as well get rid of
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--- What the packages do ---
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Before we can get anywhere, you need to know what the packages do, roughly
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speaking. Here's a quick rundown:
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at.sty -- Allows you to use `@' as a sort of `command-introducing'
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character, a bit like `\' is already. This gives you
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a lot more short command names which you can assign to
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common constructions. For example, you can set up
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@/<text>/ as a command to put <text> in italics.
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cmtt.sty -- Provides an `mTT' encoding for the Computer Modern
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Typewriter font, which solves lots of messy problems.
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doafter.sty -- Provides a TeX programmer's utility
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\doafter <token> <group>
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which does the <token> after the group is complete,
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including any \aftergroup things. The code was originally
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written by Peter Schmitt in answer to a `challenge' I made
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on comp.text.tex;I tweaked it a bit to make it work
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slightly better. doafter.tex is a plain TeX version of
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mathenv.sty -- Contains a collection of mathematical environments with
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a theme of aligning things in columns. There's a
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rewritten version of `eqnarray' which is much more
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powerful than the old one, and it gets the spacing right.
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This package requires `mdwtab.sty' in order to work. It
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is extracted from `mdwtab.dtx'. In general, the AmS
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things to a better job, although it seems that the mathenv
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matrix and script handling environments give prettier
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results than the AmS equivalents (at least to my eyes).
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mdwlist.sty -- Various list related environments. There's a more
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versatile `description' environment, and some stuff for
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making `compacted' lists (with no extra space between
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mdwmath.sty -- Contains a few trivial definitions for mathematical
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things. The main thing is that the \sqrt command for
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doing square roots has been improved -- there's a \sqrt*
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command which stops the line being drawn over the formula
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being square-rooted, and the positioning of the root
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index (the optional argument) has been improved.
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mdwtab.sty -- A complete ground-up rewrite of LaTeX's `tabular' and
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`array' environments. Has lots of advantages over
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the standard version, and over the version in `array.sty'.
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It works correctly with all the table-related packages in
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the Tools bundle (longtable, delarray, hhline, tabularx
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and dcolumn). This package includes most of the code
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from `doafter.sty' and `footnote.sty' (it doesn't load
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the packages -- it has its own copies built-in, although
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you won't waste memory if you do load these packages).
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To generate `mdwtab.sty', you require `mdwtab.dtx',
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`doafter.dtx' and `footnote.dtx'; the last two provide
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footnote.sty -- Provides commands for saving executing footnotes; the
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author has noticed several packages which attempt to
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enable footnotes in tables, all of which eat an extra
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token list register. This is an attempt to offer shared
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code to do the job, saving space and effort. It also
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provides a `footnote' environment which allows verbatim
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sverb.sty -- A bunch of macros for doing verbatim things. Required
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for typesetting all the documentation for the other
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syntax.sty -- A load of commands for describing syntax. There's an
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environment for typesetting BNF grammars. But best of
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all, there's a load of commands and environments for
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drawing syntax diagrams. Required for typesetting all
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the documentation for the other packages. If you're
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extracting syntax.sty from syntax.dtx, you also need
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With the exception of the dependencies listed above, the packages will all
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work independently of each other. If you want to typeset the documentation,
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you'll need `sverb.sty' and `syntax.sty'. Typesetting the documentation
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isn't essential, although it will probably help if you can see what the
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various commands actually do.
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--- Extracting the packages ---
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If you don't have the various .sty files already, you'll need to extract them
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from the .dtx files. This requires docstrip.tex, which should be part of
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your base LaTeX 2e distribution. If you have docstrip vsersion 2.3d, which
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is available with the December 1995 release of LaTeX, things will go rather
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faster. If your LaTeX release is much older than this, you should upgrade,
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because the packages need a fairly new LaTeX anyway. (I could do something
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about this, but I won't, because I want to encourage everyone to upgrade.)
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If everything's set up correctly, all you should need to do is say
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or whatever incantation is necessary to run TeX or LaTeX on the supplied
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`mdwtools.ins' file on your system.
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TeX will grind away at the files for a bit, and then say `Done' at you. (This
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could take a while, so be patient.) You will then have a mdwtools.log file,
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which you can throw away, and a collection of sparkly new .sty files, which
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you should put somewhere where TeX can find them easily.
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--- Typesetting the documentation ---
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If you want to typeset the documentation for a package, you'll need the
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`mdwtools.tex' file provided, and the `syntax.sty' and `sverb.sty' packages.
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You'll also need the `.dtx' file for the package you want documentation on,
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and any packages it generated.
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For example, if you want documentation on `mathenv.sty', you need:
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mdwtools.tex -- Shared defintions for all the documentation files
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syntax.sty -- Syntax typesetting commands
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sverb.sty -- Verbatim text handling commands
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mathenv.sty -- So the documentation can use it to demonstrate its
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mdwtab.sty -- Required by `mathenv.sty'
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mdwtab.dtx -- The documentation file from which `mathenv.sty' was
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extracted, and therefore the file which contains the
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documentation you want to read
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Make sure you've got all the files, and then run LaTeX on the .dtx file you
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TeX will start hammering away for a very short while, and then stop and ask
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you whether you want to build the indexing files. Generating index files
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takes a lot longer (I'd guess that it doubled the amount of time taken to
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typeset the `.dtx' file) so I don't recommend it unless:
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* you've got a very fast processor, or
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* you're very interested in how the package works internally, or
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* you just like everything to be complete, or
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* you're a masochist.
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Even so, there's no point writing indexing information the first time you
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run LaTeX on a file, because the table of contents hasn't been created yet,
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and when you LaTeX the file the second time, all the references will change.
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If you want the index files anyway, type `y' when you're asked. Otherwise,
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type 'n'. You know you want to type `n' really...
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If you want to do the job properly, you need to run LaTeX a second time
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to read in the contents table. /This/ is the correct time to turn on
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indexing, if you really want it.
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If you did build the index files, you should now sort the index by saying
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makeindex -s gind.ist <name>.idx
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where <name> is the same as the name of the `.dtx' file. The `gind.ist' file
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should have come with LaTeX. Having done this, you should run the `.dtx'
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file though LaTeX one final time, to insert the formatted index.
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You can now print or preview the generated `.dvi' file using whatever tools
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you usually use for such things.
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--- What changed? ---
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Here's a list of what changed in the various releases.
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1.00 * First general releases of everything.
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1.01 * Fixed typos in various bits of documentation.
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* (mdwtab.sty) Added enhanced \cline command. Added
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hhline.sty to list of supported table-related packages.
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(I guess it always worked -- I just forgot about it.)
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Made some of the section titles a little sillier ;-)
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* (mathenv.sty) Added some new random environments, mainly
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because I saw some more interesting examples in /The/
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/TeXbook/ and had an idea... Now support nesting of
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various environments, albeit rather imperfectly.
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* (at.sty) Made @-commands really properly robust. Fixed
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some lies in the documentation. Removed some truly insane
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bits of old code here too. Made package sort of
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cooperate with amsmath's use of @-commands -- suggestions
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for improvement welcomed.
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* (mdwtools.tex) Fixed /really/ stupid mistake in which made
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typesetting the documentation about fifty times slower
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than it should have been (bashes self on head several
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times). Changed the structure here a bit too, to handle
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document classes as well as packages. Made TeX much
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quieter while it's typesetting the documentation.
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* (sverb.sty) Fixed duff paragraph formatting in listing
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environment and \verbinput command (due to the `wrong
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sort' of grouping). (My excuse for missing this one is
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that my standard document class sets \parskip=0pt.)
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* (mdwtools.ins) Fixed this in line with the documentation
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which hints that it should work with older docstrips.
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It's a bit hacky but it works.
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1.02 * (gpl.tex) Fixed some bugs which made typesetting go wrong
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in larger documents. Restructured preamble so that it
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can be typeset on its own. Put in eplicit item numbers
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in the enumerate environments, for more obvious conformance
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* (mdwtab.sty) Lots of changes here, many suggested by
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David Carlisle (so oodles of thanks to him for taking
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an interest in my humble hackings). Fixed bugs, including
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one which put entirely incorrect interline spacing in
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`p' type columns. Redone the handling of [t] and [b]
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tables with top and bottom rules, and removed the
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`\rulefudge' parameter which is no longer necessary.
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Miscellaneous other changes.
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* (mdwtab.dtx) Tidied up some nastinesses in the
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documentation, and removed the `\over' commands from the
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maths demos, to keep certain people happy. Floated a few
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more of the demonstrations to make page breaking better.
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There's a danger that some of the demos are drifting too
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far away from their text, but it's not too bad yet.
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* (syntax.sty) Used \doafter here to fix some colour handling
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* (syntax.sty) Tidied up the `grammar' environment quite a
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bit (it now uses `\item', rather than trying to emulate it
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internally), and fixed some vicious bugs in it and some
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* (doafter.sty etc.) A new addition, to make the various
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packages handle colour properly. Mainly written by
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Peter Scmitt, actually, I just fiddled with it a little.
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Then Peter gave me a better version, and I've tried to
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* (footnote.sty) A new addition, to offer some shared things
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for handling footnotes. It also enables footnotes in
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parboxes, which used to be difficult, and provides a
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`footnote' environment which allows verbatim text.
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* (mdwlist.sty} A new addition, providing miscellanous
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list-related macros. It's a sort of mixed bag of things
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I've had lying around various document preambles, combined
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with some ideas from the Companion.
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* (at.sty) Rewritten command name parser to be much nicer.
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Added support for digits within @-command names (subject
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to being enabled by an option). This is in response to
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requests in comp.text.tex for digits in command names.
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* (mathenv.sty) Totally overhauled the matrix spacing rules.
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Added `script' environment. Improved numbering things,
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* (mdwtools.tex) Some minor changes here to fix some buglets.
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Played with some more float parameters, to discourage
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float pages a bit more. Then revamped completely, turned
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into a docced program (although it isn't docstripped),
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rewritten title generation, and made much more
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1.02a * (mdwtab.sty) Added support for table beautification in
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longtable. Documented how to do this.
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1.03 * (mdwtab.sty) Completely redone the paragraph-cell handling:
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list environments now work properly inside tables (without
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funny extra space appearing at the top and bottom). Also
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fixed a bug in the newline handling, which ignored negative
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interrow space in the \\ command.
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* (syntax.sty) Changed the underscore handling, and some
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other bits, to fit in rather better with LaTeX's output
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encoding system. It's nastier and hackier inside, but it
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works better with things like the DC fonts. Also stopped
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re-lowercasing of `~' from escaping and messing everything
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up for everyone. Improved underscore appearance by
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lowering it some more.
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* (syntax.sty) Replaced some `2's with `\tw@'s. Added a
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comment about dvips's inaccurate positioning of rules.
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* (sverb.sty) Made non-* environments build end text from
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the name of the current environment, rather than having it
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hardcoded. Also stopped `unignore' environments being
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* (sverb.dtx) Removed some porkies from the documentation.
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* (mdwtab.sty) Fixed some miscellaneous typos. Removed
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`\rulefudge' from the table of tweakables, because it
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was withdrawn in release 1.02.
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* (cmtt.dtx) New package, for handling the `cmtt' font
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better. It introduces a special encoding for the font,
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and provides a command which allows you to use all the
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characters without the disadvantages of verbatim text.
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* (other changes) Improved distribution building and
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testing stuff which you can't see because I'm not
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1.04 * (syntax.sty) Provided some new commands for playing with
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interword spacing in `tt' fonts.
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* (doafter.dtx and footnote.dtx) Added some docstrip guards
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around the meta-comments, so that the charactertable and
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the GPL header aren't put into other packages.
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Unfortunately the version of docstrip which understands
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this hasn't been released yet...
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* RCSified everything, so I can find old revisions, and I'm
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less likely to destroy everything.
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* (footnote.dtx) Added a check for AMS environments doing
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measuring passes, to avoid duplicated footnotes. (Spotted
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1.05 * (mdwtab.dtx) Fixed stupid bug in paragraph cells which
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left 1000pt high table rows. (Spotted by Rowland.)
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* (mdwtab.dtx) Fixed horizontal spacing problems with
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empty paragraph cells.
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* (mdwlist.dtx) Allowed compact lists and resumed lists
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to pass arguments on to the underlying environments.
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doafter.sty Add Peter Schmitt's testing for implicit/explicit braces,
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as a package or docstrip option. (This extra testing is
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a significant chunk of code, and I don't think it's worth
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burdening the standard version with it. Peter agrees with
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mathenv.sty Do postprocessing on display maths environments to position
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the equations and equation numbers properly, so they don't
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overlap (like the AMS environments do, although more
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robustly). Once this is done, I think I'll have a reasonable
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case for saying that this provides an alternative to the
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AMS environments, although quite what the advantage is I
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don't know: mdwtab.sty isn't exactly small.
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Work is currently `in progress' on this one.
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mdwtab.sty Consider doing postprocessing on tables (yuk) in a blkarray
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footnote.sty Merge with Robin Fairbairn's package of the same name. Allow
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different rules for continued notes (suggested by Donald
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Arseneau, after a news article by Jonathan Wand).
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New packages I'm currently working on a little something for typesetting
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poetry properly (centring poems horizontally based on the
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longest line, etc.), handling footnotes properly, doing
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line numbering etc. If anyone has any wishes for this,
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little things a tyro like me ought to know, or knows that
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it's already done better than I could manage, then let me
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--- Contacting the author ---
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The author can be reached by email at mdw@excessus.demon.co.uk. This is his
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personal dial-up account, paid for privately, so don't expect replies after
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five minutes or anything like that.
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If you do have any comments regarding the code, its documentation, or
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anything else to do with these packages, don't leave me guessing -- let me
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know. While I won't guarantee to do anything about your comments, chances
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are that I'll right any wrongs and rescue any damsels in distress (oh, no,
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