Re: [Groff] replicating official memo

[Peter Schaffter]

Daniel --

On Mon, Feb 04, 2013, Daniel Lyons wrote:
> I'm thinking now if I ever want to do footnotes or number headings
> or whatever, I should instead customize one of the existing macro
> packages.  This is my question.  I gather this is usually done with
> -ms, is that correct?  Would anybody recommend using -mm or -me for
> this task instead?  Is the chapter on customizing -ms in UTP the
> right reference for this kind of job?  I'm asking now because I'm
> not heavily invested in any of them yet because I'm so new, so it
> seems to be the appropriate time to pick one and commit.

I learned groff by reading the cstr54, which others have mentioned.
It provides almost everything you need to know, and is only slightly
out-of-date, mostly with respect to issues trivial to learning, for
example "long names".  Differences between the older troff, which
is described in the cstr54, and the newer groff can be found by
reading the manpage, groff_diff.

The mom macros make a very good starting point for learning groff,
too, since, amongst other things, they come with their own complete
documentation, written in a more easily accessible style than, say,
the cstr54 or even UTP (also an excellent reference work).

Lastly, once you've grasped the fundamentals, the groff info manual
itself is your best place to go for learning.  I use it constantly.

-- 
Peter Schaffter
http://www.schaffter.ca