Re: [Groff] *roff for desktop publishing - is it feasible?

[Gerard Lally]

On Sun, 23 Oct 2016, at 21:28, address@hidden wrote:
> On 23-Oct-2016 18:52:41 Gerard Lally wrote:
> > Is it possible to lay out a page, as in the attached sample file,
> > using *roff? I'm about to commit myself to learning troff and friends
> > more thoroughly. Before I start I'd like to have a broad idea of its
> > limitations.
> > 
> > I don't need a how-to, detailed or otherwise, showing the steps you'd
> > take to produce this page in *roff. Just an idea whether or not the
> > wizards among you on this list would consider tackling such a project
> > with your favourite document formatter.
> 
> Since you seek a short answer, it is "Yes"! This includes fancy
> things like the circular layout of the starts of lines below
> "Personal Characteristics". Basically, in troff, you can define
> what objects you want to put on the page, and tell troff exactly
> where to put them. As for the graphic elements, so long as each
> is available in EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) format, it is easy
> to place them where desired and with the desired size.[**]

Remarkable! I came across a post of yours in the list archives which
hinted at *roff's capabilities in this regard. I was quite excited to
see it suggested.
 
> However, some of the details of achieving the layout in your example
> could be intricate in troff, and also it looks as though the fonts
> you have used are not those available by default in troff, and would
> need to be installed (which itself is a somewhat finicky process).

Oh that image is just something I selected at random to convey the
layout and complexity I had in mind. Ignore the fonts please! As it
happens I have been slowly working my way through some troff books I
bought (my namesake Lally co-authored one of them!), using heirloom
troff, where font installation is straightforward. I'd like to master
raw troff first, and then look at the macros.

> Hoping this helps!

It certainly does Ted. Thank you! I'm happy to know I won't hit a wall
somewhere down the line. I really don't mind spending time mastering
*roff, once I know what can be done with or without effort.

> Ted.
> [**] In illustration of the latter point, I attach a frivolous little
> piece of scientific writing I composed a while ago ...
> Attached PDF: gravity_levityC.pdf