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Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:
From:
Robin Fairbairns <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 6 Oct 1997 17:09:34 +0100
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Your message of "Mon, 06 Oct 1997 15:35:57 BST." <[log in to unmask]>
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> > an \include-like system that allows you to
> > include stuff at arbitrary positions on the page, which is what
> > TUGboat actually needs.
>
> Why do you need an \include? or in particular why do you need an
> \includeonly ? Tugboat isn't so long is it?

I'm using an \include mechanism for my own personal work because there
are >600 of these letters.  TUGboat certainly doesn't need it: it
creeps into the discussion from Matt Swift's vaulting ambition.

> There seem to be two issues
> 1) making a `master class' that can pull a series of separate articles
>    each from a separate file. Each of these `article files' should be a
>    self contained document that may be processed independantly
>    (although of necessity with a different class and perhaps a
>    slightly different look to the output when processed independantly).

This, in essence, is what I use for the letters.  Somewhat less formal
than a proper class, but...

> 2) A generalised \include/\includeonly system that does not force the
>    \clearpage as in the current implementation.
>
> It seems you can have 1) without 2).

Yes.

> You can more or less get (1) by just having the master class redefine
> \documentclass to do nothing, re-enable \usepackage for use by the
> articles, and just set up whatever typographic details are needed to
> handle the `front matter' of the individual articles when considered
> as sections in the larger work.

The current thing doesn't re-enable \usepackage, and also causes
\end{document} to ignore the rest of the file.  I did think about
\usepackage, but I don't actually need it myself...

> There are problems when you start to consider packages used by the
> different articles clashing,

Wouldn't happen to me, since every file is from a common skeleton.

> and issues relating to avoiding namespace
> clashes with \label etc, but they are not insurmountable (probably:-).

Name spaces are a real pain.

> However if you miss out one of the articles then page breaks etc will
> all change. (Unless you force each article starts on a new page and
> use \include.)
>
> (2) is harder and perhaps not even possible in full generality,
> depending on what you want to specify happens to floats, whether or
> not they are allowed to float out of or into regions of the document
> that are potentially not included. (One of the main reasons why the
> current \include forces a \clearpage before and after the included
> section is so you don't have to worry about floats crossing these
> boundaries.)

If you're setting a journal in LaTeX (I've got clients who really do
do this -- it's not just TUG), you need to be *very* careful about
what your floats are up to.  You don't meekly take whatever LaTeX
offers, and accept the result.  Indeed, one class I've written
actually complains if there are floats outstanding when it comes to
\end{document}.

I don't, therefore, regard floats as the main issue.  However, whether
Matt's generalised \include is actually achievable (even if one
ignores floats), I'm still not sure.  Matt certainly doesn't seem to
be working on it any more.

Robin

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