stable 1999.02.17

1 files changed, 447 insertions, 428 deletions

diff --git a/tex/context/base/supp-fun.tex b/tex/context/base/supp-fun.tex
index a5a49732e..95a402fc1 100644
--- a/tex/context/base/supp-fun.tex
+++ b/tex/context/base/supp-fun.tex
@@ -1,428 +1,447 @@
-%D \module

-%D   [       file=supp-fun,

-%D        version=1995.10.10,

-%D          title=\CONTEXT\ Support Macros,

-%D       subtitle=Fun Stuff,

-%D         author=Hans Hagen,

-%D           date=\currentdate,

-%D      copyright={PRAGMA / Hans Hagen \& Ton Otten}]

-%C

-%C This module is part of the \CONTEXT\ macro||package and is

-%C therefore copyrighted by \PRAGMA. Non||commercial use is

-%C granted.

-

-\unprotect

-

-%D This module implements some typographics tricks that can 

-%D be fun when designing document layouts. The examples use

-%D macros that are typical to \CONTEXT, but non \CONTEXT\

-%D users can use the drop caps and first line treatment 

-%D macros without problems. This module will be extended

-%D when the need for more of such tricks arises.

-

-\ifx \undefined \writestatus \input supp-mis.tex \relax \fi

-

-\writestatus{loading}{Context Support Macros / Fun Stuff}

-

-%D \macros

-%D   {DroppedCaps}

-%D     

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \DroppedCaps 

-%D   {\color[green]} {cmbx12} {2.2\baselineskip} {2pt} {\baselineskip} {2} 

-%D   Let's start

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D

-%D \haalbuffer with dropped caps, those blown up first

-%D characters of a paragraph. It's hard to implement a general

-%D mechanism that suits all situations, but dropped caps are so 

-%D seldomly used that we can permit ourselves a rather user

-%D unfriendly implementation.

-%D

-%D \typebuffer

-%D

-%D As we will see, there are 7 different settings involved. The

-%D first argument takes a command that is used to do whatever

-%D fancy things we want to do, but normally this one will be

-%D empty. The second argument takes the font. Because we're

-%D dealing with something very typographic, there is no real

-%D reason to adopt complicated font switching schemes, a mere

-%D name will do. Font encodings can bring no harm, because the

-%D alphanumeric characters are nearly always located at their

-%D natural position in the encoding vector.

-%D

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \DroppedCaps 

-%D   {\color[red]} {cmbx12} {\baselineskip} {0pt} {0pt} {1} 

-%D   This simple

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D

-%D \haalbuffer case shows us what happens when we apply minimal

-%D values. Here we used:

-%D

-%D \typebuffer

-%D

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \DroppedCaps 

-%D   {\color[red]} {cmbx12} {2\baselineskip} {0pt} {\baselineskip} {2} 

-%D   In this ugly 

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D 

-%D \haalbuffer example the third argument tells 

-%D this macro that we want a dropped capital scaled to the 

-%D baseline distance. The two zero point arguments are the 

-%D horizontal and vertical offsets and the last arguments

-%D determines the hanging indentation. In this paragraph we 

-%D set the height to two times the baselinedistance and use 

-%D two hanging lines: 

-%D 

-%D \typebuffer

-%D 

-%D Here, the first character is moved down one baseline. Here

-%D we also see why the horizontal offset is important. The

-%D first example (showing the~L) sets this to a few points and

-%D also used a slightly larger height. 

-%D

-%D Of course common users (typist) are not supposed to see this

-%D kind of fuzzy definitions, but fortunately \TEX\ permits us

-%D to hide them in macros. Using a macro also enables us to

-%D garantee consistency throughout the document:

-%D

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \def\MyDroppedCaps%

-%D   {\DroppedCaps 

-%D      {\color[green]} {cmbx12} {5\baselineskip} {3pt} {3\baselineskip} {4}}

-%D

-%D \MyDroppedCaps The implementation

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D 

-%D \typebuffer

-%D 

-%D \haalbuffer of the general macro is rather simple and only

-%D depends on the arguments given and the dimensions of the

-%D strut box. We explicitly load the font, which is no problem

-%D because \TEX\ does not load a font twice. We could have

-%D combined some arguments, like the height, vertical offset

-%D and the number of lines, but the current implementation

-%D proved to be the most flexible. One should be aware of the

-%D fact that the offsets depend on the design of the glyphs 

-%D used. 

-

-\def\DroppedCaps#1#2#3#4#5#6#7%

-  {\par

-   \vskip#6\baselineskip

-   \penalty-200

-   \vskip-#6\baselineskip

-   \setbox0=\hbox

-     {\font\temp=#2 at #3%

-      \temp#1{#7}\hskip#4}%

-   \setbox0=\hbox

-     {\lower#5\box0}%

-   \ht0=\ht\strutbox

-   \dp0=\dp\strutbox

-   \hangindent\wd0

-   \hangafter-#6%

-   \noindent

-   \hskip-\wd0

-   \vbox{\box0}%

-   \nobreak}

-

-%D Before we go to the next topic, we summarize this command:

-%D

-%D \starttypen

-%D \DroppedCaps {command} {font} {height} {hoffset} {voffset} {lines}

-%D \stoptypen

-

-%D \macros

-%D   {TreatFirstLine}

-%D

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \TreatFirstLine {\sc} {} {} {}

-%D Instead of limiting its action to one token, the next macro

-%D treats the whole first line. This paragraph was typeset by

-%D saying:

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D

-%D \haalbuffer

-%D

-%D \typebuffer

-%D

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \TreatFirstLine {\startcolor[red]\bf} {\stopcolor} {} {}

-%D The combined color and font effect is also possible,

-%D although one must be careful in using macros that accumulate

-%D grouping, but the commands used here are pretty save in that

-%D respect.

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D

-%D \haalbuffer

-%D

-%D \typebuffer

-%D 

-%D Before we explain the third and fourth argument, we show the

-%D implementation. Those who know a bit about the way \TEX\ treats

-%D tokens, will probably see in one glance that this

-%D alternative works all right for most text||only situations

-%D in which there is enough text available for the first line,

-%D but that more complicated things will blow. One has to live

-%D with that. 

-

-\def\TreatFirstLine#1#2#3#4% before, after, first, next

-  {\leavevmode

-   \bgroup

-   \forgetall

-   \bgroup

-   #1%

-   \setbox0=\box\voidb@x

-   \setbox2=\box\voidb@x

-   \def\grabfirstline##1 %

-     {\setbox2=\hbox

-        {\ifvoid0

-           {#3{\ignorespaces##1}}%

-         \else

-           \unhcopy0\ {#4{##1}}%

-         \fi}%

-      \ifdim\wd2=\!!zeropoint

-        \setbox0=\box\voidb@x

-        \setbox2=\box\voidb@x

-        \let\next=\grabfirstline

-      \else\ifdim\wd2>\hsize

-        \hbox to \hsize{\strut\unhbox0}#2\egroup

-        \break##1\ 

-        \egroup

-        \let\next=\relax

-      \else

-        \setbox0=\box2

-        \let\next=\grabfirstline

-      \fi\fi

-      \next}%

-   \grabfirstline}

-

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \gdef\FunnyCommand

-%D   {\getrandomfloat\FunnyR{0}{1}%

-%D    \getrandomfloat\FunnyG{0}{1}%

-%D    \getrandomfloat\FunnyB{0}{1}%

-%D    \definecolor[FunnyColor][r=\FunnyR,g=\FunnyG,b=\FunnyB]%

-%D    \color[FunnyColor]}

-%D 

-%D \TreatFirstLine {\bf} {} {\FunnyCommand} {\FunnyCommand}

-%D The third and fourth argument can be used to gain special effects on

-%D the individual words. Of course one needs to know 

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D 

-%D \haalbuffer 

-%D a bit more about the macro package used to get real nice effects, 

-%D but this example probably demonstrates the principles well. 

-%D 

-%D \typebuffer

-%D 

-%D Like in dropped caps case, one can hide such treatments in a

-%D macro, like:

-%D

-%D \starttypen

-%D \def\MyTreatFirstLine%

-%D   {\TreatFirstLine {\bf} {} {\FunnyCommand} {\FunnyCommand}}

-%D \stoptypen

-

-%D \macros 

-%D   {reshapebox}

-%D 

-%D \startbuffer 

-%D \beginofshapebox

-%D When using \CONTEXT, one can also apply this funny command to whole lines 

-%D by using the reshape mechanism. Describing this interesting mechanism falls

-%D outside the scope of this module, so we only show the trick. This is an

-%D example of low level \CONTEXT\ functionality: it's all there, and it's

-%D stable, but not entirely meant for novice users. 

-%D \endofshapebox

-%D 

-%D \reshapebox{\FunnyCommand{\box\shapebox}} \flushshapebox

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D 

-%D \haalbuffer

-%D 

-%D \typebuffer

-%D

-%D This mechanism permits hyphenation and therefore gives 

-%D better results than the previously discussed macro 

-%D \type{\TreatFirstLine}. 

-

-%D \macros

-%D   {TreatFirstCharacter}

-%D

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \TreatFirstCharacter {\bf\color[green]} Just to be 

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D

-%D \haalbuffer complete we also offer a very simple one 

-%D character alternative, that is not that hard to understand:

-

-\def\TreatFirstCharacter#1#2% command, character

-  {{#1{#2}}}

-

-%D A previous paragraph started with:

-%D

-%D \typebuffer

-

-%D \macros

-%D   {StackCharacters}

-%D

-%D The next hack deals with vertical stacking.

-

-\def\StackCharacters#1#2#3#4% sequence vsize vskip command

-  {\vbox #2

-     {\forgetall

-      \baselineskip0pt

-      \def\StackCharacter##1{#4{##1}\cr\noalign{#3}}%

-      \halign{\hss##\hss&##\cr\handletokens#1\with\StackCharacter\cr}}}

-

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \StackCharacters{CONTEXT}{}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D 

-%D Such a stack looks like:

-%D 

-%D \startregelcorrectie

-%D \hbox to \hsize

-%D    {$\hss\bfd

-%D     \vcenter{\StackCharacters{TEX}    {}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}}%

-%D     \hss

-%D     \vcenter{\StackCharacters{CON}    {}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}}

-%D     \hss

-%D     \vcenter{\StackCharacters{TEXT}   {}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}}

-%D     \hss

-%D     \vcenter{\StackCharacters{CONTEXT}{}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}}

-%D     \hss$}

-%D \stopregelcorrectie

-%D 

-%D and is typeset by saying:

-%D

-%D \typebuffer

-%D

-%D An alternative would have been

-%D

-%D \starttypen

-%D \StackCharacters{CONTEXT}{to 5cm}{\vfill}{\FunnyCommand}

-%D \stoptypen

-

-%D \macros

-%D   {processtokens}

-%D

-%D At a lower level horizontal and vertical manipulations are

-%D already supported by:

-%D

-%D \starttypen

-%D \processtokens {begin} {between} {end} {space} {text}

-%D \stoptypen

-%D

-%D \startbuffer[a]

-%D \processtokens 

-%D   {\hbox to .5\hsize\bgroup} {\hfill} {\egroup} 

-%D   {\space} {LET'S HAVE}

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D  

-%D \startbuffer[b]

-%D \processtokens 

-%D   {\vbox\bgroup\raggedcenter\hsize1em} {\vskip.25ex} {\egroup} 

-%D   {\strut} {FUN}

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D

-%D This macro is able to typeset: 

-%D

-%D \leavevmode\hbox to \hsize

-%D   {$\hfil\hfil

-%D    \vcenter{\bf\haalbuffer[a]}%

-%D    \hfil

-%D    \vcenter{\bfd\haalbuffer[b]}%

-%D    \hfil\hfil$}

-%D

-%D which was specified as:

-%D

-%D \typebuffer[a]

-%D \typebuffer[b]

-

-%D \macros

-%D   {NormalizeFontHeight, NormalizeFontWidth}

-%D

-%D Next we introduce some font manipulation macros. When we

-%D want to typeset some text spread in a well defined area, it

-%D can be considered bad practice to manipulate character and

-%D word spacing. In such situations the next few macros can be

-%D of help: 

-%D 

-%D \starttypen

-%D \NormalizeFontHeight \name {sample text} {height} {font}

-%D \NormalizeFontWidth  \name {sample text} {width}  {font}

-%D \stoptypen

-%D 

-%D These are implemented using an auxilliary macro:

-

-\def\NormalizeFontHeight%

-  {\NormalizeFontSize\ht}

-

-\def\NormalizeFontWidth%

-  {\NormalizeFontSize\wd} 

-

-\def\NormalizeFontSize#1#2#3#4#5% 

-  {\setbox0=\hbox{\font\temp=#5 at 10pt\temp#3}%

-   \dimen0=#10

-   \dimen2=10000pt

-   \divide\dimen2 by \dimen0

-   \dimen4=#4

-   \divide\dimen4 by 1000

-   \dimen4=\number\dimen2\dimen4

-   \edef\NormalizedFontSize{\the\dimen4}% 

-   \font#2=#5 at \NormalizedFontSize}

-

-%D Consider for instance:

-%D 

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \NormalizeFontHeight \temp {X} {2\baselineskip} {cmr10}

-%D 

-%D {\temp To Be Or Not To Be}

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D 

-%D \typebuffer

-%D 

-%D This shows up as (we also show the baselines):

-%D  

-%D {\showbaselines\haalbuffer}

-%D 

-%D The horizontal counterpart is:

-%D 

-%D \startbuffer

-%D \NormalizeFontWidth \temp {This Sentence Fits} {\hsize} {cmr10}

-%D 

-%D \hbox{\temp This Sentence Fits}

-%D \stopbuffer

-%D 

-%D \typebuffer

-%D 

-%D \startregelcorrectie

-%D \ruledhbox{\haalbuffer}

-%D \stopregelcorrectie

-%D

-%D The calculated font scale is avaliable in the macro 

-%D \type{\NormalizedFontSize}. 

-%D

-%D One can of course combine these macros with the ones 

-%D described earlier, like in:

-%D 

-%D \starttypen

-%D \NormalizeFontHeight \NicelyDroppedFont {X} {2\baselineskip} {cmbx12}

-%D 

-%D \def\NicelyDroppedCaps%

-%D   {\DroppedCaps 

-%D      {\kleur[groen]} 

-%D      {\NicelyDroppedFont} 

-%D      {2pt} 

-%D      {\baselineskip} 

-%D      {2}}

-%D \stoptypen

-%D

-%D It's up to the reader to test this one. 

-

-\protect

-

-\endinput

+%D \module
+%D   [       file=supp-fun,
+%D        version=1995.10.10,
+%D          title=\CONTEXT\ Support Macros,
+%D       subtitle=Fun Stuff,
+%D         author=Hans Hagen,
+%D           date=\currentdate,
+%D      copyright={PRAGMA / Hans Hagen \& Ton Otten}]
+%C
+%C This module is part of the \CONTEXT\ macro||package and is
+%C therefore copyrighted by \PRAGMA. Non||commercial use is
+%C granted.
+
+\unprotect
+
+%D This module implements some typographics tricks that can 
+%D be fun when designing document layouts. The examples use
+%D macros that are typical to \CONTEXT, but non \CONTEXT\
+%D users can use the drop caps and first line treatment 
+%D macros without problems. This module will be extended
+%D when the need for more of such tricks arises.
+
+\ifx \undefined \writestatus \input supp-mis.tex \relax \fi
+
+\writestatus{loading}{Context Support Macros / Fun Stuff}
+
+\ifx\definefont\undefined
+  \def\definefont[#1][#2]{\expandafter\font\csname#1\endcsname=#2\relax}
+\fi
+
+%D \macros
+%D   {DroppedCaps}
+%D     
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \DroppedCaps 
+%D   {\color[green]} {cmbx12} 
+%D   {2.2\baselineskip} {2pt} {\baselineskip} {2} 
+%D   Let's start
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D
+%D \haalbuffer with dropped caps, those blown up first
+%D characters of a paragraph. It's hard to implement a general
+%D mechanism that suits all situations, but dropped caps are so 
+%D seldomly used that we can permit ourselves a rather user
+%D unfriendly implementation.
+%D
+%D \typebuffer
+%D
+%D As we will see, there are 7 different settings involved. The
+%D first argument takes a command that is used to do whatever
+%D fancy things we want to do, but normally this one will be
+%D empty. The second argument takes the font. Because we're
+%D dealing with something very typographic, there is no real
+%D reason to adopt complicated font switching schemes, a mere
+%D name will do. Font encodings can bring no harm, because the
+%D alphanumeric characters are nearly always located at their
+%D natural position in the encoding vector.
+%D
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \DroppedCaps 
+%D   {\color[red]} {cmbx12} 
+%D   {\baselineskip} {0pt} {0pt} {1} 
+%D   This simple
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D
+%D \haalbuffer case shows us what happens when we apply minimal
+%D values. Here we used:
+%D
+%D \typebuffer
+%D
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \DroppedCaps 
+%D   {\color[red]} {cmbx12} 
+%D   {2\baselineskip} {0pt} {\baselineskip} {2} 
+%D   In this ugly 
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D 
+%D \haalbuffer example the third argument tells 
+%D this macro that we want a dropped capital scaled to the 
+%D baseline distance. The two zero point arguments are the 
+%D horizontal and vertical offsets and the last arguments
+%D determines the hanging indentation. In this paragraph we 
+%D set the height to two times the baselinedistance and use 
+%D two hanging lines: 
+%D 
+%D \typebuffer
+%D 
+%D Here, the first character is moved down one baseline. Here
+%D we also see why the horizontal offset is important. The
+%D first example (showing the~L) sets this to a few points and
+%D also used a slightly larger height. 
+%D
+%D Of course common users (typist) are not supposed to see this
+%D kind of fuzzy definitions, but fortunately \TEX\ permits us
+%D to hide them in macros. Using a macro also enables us to
+%D garantee consistency throughout the document:
+%D
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \def\MyDroppedCaps%
+%D   {\DroppedCaps 
+%D      {\color[green]} {cmbx12} 
+%D      {5\baselineskip} {3pt} {3\baselineskip} {4}}
+%D
+%D \MyDroppedCaps The implementation
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D 
+%D \typebuffer
+%D 
+%D \haalbuffer of the general macro is rather simple and only
+%D depends on the arguments given and the dimensions of the
+%D strut box. We explicitly load the font, which is no problem
+%D because \TEX\ does not load a font twice. We could have
+%D combined some arguments, like the height, vertical offset
+%D and the number of lines, but the current implementation
+%D proved to be the most flexible. One should be aware of the
+%D fact that the offsets depend on the design of the glyphs 
+%D used. 
+
+\def\DroppedCaps#1#2#3#4#5#6#7%
+  {\par
+   \vskip#6\baselineskip
+   \penalty-200
+   \vskip-#6\baselineskip
+   \setbox0=\hbox
+     {\definefont[temp][#2 at #3]%
+      \temp#1{#7}\hskip#4}%
+   \setbox0=\hbox
+     {\lower#5\box0}%
+   \ht0=\ht\strutbox
+   \dp0=\dp\strutbox
+   \hangindent\wd0
+   \hangafter-#6%
+   \noindent
+   \hskip-\wd0
+   \vbox{\forgetall\box0}%
+   \nobreak}
+
+%D Before we go to the next topic, we summarize this command:
+%D
+%D \starttypen
+%D \DroppedCaps 
+%D    {command} {font} 
+%D    {height} {hoffset} {voffset} {lines}
+%D \stoptypen
+
+%D \macros
+%D   {TreatFirstLine}
+%D
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \TreatFirstLine {\sc} {} {} {}
+%D Instead of limiting its action to one token, the next macro
+%D treats the whole first line. This paragraph was typeset by
+%D saying:
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D
+%D \haalbuffer
+%D
+%D \typebuffer
+%D
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \TreatFirstLine {\startcolor[red]\bf} {\stopcolor} {} {}
+%D The combined color and font effect is also possible,
+%D although one must be careful in using macros that accumulate
+%D grouping, but the commands used here are pretty save in that
+%D respect.
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D
+%D \haalbuffer
+%D
+%D \typebuffer
+%D 
+%D Before we explain the third and fourth argument, we show the
+%D implementation. Those who know a bit about the way \TEX\ 
+%D treats tokens, will probably see in one glance that this
+%D alternative works all right for most text||only situations
+%D in which there is enough text available for the first line,
+%D but that more complicated things will blow. One has to live
+%D with that. A workaround is rather trivial but obscures the
+%D principles used. 
+
+\def\TreatFirstLine#1#2#3#4% before, after, first, next
+  {\leavevmode
+   \bgroup
+   \forgetall
+   \bgroup
+   #1%
+   \setbox0=\box\voidb@x
+   \setbox2=\box\voidb@x
+   \def\grabfirstline##1 %
+     {\setbox2=\hbox
+        {\ifvoid0
+           {#3{\ignorespaces##1}}%
+         \else
+           \unhcopy0\ {#4{##1}}%
+         \fi}%
+      \ifdim\wd2=\!!zeropoint
+        \setbox0=\box\voidb@x
+        \setbox2=\box\voidb@x
+        \let\next=\grabfirstline
+      \else\ifdim\wd2>\hsize
+        \hbox to \hsize{\strut\unhbox0}#2\egroup
+        \break##1\ 
+        \egroup
+        \let\next=\relax
+      \else
+        \setbox0=\box2
+        \let\next=\grabfirstline
+      \fi\fi
+      \next}%
+   \grabfirstline}
+
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \gdef\FunnyCommand
+%D   {\getrandomfloat\FunnyR{0}{1}%
+%D    \getrandomfloat\FunnyG{0}{1}%
+%D    \getrandomfloat\FunnyB{0}{1}%
+%D    \definecolor[FunnyColor][r=\FunnyR,g=\FunnyG,b=\FunnyB]%
+%D    \color[FunnyColor]}
+%D 
+%D \TreatFirstLine {\bf} {} {\FunnyCommand} {\FunnyCommand}
+%D The third and fourth argument can be used to gain special 
+%D effects on the individual words. Of course one needs ...
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D 
+%D \haalbuffer 
+%D to know a bit more about the macro package used to get real 
+%D nice effects, but this example probably demonstrates the 
+%D principles well. 
+%D 
+%D \typebuffer
+%D 
+%D Like in dropped caps case, one can hide such treatments in a
+%D macro, like:
+%D
+%D \starttypen
+%D \def\MyTreatFirstLine%
+%D   {\TreatFirstLine{\bf}{}{\FunnyCommand}{\FunnyCommand}}
+%D \stoptypen
+
+%D \macros 
+%D   {reshapebox}
+%D 
+%D \startbuffer 
+%D \beginofshapebox
+%D When using \CONTEXT, one can also apply this funny command 
+%D to whole lines by using the reshape mechanism. Describing 
+%D this interesting mechanism falls outside the scope of this 
+%D module, so we only show the trick. This is an example of 
+%D low level \CONTEXT\ functionality: it's all there, and it's 
+%D stable, but not entirely meant for novice users. 
+%D \endofshapebox
+%D 
+%D \reshapebox{\FunnyCommand{\box\shapebox}} \flushshapebox
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D 
+%D \haalbuffer
+%D 
+%D \typebuffer
+%D
+%D This mechanism permits hyphenation and therefore gives 
+%D better results than the previously discussed macro 
+%D \type{\TreatFirstLine}. 
+
+%D \macros
+%D   {TreatFirstCharacter}
+%D
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \TreatFirstCharacter{\bf\color[green]} Just to be 
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D
+%D \haalbuffer complete we also offer a very simple one 
+%D character alternative, that is not that hard to understand:
+
+\def\TreatFirstCharacter#1#2% command, character
+  {{#1{#2}}}
+
+%D A previous paragraph started with:
+%D
+%D \typebuffer
+
+%D \macros
+%D   {StackCharacters}
+%D
+%D The next hack deals with vertical stacking.
+
+\def\StackCharacters#1#2#3#4% sequence vsize vskip command
+  {\vbox #2
+     {\forgetall
+      \baselineskip0pt
+      \def\StackCharacter##1{#4{##1}\cr\noalign{#3}}%
+      \halign
+        {\hss##\hss&##\cr
+         \handletokens#1\with\StackCharacter\cr}}}
+
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \StackCharacters{CONTEXT}{}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D 
+%D Such a stack looks like:
+%D 
+%D \startregelcorrectie
+%D \hbox to \hsize
+%D    {$\hss\bfd
+%D     \vcenter{\StackCharacters{TEX}    {}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}}%
+%D     \hss
+%D     \vcenter{\StackCharacters{CON}    {}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}}
+%D     \hss
+%D     \vcenter{\StackCharacters{TEXT}   {}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}}
+%D     \hss
+%D     \vcenter{\StackCharacters{CONTEXT}{}{\vskip.2ex}{\FunnyCommand}}
+%D     \hss$}
+%D \stopregelcorrectie
+%D 
+%D and is typeset by saying:
+%D
+%D \typebuffer
+%D
+%D An alternative would have been
+%D
+%D \starttypen
+%D \StackCharacters {CONTEXT} {to 5cm} {\vfill} {\FunnyCommand}
+%D \stoptypen
+
+%D \macros
+%D   {processtokens}
+%D
+%D At a lower level horizontal and vertical manipulations are
+%D already supported by:
+%D
+%D \starttypen
+%D \processtokens {begin} {between} {end} {space} {text}
+%D \stoptypen
+%D
+%D \startbuffer[a]
+%D \processtokens 
+%D   {\hbox to .5\hsize\bgroup} {\hfill} 
+%D   {\egroup} {\space} {LET'S HAVE}
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D  
+%D \startbuffer[b]
+%D \processtokens 
+%D   {\vbox\bgroup\raggedcenter\hsize1em} 
+%D   {\vskip.25ex} {\egroup} {\strut} {FUN}
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D
+%D This macro is able to typeset: 
+%D
+%D \leavevmode\hbox to \hsize
+%D   {$\hfil\hfil
+%D    \vcenter{\bf\haalbuffer[a]}%
+%D    \hfil
+%D    \vcenter{\bfd\haalbuffer[b]}%
+%D    \hfil\hfil$}
+%D
+%D which was specified as:
+%D
+%D \typebuffer[a]
+%D \typebuffer[b]
+
+%D \macros
+%D   {NormalizeFontHeight, NormalizeFontWidth}
+%D
+%D Next we introduce some font manipulation macros. When we
+%D want to typeset some text spread in a well defined area, it
+%D can be considered bad practice to manipulate character and
+%D word spacing. In such situations the next few macros can be
+%D of help: 
+%D 
+%D \starttypen
+%D \NormalizeFontHeight \name {sample text} {height} {font}
+%D \NormalizeFontWidth  \name {sample text} {width}  {font}
+%D \stoptypen
+%D 
+%D These are implemented using an auxilliary macro:
+
+\def\NormalizeFontHeight%
+  {\NormalizeFontSize\ht}
+
+\def\NormalizeFontWidth%
+  {\NormalizeFontSize\wd} 
+
+\def\NormalizeFontSize#1#2#3#4#5%
+  {\bgroup
+   \dimen0=#4% #4 can be \ht0 or so
+   \setbox0=\hbox{\definefont[temp][#5 at 10pt]\temp#3}%
+   \dimen2=#10 % #1 is \wd or \ht
+   \dimen4=10000pt
+   \divide\dimen4 by \dimen2
+   \divide\dimen0 by 1000
+   \dimen0=\number\dimen4\dimen0
+   \definefont[temp][#5 at \the\dimen0]%
+   \temp
+   \expandafter
+   \egroup
+   \expandafter\font\expandafter#2\expandafter=\fontname\font\relax}
+
+%D Consider for instance:
+%D 
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \NormalizeFontHeight \tmp {X} {2\baselineskip} {cmr10}
+%D 
+%D {\tmp To Be Or Not To Be}
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D 
+%D \typebuffer
+%D 
+%D This shows up as (we also show the baselines):
+%D  
+%D {\showbaselines\haalbuffer}
+%D 
+%D The horizontal counterpart is:
+%D 
+%D \startbuffer
+%D \NormalizeFontWidth \tmp {This Line Fits} {\hsize} {cmr10}
+%D 
+%D \hbox{\tmp This Line Fits}
+%D \stopbuffer
+%D 
+%D \typebuffer
+%D 
+%D The calculated font scale is avaliable in the macro 
+%D \type{\NormalizedFontSize}. 
+%D
+%D \startregelcorrectie
+%D \ruledhbox{\haalbuffer}
+%D \stopregelcorrectie
+%D
+%D One can of course combine these macros with the ones 
+%D described earlier, like in:
+%D 
+%D \starttypen
+%D \NormalizeFontHeight {text} \DroppedFont {2\baselineskip} {cmbx12}
+%D 
+%D \def\NicelyDroppedCaps%
+%D   {\DroppedCaps 
+%D      {\kleur[groen]} 
+%D      {\DroppedFont} 
+%D      {2pt} 
+%D      {\baselineskip} 
+%D      {2}}
+%D \stoptypen
+%D
+%D It's up to the reader to test this one. 
+
+\protect
+
+\endinput