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diff --git a/doc/context/sources/general/manuals/metafun/metafun-introduction.tex b/doc/context/sources/general/manuals/metafun/metafun-introduction.tex new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b519055c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/context/sources/general/manuals/metafun/metafun-introduction.tex @@ -0,0 +1,101 @@ +% language=uk +% +% copyright=pragma-ade readme=readme.pdf licence=cc-by-nc-sa + +\startcomponent metafun-introduction + +\environment metafun-environment + +\starttitle[title={Introduction}] + +This document is about \METAPOST\ and \TEX. The former is a graphic programming +language, the latter a typographic programming language. However, in this +document we will not focus on real programming, but more on how we can interface +between those two languages. We will do so by using \CONTEXT, a macro package +written in \TEX, in which support for \METAPOST\ is integrated in the core. The +\TEX\ macros are integrated in \CONTEXT, and the \METAPOST\ macros are bundled in +\METAFUN. + +When Donald Knuth wrote his typographical programming language \TEX\ he was in +need for fonts, especially mathematical fonts. So, as a side track, he started +writing \METAFONT, a graphical language. When you read between the lines in the +\METAFONT\ book and the source code, the name John Hobby is mentioned alongside +complicated formulas. It will be no surprise then, that, since he was tightly +involved in the development of \METAFONT, after a few years his \METAPOST\ showed +up. + +While its ancestor \METAFONT\ was originally targeted at designing fonts, +\METAPOST\ is more oriented to drawing graphics as used in scientific +publications. Since \METAFONT\ produced bitmap output, some of its operators make +use of this fact. \METAPOST\ on the other hand produces \POSTSCRIPT\ code, which +means that it has some features not present in \METAFONT\ and vice versa. + +With \METAFUN\ I will demonstrate that \METAPOST\ can also be used, or misused, +for less technical drawing purposes. We will see that \METAPOST\ can fill in some +gaps in \TEX, especially its lack of graphic capabilities. We will demonstrate +that graphics can make a document more attractive, even if it is processed in a +batch processing system like \TEX. Most of all, we will see that embedding +\METAPOST\ definitions in the \TEX\ source enables a smooth communication between +both programs. + +The best starting point for using \METAPOST\ is the manual written by its author +John Hobby. You can find this manual at every main \TEX\ repository. Also, a copy +of the \METAFONT\ book from Donald Knuth is worth every cent, if only because it +will give you the feeling that many years of graphical fun lays ahead. + +In this \METAFUN\ manual we will demonstrate how you can embed graphics in a +\TEX\ document, but we will also introduce most of the features of \METAPOST. For +this reason you will see a lot of \METAPOST\ code. For sure there are better +methods to solve problems, but I have tried to demonstrate different methods and +techniques as much as possible. + +I started using \METAPOST\ long after I started using \TEX, and I never regret +it. Although I like \TEX\ very much, I must admit that sometimes using \METAPOST\ +is even more fun. Therefore, before we start exploring both in depth, I want to +thank their creators, Donald Knuth and John Hobby, for providing me these +fabulous tools. Of course I also need to thank \THANH, for giving the \TEX\ +community \PDFTEX, as well as providing me the hooks I considered necessary for +implementing some of the features presented here. In the meantime Taco Hoekwater +has created the \METAPOST\ library so that it can be an integral component of +\LUATEX. After that happened, the program was extended to deal with more than one +number implementation: in addition to scaled integers we now can switch to floats +and arbitrary precision decimal or binary calculations. I myself prototyped a +simple but efficient \LUA\ script interface. With Luigi Scarso, who is now the +maintainer of \METAPOST, we keep improving the system, so who knows what will +show up next. + +I also want to thank David Arnold and Ton Otten for their fast proofreading, for +providing me useful input, and for testing the examples. Without David's patience +and help, this document would be far from perfect English and less complete. +Without Ton's help, many small typos would have gone unnoticed. + +In the second version of this manual the content was been adapted to \CONTEXT\ +\MKIV\ that uses \LUATEX\ and the built in \METAPOST\ library. In the meantime +some \LUA\ has been brought into the game, not only to help construct graphics, +but also as a communication channel. In the process some extra features have been +added and some interfacing has been upgraded. The third version of this document +deals with that too. It makes no sense to maintain compatibility with \CONTEXT\ +\MKII, but many examples can be used there as well. In the meantime most +\CONTEXT\ users have switched to \MKIV, so this is no real issue. In the fourth +update some new features are presented and the discussion of obsolete ones have +been removed. + +The fifth update describes the \MPIV\ version of \METAFUN\ which brings some more +and improved functionality. Some examples are inspired from questions by users and +examples that Alan Braslau, Luigi Scarso and I made when testing new features and +macros. Some examples can be rewritten in a more efficient way but are kept as +they are. Therefore this manual presents different ways to solve problems. +Hopefully this is not too confusing. Numerous examples can be found in the other +manuals and test suite. + +\blank[big,samepage] + +\startlines +Hans Hagen +Hasselt NL +\currentdate[month,year] +\stoplines + +\stoptitle + +\stopcomponent |