Re: [Groff] Groff editor.

[Ted Harding]

On 20-Aug-07 15:54:06, Clarke Echols wrote:
> The short answer is "no".  The groff source file has all of the
> embedded coding to tell the formatter what to do with the file
> when it reads and interprets it.  Microsoft Word, for example,
> gives the user a formatted display of the results from its own
> internal coding.  If the user changes something, Word updates its
> source file but the user never sees that.  That's what makes Word
> so popular -- the user doesn't see the hard work.
> 
> It's also the problem with Word because the user has little
> control over how Word does what the user thinks he or she wants
> done.  If you want direct control, which I like, you have to know
> how to instruct the formatter correctly.
> 
> Someone else could take the file and edit it using a plain-text
> editor -- not Word or Word Perfect, for example -- and make
> changes, **provided** they don't monkey around with the formatter
> coding in the file.
> 
> When I work on books, I usually take possession of the source file
> and from that point on, nobody else has access to the source unless
> they know groff.  Not every organization is willing to do that.
> 
> Clarke

I agree with Clarke!

It's unlikely that there could be a successful "WYSIWYG" editor
for groff (where the user works on the displayed formatted output
and the editor hiddenly modifies the groff source file), except
possibly for the most basic groff content. This is partly because
of the extensive use of macros, definitions, and other "specials"
whih are characteristic of less basic groff usage.

I have at times tried "WYSIWYG" editors for TeX -- Lyx (Open Source)
and Scientific Word (proprietary). I've not been specially impressed
with either -- and I suspect that this is due to the same sort of
issue.

I append below the skeleton of a Linux script I use myself for a
kind of "delayed WYSISYG" editor for groff. You can amend it to
suit your own needs.

It works as follows, for producing a groff file myfile.tr and a
formatted PostScript file myfile.ps (replace "myfile" with whatever
you like).

You will have 3 files going while it is running: myfile.tr and
myfile.ps, plus a temporary file myfile.watch

The script is called "ge", and there is also a symbolic link

  ge_L -> ge

Invoke the script with

  ge myfile     [for Portrait orientation]
  ge_L myfile   [for Landscape oreintation]

If myfile.tr does not exist, then it is created and initiated
with the two lines

.ds DATE 20 August 2007     [or whatever the current data is]
.\".ds DATE \*[grDATE]      [which you can uncomment to get the
                             latest date when you revise]

Then, if myfile.ps does not exist, it created with first line

%!PS-Adobe-3.0

(This is subsequently over-written by groff, but allows 'gv'
to initially open the file as a PostScript file).

Then, myfile.watch is 'touch'ed. Its purpose is to keep track,
via its timestamp, of saves of the groff file myfile.tr being
edited.

Then 'gv' is opened to display myfile.ps

Then an xterm is opened in which 'vim' is running with myfile.tr,
in which this file can be edited.

Then an auxiliary xterm is opened as a console in which you can
access the system directly (e.g. to read other files in the same
directory).

Finally, a loop is entered.

You edit the groff file in 'vim' as you wish. When you want to
see the results, save the current version with ":w" in 'vim.

The loop constantly checks whether the timestamp on myfile.tr
is more recent than that of myfile.watch and, if it is, then
groff is run on myfile.tr to generate myfile.ps, and then a
'kill -1' is sent to 'gv' so that it re-reads myfile.ps and
displays the formatted version of the latest save. Then the
file myfile.watch is again 'touh'ed.

Also within the loop, the PID of 'gv' is monitored.

You bring the whole thing to a finish by closing 'gv' (the
quickest way is to type "q" when the 'gv' window has focus). 

When the PID of 'gv' disappears, the auxiliary xterm is closed,
and the temporary file myfile.watch is removed, and you are left
with the xterm in which 'vim' is running. Just close this with
":q" in 'vim'. All done.

I have no idea how to achieve anything similar if you are running
groff on Windows.

Hoping this helps. The 'ge' script is below.
Ted.

Script for 'ge' -- make this executable, and symlink 'ge_L' to it.
=================================================================
#! /bin/bash
export gv_PID=$!
export SCALEBASE="1"
export trname="`dirname $1`/`basename $1 .tr`"

## Normal
export GROFFge="groff -U"
export MODEge="Portrait"
export GEOMgv="978x754-0+0"
export GEOMge="80x36+127+0"

## Landscape
if [ "`basename $0`" = "ge_L" ] ; then
  export GROFFge="groff -U -P-l -rPL=8.267 -rLL=9.693"
  echo "Landscape Mode"
  export MODEge="Landscape"
  export GEOMgv="987x754-0+0"
  export GEOMge="80x47+255+0"
else
  echo "Portrait Mode"
fi

touch $trname.tr
touch $trname.watch
touch $trname.ps
export grDATE="`date +'%-d %B %Y'`"

if [ ! -s $trname.tr ] ; then
  echo -n ".ds DATE " > $trname.tr
  date +'%-d %B %Y' >> $trname.tr
  echo -n ".\\\".ds DATE \\*[grDATE]" >> $trname.tr
fi

if [ ! -s $trname.ps ] ; then
  echo '%!PS-Adobe-3.0' > $trname.ps
fi

xterm -name "GE_aux" -title "GE_x_$trname" \
   -geometry 80x36+0-0 &
export AUX_ID=$!
xterm -name "GE $trname.tr" -title "GE $trname.tr" \
      -geometry $GEOMge -fn 10x20 \
      -e vim $trname.tr &
gv -scale 2 -scalebase $SCALEBASE -antialias -spartan \
   -geometry $GEOMgv $trname.ps &

export gvpid=$!
echo $gvpid
ps -ax | grep gv | grep -v grep

while [ -n "`ps -ax |  grep -v grep | grep $gvpid`" ] ; do
  if [ $trname.tr -nt $trname.watch ] ; then
    touch $trname.watch
    $GROFFge -Tps -dgrDATE="$grDATE" -tpe -mpreted -ms \
      $trname.tr > $trname.ps
    kill -1 $gv_PID
  fi
done
rm $trname.watch
kill -15 $AUX_ID


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Date: 20-Aug-07                                       Time: 17:50:09
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