Re: SUO: Printing CL Abstract Syntax Document (was: Revised motion...)

[John Velman <velman@cox.net>]

John,

My previous message was written in haste (had to get to a T-ball game), and
I guess I didn't make myself clear.  Please see below.

On Thu, Apr 24, 2003 at 01:02:58AM -0400, John F. Sowa wrote:
> 
> John,
> 
> If the source is HTML, then use Netscape 7.x,
> Mozilla 1.x, or other W3C compliant browser.

I've tried the following browsers on the HTML 4.01 source of "Common Logic:
Abstract Syntax and Semantics" as found at 
   http://cl.tamu.edu/docs/cl-syntax-semantics.html.

   Galeon (Mozilla based, from GNOME, fairly light weight).

   Mozilla 1.0.1,

   Netscape 7.0,

   Amaya 7.1 (W3C browser, said by the cl.tamu.edu web page to be capable
   of reading the document).

In _each_case_, the document displays fine on the screen, although the
lambda looks a little strange to my taste.

What I really want is a printed copy, so I can carry it around, make notes
on it, and so on.  I'm too much of a dinosaur to live in a paperless world. 

In _each_ of the cases above, the printed copy is defective, although the
details differ.  

   For the Galeon, Mozilla, and Netscape, the special symbols simply don't
   print -- blanks where they should be.  Also, it is clear that the
   spacing wouldn't be proper in some case if they did print--that is, the
   lambda would print over the word next to it, for example.

   For Amaya, the symbols are there, but there has been no space left for
   the ones in line (as opposed to displayed), and they print on top of the
   adjoining text.

Neither of these is satisfactory.


-- further comments below --



> 
> Don't use Internet Explorer 5.x or 6.x.  They
> don't suppport the standards, and they are
> extremely insecure.  I hope that IE 7.x will
> support the standards, but until then don't
> use IE.

I don't use IE under any circumstances that can be avoided. On my Windows
installation (which I seldom use), I use Netscape 7.

> 
> Re OpenOffice:  the beta version for 1.1
> may be better, but I haven't tried it yet.

I installed the latest Java, and the Open Office 1.1 beta just in case this
made a difference.  It didn't.

The html source uses html entities to refer to the math symbols.  Open
office, out of the box, doesn't recognize these. 

It's possible that by some appropriate installation of DTD for Open Office,
it could be made to work.  Or perhaps there is some other way to make it
work.  I will ask the OO users list one of these days.


On the other hand, it's hard to believe that no-one (perhaps I should say
no one  using Linux --- maybe its doable on the Mac) has ever
gotten a satisfactory printed copy of "Common Logic: Abstract Syntax 
and Semantics" --- or is the new world sufficiently paper independent that
no one has wanted one?

If anyone can tell me how to print this with symbols included, I'd be most
appreciative.  We could take this topic off-list, but it seems to me that
since CL is part of the proposed motion, it is appropriate to ask that it
be printable.


Best,

John Velman



> 
> John Sowa
> 
> 
> 
>