On Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 12:45 AM TK Chia <u1049321...@caramail.com> wrote: > > Hello Ralf, > > >> Still an excellent tool I consider TROFF, now GROFF, for Unix/Linux > >> -which also exists for Windows, appeared in 1990 (Version 0.3.1) by > >> James Clark) coming from “a text-formatting program called RUNOFF, > >> which was written by Jerome H. Saltzer for MIT's CTSS operating system > >> in the mid-1960s! > > > I wouldn't touch any of that stuff with a barge pole these days. Either > > LibreOffice Writer already fits the bill, or I would much rather use a > > tool like Scribus these days... > > troff (as groff) is still very much alive today, as far as I can tell. > And the troff format is still the default source format for man pages on > Linux. It is quite a good format for the job, if you ask me. >
I use a mix of different tools for my tech writing. I write for a few places, mostly OpenSource.com and CloudSavvy IT. I use groff just often enough that I remember how to use groff. I usually use the -me macro set. I tried to adapt to -mom but I think my mind is still "geared" for -me macros. :-) I also write a lot of tech articles in raw HTML. I use HTML when I can't get the formatting I want through other means. What I like about using HTML5 is the semantic code, so the tags hold some meaning. This is also a great addition for screen readers and other accessibility tools, so the tools can help the user navigate and consume the document. But for most of my tech writing, I use a word processor, and send the output to my editor. I run Linux as my desktop, and I prefer LibreOffice Writer. It's a great tool. When I need to generate something for print (like flyers or postcards for my business, etc) I use Scribus. I find Scribus takes some time to figure out, but it's still easy to figure out. The learning curve isn't too steep. That said, when I do any writing on DOS, I like to use a word processor. I used several DOS word processors "back in the day." In high school, I learned how to use WordPerfect, so I used WordPerfect when I went to university. But the upgrade for WordPerfect was pretty expensive (I think $300 for a student copy) so instead I switched to a shareware word processor called Galaxy (I think $99). At a third of the price, Galaxy had all the features I needed to write papers for class. These days, my favorite DOS word processor is Microsoft Word for DOS. Microsoft released a copy for free on their download.microsoft.com website. It feels quite modern compared to today's word processors. The key combinations that you just "assume" on today's word processors work in Word for DOS. Ctrl-i for italics, ctrl-b for bold, etc. That works well for me. Jim _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
