Re: diving into source code

[Patrick Gundlach <pg@levana.de>]

"Kris Hermans" <KrisHermans@advalvas.be> writes:

Hi,

> After experimenting for a few weeks now zith ConTeXt, I really would like to
> gain a deeper understanding of the source code. Therefore my question,
> because I'm a TeX novice:
> 
> What are good documents to study, before actually diving into ConTeXt
> source? 

1) a dutch dictionary ;)

2) the source.

Well, this is hard to say. I'd suggest that you generate the 'nice'
variants of the source code by (iirc) texexec --module supp-mis.tex
(and all the other source files you'd like to read; you need the nl
format for this and copy the file to a seperate dir). This gives you a
pdf version with nicely printed comments and examples. If you have
texexec built in your head (and a TeX-interpreter), you can read the
source directly. 

I am not really into the source but I suggest to start
syst-gen.tex. There are a lot of the macros defined that are needed
throughout the other files. But beware. You need a deep understanding
the way TeX works (the word \expandafter should not scare you, and a
catcode has nothing to do with the small furry creatures :) Don't let
the \dododododdodosomething irritate you. They are just Hans' way of
keeping the source obscure. 
Just seen something like this:

\def\dodogetargument#1################################1#2%

got it? This is why I think that reading any not trivial TeX code is
rather difficult. (Well, Forth is even worse :)

Then it might be helpful to have a look at the multilingual
interface (mult-ini.tex) After that, just go to some of the core* and
supp* files and see what is in there. The xtag* files are not suited
for first time reading. 

If you are really brave (and have *lots* of disk space) you can put a
\tracingall=1\starttext Hello World \stoptext in your tex file and
read the logfile :)

> I'm already reading "a gentle introduction to TeX" (Michael Doob).
> Is this enough or is there better material around?

I like 'the advanced TeX book' (David Salomon) really much. It is a
companion to the TeX book, but 'normal people' can understand
that one. It might help if you have programmed some little recursion
stuff yourself. 

> What I don't find in the ConTeXt manuals, is documentation on how to make
> interactive, screen based documents and what are good strategies for
> producing different versions (screen/print/questions/answers/...) from the
> same base document. Any links to docs are also more than welcome!

If I remember correctly, the pdftex faq is available in different
formats. The source code is available. Go for that one. And follow
Hennings advice to get his material. I haven't had a look into it yet but
I am sure it is very nice to study.

Patrick
-- 
I'll fade into the darkness