[texhax] best way to do texbook examples

[Axel E. Retif]

On 07/15/2015 05:00 AM, Tamás Gimes wrote:

> My operating system is Windows 7. I've installed ProTeXt and I've tried
> to use TexStudio for the examples.

(Please keep support at tug.org on CC ---I don't use Windows, and, I'm 
ashamed to say, I don't know TeX very much; but in this mailing list 
you'll find many people proficient in both.)


> Can you give me an edited version of this text (the book's first
> example) that will work in TexStudio?
>
> \hrule
> \vskip 1in
> \centerline{\bf A SHORT STORY}
> \vskip 6pt
> \centerline{\sl by A. U. Thor}
> \vskip .5cm
> Once upon a time, in a distant
>      galaxy called \"O\"o\c c,
> there lived a computer
> named R. ~J. Drofnats.
>
> Mr. ~Drofnats---or as
> he preferred to be called---
> was happiest when he was at work
> typesetting beautiful documents.
> \vskip 1in
> \hrule
> \vfill\eject

Your example is OK, but it was meant to be typeset from the Terminal or 
Command Prompt, as per instructions in pages 25-26 of The TeXbook; Knuth 
says: «TeX will now prompt you with '*', because the file did not 
contain '\end'.»

That's it ---to typeset the file with TeXstudio (provided that you 
select plain TeX, not LaTeX, as your format) you have to add

     \end

in line 19. Every TeX file has to have and \end or \bye as a last line.

On another topic, I would advise you to use TeXworks as your editor

     http://tug.org/texworks/

Editors like TeXstudio, TeXmaker, Kile, etc., are great, but are more 
LaTeX oriented.

TeXworks is a very simple but very powerful editor for both TeX and LaTeX.


Best

Axel