Re: [Groff] gropdf and pdfroff

[Peter Schaffter]

On Sat, Jul 30, 2011, Ralph Corderoy wrote:
> simple package like ms (or perhaps mom; I've not used it)

The "I haven't used/checked out mom" thing has come up a couple of
times in this thread (with respect to introducing groff to novices),
which is funny since mom already implements most of the proposals
being made, viz:

  o meaningful and humanly readable macro names
  o consistent syntax for macro arguments and escapes
  o capability almost never to resort to low-level groff for all but
    the most complex page layouts
  o heavily commented source
  o documentation that provides
    - a good general overview of groff, from formatted text file to
      finished product
    - a glossary of typesetting and groff terms
    - tutorials to get users up and running with groff_mom
    - complete, thorough, cross-linked descriptions of every macro
    - hundreds of examples of macro usage, with recipes for special
      tasks
    - suggestions for when low-level groff requests may be more
      appropriate than macros, with enough information to encourage
      interested users to delve into the internals
    - pointers to external documentation, including CSTR54, UTP, and
      the info pages

In other words, mom's already the "front door": a conceptually
easy, flexible set of macros that's perfect for beginners, serves
the needs of the more experienced, and leads naturally to greater
exploration of groff itself.

-- 
Peter Schaffter

Author of The Binbrook Caucus
http://www.schaffter.ca