TEX by topic
by Victor Eijkhout · first published 1992
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Systematic, theory-oriented introduction to plain TeX that explains how it works, including macro expansion and dynamic scoping. It is clearer and less overwhelming than The TeXbook, and works well before the reference.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
``TeX by Topic is a systematic reference manual designed as a companion to tutorial guides on the system. Packed with original, practical ideas, this book provides an invaluable information source that will give the TeX user the essential insight needed to solve TeX problems.'' [From the back cover] A beautifully written, concise and comprehensive discussion of TeX as a programming language [...] Eijkhout's book is not a loose collection of unconnected entries but a very systematic account of how TeX works as a programming language. Not the ideal first introduction, but an absolute must-re
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…to more systematic descriptions and connections with more conventional programming-language ideas (it took me some time to recognize that TeX uses what is essentially dynamic scope throughout), I like TeX by Topic[1]. [1] https://www.eijkhout.net/tex/tex-by-topic.html
on “Typst, a modern alternative to LaTeX, is now open source” ↗There are three books that are worth looking at to get plain TeX. I’d start with Viktor Eijkhout’s TeX by Topic (which I think is free in PDF on CTAN). Then the TeXbook to really get everything (the PDFs that float around the net are illegal. Please buy your copy. DEK donated his royalties to TUG so your purchase…
on “I hate LaTeX, I love LaTeX” ↗If you're interested in those details, Victor Eijkhout's TeX by Topic is very instructive as well: http://www.eijkhout.net/texbytopic/texbytopic.html
on “Reimplementing TeX's Algorithms: Looking Back at Thirty Years of Programming” ↗…approach. TeX itself is one of the most heavily documented programs in existence. Not only are its workings documented in detail in The TeXbook (and a host of other books by other authors, such as Eijkhout's TeX by Topic) but even the program itself has been written in a “literate programming” style, with pretty formatted source code (with profuse comments) available in print (Vol B of Computers and Typesetting) and as…
on “Towards LaTeX in the Browser” ↗…Definitely. I've had interviewers start by thanking me for my CV being well-formatted and also short. Ha. I've just noticed that as I type this, I have literally in front of me on my desk Eijkhout's "Tex by Topic", Lamport's latex book and "The Latex Companion" by Goosens et al. This must be where I do most of my pretty document making.
on “The lingua franca of LaTeX” ↗