Priority: normal
Message-ID:  <1343D45703A@hrz1.hrz.th-darmstadt.de>
Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
Organization: Technical University Darmstadt
Date:         Mon, 15 Jul 1996 15:16:02 +0100
From: "Albrecht Mehl, 64291 Darmstadt" <MEHL@HRZ1.HRZ.TH-DARMSTADT.DE>
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L
              <LATEX-L@RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
Subject:      Binding of packages to formats
Status: R

If one likes to use many packages within a document the binding prior
to the actual typesetting can take up considerable time. Therefor it
is desirable to have this business finished once and for all by
binding the packages   a l w a y s    u s e d   to the format. In the
file cfgguide.tex of the latex2e.-distribution this is described at
the end. Following these instructions  I made up the following file
for creating the format:

\everyjob{typeout{xart1 1.0 based on LaTeX2e \fmtversion}}
\makeatletter
\usepackage{german}
\nofiles
\pagestyle{empty}
\setlength{\parindent}{0em}
\renewcommand{\labelitemi}{\bf --}
\renewcommand{\labelitemii}{$\bullet$}

\def \@clsextension {cls}
\def \@pkgextension {sty}

\let\xar@missingfileerror\@missingfileerror

\def\@missingfileerror#1#2{%
  \ifx #2\clsextension
   \InputIfFileExists {#1.cls}%
     {\wlog {xart1: loading #1.cls rather than #1.#2.}}%
     {\xar@missingfileerror {#1}{#2}}%
  \else
    \ifx #2\@pkgextension
      \InputIfFileExists {#1.sty}%
        {\wlog {xart1: loading #1.sty rather than #1.#2.}}%
        {\xar@missingfileerror {#1}{#2}}%
    \else
      \xar@missingfileerror {#1}{#2}}%
    \fi
  \fi
}

\makeatother
\dump


This works, i.e. a format has been created this way, and I could tex
using this. Nevertheless some questions remain to be answered as I am
a relative novice to tex - without La - so that I do not completely
understand what the file cited above is actually doing.

1. Together with this format I would like to use the normal classes
and packages with their normal extensions .cls and .sty and not some
fancy extensions as suggested in cfgguide.tex, the reasons being that
these classes and packages will be used with the standard format, too
- I don't see a reasons why I should have the same files twice on the
hard disc with different extensions. If this is possible: what part of
the above format creating file - especially the branching part? - can
be omitted?

2. In an earlier version one even was able to bind the class into the
format, so that the document did   n o t   start with

          documentclass  .....

but rather with

      begin document

or in some cases with

       usepackage ...
       begin document

if one wanted to use other packages in addition to the normal ones
bound to the format. Is this still possible, how is one to go about
it?

3. In the beginning of my file the character starting an item is
changed from the bullet to --. For some strange reasons the bullet
still appears in front of an item.

4. As urged in cfgguide.tex I included a typeout indicating that this
is a nonstandard tex format. Why is this   n o t   seen on the screen?


Many thanks in advance for any hints.

A. Mehl

Albrecht Mehl
Hebbelstr. 42
D-64291 Darmstadt
Germany
Tel. (+ 49 6151) 37 39 92
Albrecht Mehl
Hebbelstr. 42
D-64291 Darmstadt
Germany
Tel. (+ 49 6151) 37 39 92