X-VM-v5-Data: ([nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil] ["1474" "Tue" "10" "November" "1998" "12:07:42" "GMT" "David Carlisle" "davidc@NAG.CO.UK" nil "30" "frontmatter was: What is \"base\" LaTeX" "^Date:" nil nil "11" nil nil nil nil nil] nil) Received: from listserv.gmd.de (listserv.gmd.de [192.88.97.1]) by mail.Uni-Mainz.DE (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id NAA09053; Tue, 10 Nov 1998 13:08:23 +0100 (MET) Received: from lsv1.listserv.gmd.de (192.88.97.2) by listserv.gmd.de (LSMTP for OpenVMS v1.1a) with SMTP id <6.A81F9B52@listserv.gmd.de>; Tue, 10 Nov 1998 13:08:22 +0100 Received: from RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE by RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8b) with spool id 407418 for LATEX-L@RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE; Tue, 10 Nov 1998 13:08:17 +0100 Received: from nag.co.uk (openmath.nag.co.uk [192.156.217.16]) by relay.urz.uni-heidelberg.de (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id NAA22465 for ; Tue, 10 Nov 1998 13:08:05 +0100 (MET) Received: (from davidc@localhost) by nag.co.uk (AIX4.2/UCB 8.7/8.7) id MAA29750; Tue, 10 Nov 1998 12:07:42 GMT References: <98110912272255@man.ac.uk> Message-ID: <199811101207.MAA29750@nag.co.uk> Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project In-Reply-To: <98110912272255@man.ac.uk> (message from Phillip Helbig on Mon, 9 Nov 1998 12:27:22 GMT) Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 12:07:42 GMT From: David Carlisle Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L Subject: frontmatter was: What is "base" LaTeX Status: R X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 2806 > > - The biggest mess of all is the front matter. I remember this has > > been discussed before on this list. Did anything ever result from > > that discussion? > Yes, we should get back to that and away from the loftier stuff! There are plans (only plans) to have some new classes next year in addition to the current article/report/book that will have some new features, one of which would be an improved frontmatter interface. There are of course existing extended frontmatter interfaces in many of the publishers journal class files (eg Elsevier and AMS). I wrote one for the London Mathematical society last year. which has some extended commands to deal with multiple authors. ftp://ftp.lms.ac.uk/pub/jcm/latex/ A much sterner test for a new frontmatter interface would be revtex as that is not just for a single journal, one needs an interface that can cope with several different typograpic styles, and ordering arrangemens, and cope with a community of authors who go in for bizarre practices like having a 200 author author-list that is probably longer than the document text. I think it is no secret that a revtex latex2e interface has been under development. Unfortunately the author (who will remain nameless but once lived in Manchester, and has spent the year slowly moving towards Oxford) found himself short of time to work on tex projects and it has been delayed. However probably it could soon be got out at least for test purposes.... David