Texinfo
Note that the first syllable of "Texinfo" is
pronounced like "speck", not "hex". This odd pronunciation is
derived from, but is not the same as, the pronunciation of TeX. In
the word TeX, the `X' is actually the Greek letter "chi"
rather than the English letter "ex". Pronounce TeX as if the
`X' were the last sound in the name `Bach'; but pronounce Texinfo
as if the `x' were a `k'. Spell "Texinfo" with a capital "T"
and write the other letters in lower case.
In some documents, the first child has no `Previous'
pointer. Occasionally, the last child has the node name of the next
following higher level node as its `Next' pointer.
You can also use the
texi2roff program if you do not have TeX; since Texinfo is
designed for use with TeX, texi2roff is not described here.
texi2roff is part of the standard GNU distribution.
The word
argument comes from the way it is used in mathematics and does
not refer to a disputation between two people; it refers to the
information presented to the command. According to the Oxford
English Dictionary, the word derives from the Latin for to make
clear, prove; thus it came to mean `the evidence offered as proof',
which is to say, `the information offered', which led to its
mathematical meaning. In its other thread of derivation, the word
came to mean `to assert in a manner against which others may make
counter assertions', which led to the meaning of `argument' as a
disputation.
We have found that it is helpful to refer to versions
of manuals as `editions' and versions of programs as `versions';
otherwise, we find we are liable to confuse each other in conversation
by referring to both the documentation and the software with the same
words.
Menus can carry you to any node, regardless
of the hierarchical structure; even to nodes in a different
Info file. However, the GNU Emacs Texinfo mode updating
commands work only to create menus of subordinate nodes.
Conventionally, cross references are used to refer to other
nodes.
It would be straightforward to extend Texinfo to
work in a similar fashion for C, FORTRAN, or other languages.
A footnote should complement or expand upon
the primary text, but a reader should not need to read a footnote to
understand the primary text. For a thorough discussion of footnotes,
see The Chicago Manual of Style, which is published by the
University of Chicago Press.
Here is the sample footnote.
If you use more
than one index and have cross references to an index other than the
first, you must run tex three times to get correct output:
once to generate raw index data; again (after texindex) to output
the text of the indices and determine their true page numbers; and a
third time to output correct page numbers in cross references to them.
However, cross references to indices are rare.
`--' has replaced `+', the old introductory
character, to maintain POSIX.2 compatibility without losing long-named
options.
Perhaps the command should have been
called the @refillandindent command, but @refill is
shorter and the name was chosen before indenting was possible.