3 Review(s)

You might well wonder why TFPC in Practice is a part of the Monographs in Visualization series. However, if you really think about typesetting, especially fine typesetting, you soon realize that in large part it is a visual art as well as a science. 'lEX's algorithms produce in almost all cases aesthetic results of the highest quality. On the other hand, occasionally one may want to insert some additional space before a subscript or superscript, or one may want to adjust the vertical spacing in a fraction. Fortunately Donald Knuth, the author of 'lEX, allows one to program such corrections easily where needed. The four volumes of Stephan von Bechtolsheim's long awaited TFPC in Prac- tice present a comprehensive view of 'lEX. His thorough discussion of each aspect of 'lEX is liberally laced with cogent illustrative examples. Many of these exam- ples represent complete, ready to use macros that enhance the capabilities of 'lEX. These examples are of particular interest to both the typesetter and the 'lEX programmer. The typesetter can often solve an immediate problem by ei- ther using one of the examples directly or by making minor changes to adapt it to the problem at hand. The 'lEX programmer can use the examples, along with Stephan's detailed discussion, to increase both the depth and breadth of his or her knowledge of 'lEX. The value of the text is further enhanced by Stephan's concerted effort to explain the reasoning behind each topic or example.