roff typesetting: groff, troff, etc.

The design goal of Pikchr is to enable embedded line diagrams in Markdown or other simple markup languages.

Cool project. Created by the same group as SQLite. The scripting language is based on pic(1) but outputs SVG instead of troff.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/385646

troff is a simple text format, so I thought about using it for a README.

This is an excellent introduction to using groff with the -me macro set. It is tailored towards anyone just looking for a quick start and even comes with some sample files at the end.

As stated above, I am curious to know how groff fits into people's lives. Do you write manpages, only take notes with it, prefer it to LaTeX andor ConTeXt for text formatting, or something else entirely? Which macros do you use, if any? Let me know!

As for me, I encountered groff after already learning LaTeX, but I instantly appreciated its concise commands and began using it to take biology notes with the simple -me macro. I'm slowly expanding my usage to encompass math and graphing with eqn and grap, respectively. My needs are not always met by -me as of late, so a macro switch is in order. GNU seems most inclined to continue work on -mom, so I'll likely switch over to that soon enough.

Are you a downtrodden Linux user, forced to use Windows 10 despite your wishes? Do you long to typeset with the simple and powerful groff but aren't sure if it is possible on Windows?

Fortunately for the typesetting inclined, it is possible to use the magnificent groff on Windows as well! I decided to highlight this project in particular, because it allows one to use groff on Windows 10 in a most similar manner as on a linuxbox. The notable (improvement?) that this port of groff makes is automatically assuming pdf output, as ps files aren't supported out-of-the-box on Windows 10. Most importantly, the usual macros are supported as well! I don't use -mom, but -ms and -me seem to work flawlessly so far. The graphing package grap is offered too! Be sure to put the binaries in your path so they're accessible from cmd.exe. Coupled with vim and the ezwinports' manpages, the environment hardly feels like Windows 10 at all, which is a good thing, from my perspective.

The ezwinports from eli-zaretskii on SourceForge offers much more than just groff utilites, one example being texinfo, so feel free to look through the rest of the software binaries offered as detailed on the README :)

I would be curious to know if there ever was a Windows user who began to use groff without learning it first through a *nix operating system. Anyone know someone who fits the bill? It's a long shot, but I think it'd be a nifty thing to see. I'm certainly hoping to popularize groff within mine own circle.

Wondering how I possibly could have managed to find ezwinports? It's front and center on the GNU page about groff: https://www.gnu.org/software/groff/