Cool LaTeX makefile

[Robert Brewer]

I found this LaTeX makefile on Google Code that is quite cool. It knows
about dependencies, include files, BibTeX, etc. You just type "make" and it
runs LaTeX and BibTeX however many times are needed and leaves you with a
PDF. You can download it here:

<http://code.google.com/p/latex-makefile/>

Just drop it into the directory with your thesis/dissertation/proposal, and
(assuming you are using the canonical document structure) create a file
called "Makefile.ini" and put something like this in the file:

onlysources.tex := proposal.tex

where proposal.tex is the name of the master file that includes everything
else.

The makefile has a ton of other features. You can read about them with
"make help".

The author also created a thesis style for BYU that is also hosted on
Google Code. It sounds less hacky than our UH one, but I am resisting the
temptation to look at it since we have something that works.

[Mark Stillwell]

I usually use this one:

http://www.acoustics.hut.fi/u/mairas/UltimateLatexMakefile/

So I'll have to compare.

I don't think it would necessarily be a bad idea to have some human
readable text somewhere that summarizes the standards in the style
guide. I'm thinking just a series of bullet points 1-2 pages long:

-- dedicated title page with "University of Hawai'i" (okina required!)
-- signature page with exactly one blank line per committee member
-- 1" margins except 1.5" on inside

Once that's done it might not be that difficult to minimally
re-implement the class file.
Apparently they're actually supposed to be written in a sort of mixed
document-and-code format that can then be "compiled" into both
documentation and final style files.

--
Mark Lee Stillwell
mar...@fortawesome.org

[Robert Brewer]

--On October 17, 2008 12:55:34 PM -1000 Mark Stillwell
<mar...@fortawesome.org> wrote:

> I usually use this one:
>
> http://www.acoustics.hut.fi/u/mairas/UltimateLatexMakefile/
>
> So I'll have to compare.

Cool. Let us know which one you like better. I'm thinking about dropping
one into the project (with permission of the authors) to make life even
easier for future students

> I don't think it would necessarily be a bad idea to have some human
> readable text somewhere that summarizes the standards in the style
> guide. I'm thinking just a series of bullet points 1-2 pages long:
>
> -- dedicated title page with "University of Hawai'i" (okina required!)
> -- signature page with exactly one blank line per committee member
> -- 1" margins except 1.5" on inside

That sounds great, you could even write it RFC-style with MUST, SHOULD, and
MAY so you can tell what is advice and what is requirement.

> Once that's done it might not be that difficult to minimally
> re-implement the class file.
> Apparently they're actually supposed to be written in a sort of mixed
> document-and-code format that can then be "compiled" into both
> documentation and final style files.

If you feel you have time to do either of those things, that's great.
Personally, I'm feeling like I should be putting the hours into the
proposal itself. Maybe after I defend the proposal... :)