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Shelly Takacs

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Aug 3, 2024, 2:48:45 PM8/3/24

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Volumes B and D contain the sourcecode for TeX and METAFONT, respectively, written with theliterate programmingmethodology. ``Never before has a computer program of this size beenspelled out so clearly and completely.''

Volume E contains precise definitions of about 500 letters, numerals,and other symbols, all described with METAFONT. This method of descriptionproduces an essentially infinite variety of well-hinted fonts from asingle collection of specifications. Readers learn how to maketheir own personal variations, simply by changing a fewparameters. Special symbols that are needed for unusual applicationscan also be created by using the many examples in this book as a model.The details captured in these METAFONT programs reveal many previouslyunpublished tricks that type designers have been learning during thepast centuries.

The complete electronic source forThe TeXbookis file texbook.tex in CTAN subdirectorysystems/knuth/dist/tex; the completeelectronic source forThe METAFONTbookis file mfbook.tex in subdirectorysystems/knuth/dist/mf. The completesources for the TeX and METAFONT programs are respectivelysystems/knuth/dist/tex/tex.web andsystems/knuth/dist/mf/mf.web. The complete sourcesfor the Computer Modern fonts arefonts/cm/mf/*.mf.All of these files contain up-to-date information, including all correctionsin the errata lists.

If you think you have found a mistake that still persists in thecurrent sources, please do not send it directly to me; I completed my workon TeX, METAFONT, and Computer Modern many years ago, and I'm workingfull-time on quite different things these days. Send purported errorreports tot...@tug.org; it will thenbe redirected to various people who have volunteered to vet such bug reports.(Or, if you prefer to report something privately instead of posting ina public list, you can send mail tok...@freefriends.org.) Although everybody wants these systems to be outstanding examples ofcorrectness, please submit reports only if you're quite sure that the error isreal --- these TeX helpers are probably even busier than I am. After yoursubmission has been certified, it will be put into a queue of things forme to look at, and I will study it in due time.

Dozens of subsequent printings, including those of the Millennium Edition,were made from the original camera negatives, with replacement pagesinserted when necessary but with the original illustrations retained.

But finally at the end of 2011, when it became necessary to reprint these booksagain with all of the latest corrections that had been suggested by the world'sbest nitpickers, the publishers discovered that the original filmshad been lost! That was bad news for me, because it meant that I had toput The Art of Computer Programming on the back burner fora month while working hard to reconstruct more than 2600 pages of highlytechnical material, including the remaking and placing of more than1000 illustrations. But it was good news for everybody else, becausenow the latest printings are produced entirely with technology thatcan be expected to last for many generations, and the books themselvesare significantly better in hundreds of small ways. I went throughevery page very carefully and introduced many refinements, whichhave made me extremely happy with the result. Thus I became able to replacemy personal desk copies, in which hundreds of handwritten notes had beenscrawled since the Millennium edition came out, by fresh versions thatwere essentially perfect (as far as I knew). This was especially trueof Volume B, because important updates to the TeX software that weremade in 2002 and 2007 had never before been available in print.

Finally, to celebrate 35 years since the original publication,a special Jubilee Edition is currently in press. Thanks to contributionsby an enormous network of talented volunteers, this definitive summaryof the TeX and METAFONT software and the Computer Modern family of fontshas been given a plentiful new dose of spit and polish. The JubileeEdition comprises the 23rd printing of Volume A, the 11th printing ofVolume B, the 10th printing of Volume C, the 9th printing of Volume D,and the 8th printing of Volume E.

Which of the words in those perfectly clear instructions do the peoplewho do such things fail to understand?Please, if you happen to see illicit copies of these books, send a note tob...@tug.orgso that our user community can apply peer pressure and/or legal actionto those who are unfairly exploiting our open-TeX approach.