Re: [docbook-apps] Using PassiveTex as a FO processor - windows

["Bob Stayton" <bobs@sagehill.net>]

I was hoping a current PassiveTeX user might respond to this with a How-To 
on setting it up and using it.  I'm the author of the answer in Dave 
Pawson's FAQ, and I gave up on PassiveTeX for DocBook some time ago.  There 
are too many features of XSL-FO that PassiveTeX either does not implement 
or does not implement correctly.  On the PassiveTeX website, under 
"Concerns and Problems", it says explicitly:
  1.. This is an experimental system to check whether the idea works. 
Expect something more polished eventually.
The DocBook FO stylesheet makes use of most of the XSL-FO spec in order to 
produce high quality output, and we kept having to disable those features 
if passivetex.extenions was set.  I believe someone could write an XSL-FO 
stylesheet that restricts itself to those features supported by PassiveTeX, 
but the DocBook stylesheet is not it.

In use, PassiveTeX generates lots of error output, but unless you are a TeX 
expert you won't understand most of it.  The lack of response to your 
message indicates that there doesn't seem to be many people getting it to 
work.

The quote above has been there for years and I don't think "eventually" 
will ever happen. If PassiveTeX were under active development to move 
toward better conformance to the XSL-FO spec, then supporting it would be 
worthwhile, but that is not the case.

It might be easier to fix the problems you are seeing with FOP.  For 
instance, the crushed numbers when nested lists with inheritance is used is 
a bug in the stylesheet, not FOP.  It sets a fixed width for that space, 
rather than enlarging it for inherited numbering.  You would get a similar 
problem with XEP or Antenna House output for that feature.

Bob Stayton
Sagehill Enterprises
DocBook Consulting
bobs@sagehill.net


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Luciano Scavizzi" <feanorelf@gmail.com>
To: <docbook-apps@lists.oasis-open.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2006 3:01 PM
Subject: [docbook-apps] Using PassiveTex as a FO processor - windows


I have just begun playing wizard apprentice with docbook: when it come
to PDF rendering, I first tried the simplest way - FOP -, but I am
quite unsatisfied with the output quality: I need to use nested
ordered lists with inherited numbering, and at 3rd, 4th level the
result is terrible, as the text overlaps with the numbers.
I then tried with some commercial SW demo, with better results.
Later, googling, I found an article from "Using PassiveTeX with
docbook" Bob Stayton, and I wanted to follow his step-by-step guide.
Unfortunately I stopped early, as a "XML Typesetting" scheme does not
exist with TexLive 2005.
I tried and install PassiveTex manually, but it seems not to work.
Before getting into details about the errors I got, I am just
wondering if you could suggest me the correct way to install a Tex
system supporting PassiveTex from scratch, using TexLive 2005 on a
WinXP platform, or address me to an updated howto.
Later on, maybe I'll like to get deeper into Tex, but, up to now, I
would be satisfied in being able to get a PDF file from my XML file
better than the one produced by FOP and cheaper than the ones produced
by commercial processors.

Thanks,
Luciano

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