TYPIST - program to type letters, documents, and memos.

Syntax:

typist [<infile] [type] [option]* [>outfile]
Options include:
   (+|-)Double (-)            (+|-)Formatted (-)
   (+|-)Pages (-)
"type" may be one of
Business  |
( Document | Essay )  |
( Memo | Note )  |
( Personal | Letter | Love )

Examples:

typist
typist <bus1 b +p >bus2
typist memo
typist doc -p +d -f >/newfile <oldfile

Options:

<infile
is the name of a file requiring formatting. If this is not specified, input is taken from the terminal.
>outfile
is the name of a file to receive formatted text output. If this is not specified, output goes to the terminal.
+Double
double spaces the text.
-Double
single spaces the text.
+Formatted
indicates that the article has been previously indented by TYPIST standards.
-Formatted
indicates that the article has not been previously indented.
+Pages
indicates that output pages should be numbered at the bottom.
-Pages
does not number pages.
type
indicates the format of the article expected and produced. This may be one of four possible alternatives: "Business"; "Document" or "Essay"; "Memo" or "Note"; "Personal", "Letter", or "Love". These types are described below. The default is "Business".

Description:

TYPIST is a program simulating the action of a real typist. If you call TYPIST with one or more arguments, interaction with the program will be limited to error messages and terminal input or output instructions. All format considerations are determined from what is on the command line, using defaults if options are not specified.

Format Assumptions:

In each article, TYPIST recognizes individual paragraphs or blocks when separated by a null or blank line. (A null line is entered by typing only a carriage return.) A paragraph must have at least one blank space at the start of the first line. A block has no space to start its first line. The difference in processing is that a paragraph has the first line indented five spaces and all lines are "filled" (right and left justified). A block has its lines left "as is". No lines in the input text should start with a period.

When given one of the four possible output types, TYPIST makes certain assumptions about what it expects in the input article. Any text article that is inconsistent with the following formats can result in "funny looking" output. Each article is appended with "/typist".

Business
A business letter has three initial blocks, followed by one or more paragraphs and/or blocks and ended by two blocks. The first and last two blocks are typed on the right half of the page, and all other text is typed relative to the left margin.
Personal (Letter or Love)
A personal letter has only two initial blocks and is otherwise in the same form for input and output as a business letter.
Memo (Note)
A memo is any number of blocks followed by any number of paragraphs. The first block is centered and underlined, with a divider of dash signs printed between the blocks and paragraphs.
Document (Essay)
A document has any number of blocks and paragraphs interspersed. All first lines of blocks are centered and underlined, starting at the top of a new page if followed by a paragraph. All pages are numbered.

Query Mode:

In query mode, TYPIST will generate sets of explanation lines, directives, and questions. Any questions to which you want to respond "yes" can be answered by typing "y", "yup", "yes", "oui", "ja", "ok", "si", "yeh", or "sure". Otherwise your response will be taken as "no".

At the start of the program, TYPIST will print a welcoming message and ask you if you need instructions. A "yes" will get a copy of this document.

TYPIST will then ask a series of such questions as where to obtain the source, where to save the source, the form of article, typing options, where to print the formatted file, and so on.

In case of file naming errors, TYPIST will give you a second chance. For input, the file must already exist. An output file will be created with the given name if it doesn't already exist.

After finishing each article, TYPIST will ask if you have any more for it to do. If you answer yes, it will start over again by asking for a new article; otherwise, it terminates.

Files Used:

b.type - roffed intermediate file.

Known Bugs:

When using the "+Formatted" option, the source article cannot be double spaced or have page numbers specified; otherwise, TYPIST will produce unusual results.

A format option that uses indentation spacing other than five spaces for the first line of a paragraph, greater than five but less than 30 for centered headings, or equal to 30 spaces for block indentation could also produce unusual results.

Copyright © 1996, Thinkage Ltd.