some 0.6 corrections
[PyX/mjg.git] / faq / pyxfaq.tex
blob808a104a53114d45a06d3300283ec553d5fd0a4e
1 \documentclass[11pt,DIV14]{scrartcl}
2 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
3 \usepackage{url}
4 \usepackage{rcs}
5 \usepackage{mathptmx}
6 %\usepackage[all,comments]{glifaq}
7 \usepackage[answered]{glifaq}
8 \usepackage[pdftex]{hyperref}
9 \hypersetup{pdftitle={PyX FAQ}%
10 ,pdfauthor={\textcopyright\ Gert-Ludwig Ingold
11 <gert.ingold@physik.uni-augsburg.de>}%
12 ,colorlinks=true%
13 ,linkcolor=blue}
14 \begin{document}
15 \RCS $Id$
16 \RCS $Revision$
17 \RCS $Date$
19 \begin{center}
20 \LARGE\sffamily Some frequently and\\
21 not so frequently asked questions\\
22 about \PyX\footnote{This version of the FAQ is intended for use with \PyX\
23 version 0.6.}\\
24 \par
25 {\small\sffamily (version \RCSRevision\ of \RCSDate)}\\[1truecm]
26 \large
27 Gert-Ludwig Ingold \par
28 \href{mailto:gert.ingold@physik.uni-augsburg.de}{\url{<gert.ingold@physik.uni-augsburg.de>}}
29 \end{center}
30 \toc
32 \vspace{2truecm}
33 \section*{Acknowledgements}
34 The following persons have in one way or the other contributed to the answers
35 given in this FAQ:\\
36 Jörg Lehmann, Michael Schindler, Andr{\'e} Wobst.
37 \newpage
39 \section{General aspects of \PyX}
40 \question{a}{Where do I get the latest version of \PyX?}
42 {The current release of \PyX{} (as well as older ones) is freely available
43 from \url{http://pyx.sourceforge.net} where also a CVS repository with the
44 latest patches can be found. Possibly older versions of \PyX{} are
45 also available as package for
46 various Linux distributions: see, for instance,
47 \url{http://packages.debian.org/testing/python/python-pyx.html} for
48 information on the \PyX{} package in Debian GNU/Linux,
49 \url{http://packages.gentoo.org/ebuilds/?pyx-0.3.1} for a Gentoo Linux
50 ebuild, and
51 \url{http://www.suse.de/en/private/products/suse_linux/i386/packages_professional/python-pyx.html}
52 for the \PyX{} package in the SUSE LINUX professional distribution.
55 \question{c}{How can I determine the version of \PyX{} running on my
56 machine?}
58 {Start a python session (usually by typing \texttt{python} at the system
59 prompt) and then type the following two commands (\texttt{>>>} is the python
60 prompt)
61 \begin{progcode}
62 >>> import pyx\\
63 >>> pyx.\us\us{}version\us\us
64 \end{progcode}
67 \question{c}{Does \PyX{} run under my favorite operating system?}
69 {Yes, if you have installed Python (\uaref{q:what_is_python})
70 and \TeX{} (\uaref{q:what_is_tex}). Both are available for
71 a large variety of operating systems so chances are pretty good that you will
72 get \PyX{} to work on your system.
75 \question{c}{Under which versions of Python will \PyX{} run?}
77 {\PyX{} is supposed to work with Python 2.0 and above. However, most of the
78 development takes place under the current production version of Python (2.3.3
79 by the time of this writing) and thus \PyX{} is better tested with this version. On the other hand, the examples and tests are verified to run with all Python
80 versions 2.x. \PyX{} will not work with Python 1.x due to missing language
81 features.
83 The version of your Python interpreter can be determined by calling
84 it with the option \texttt{-V}. Alternatively, you can simply start the
85 interpreter and take a look at the startup message. Note that there may be
86 different versions of Python installed on your system at the same time. The
87 default Python version need not be the same for all users.
90 \question{a}{Does \PyX{} provide a GUI to view the produced image? \new}
92 {No, \PyX{} itself does not provide a means to view the produced image. The
93 result of a \PyX{} run is an EPS (= Encapsulated PostScript) file which can
94 be viewed, printed or imported into other applications. There are several
95 means of viewing EPS files. A common way would be to use \texttt{ghostview}
96 which provides a user interface to the PostScript interpreter
97 \texttt{ghostscript}. More information about this software, which is
98 available for a variety of platforms, can be found at
99 \url{http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/}. If you do not own a printer which is
100 capable of printing PostScript files directly, \texttt{ghostscript} may
101 also be useful to translate the EPS file produced by \PyX{} into something
102 your printer will understand.}
104 \question{a}{Where can I get help if my question is not answered in this FAQ?}
106 {The \PyX{} sources contain a reference manual and a set of examples
107 demonstrating various features of \PyX. If the feature you are looking for is
108 among them, using the appropriate part of the example code or adapting it for
109 your purposes may help.
111 There is also a user discussion list about \PyX{} which you can subscribe to
112 at \url{http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/pyx-user}. The archive of
113 the discussion list is available at \url{http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum_id=23700}.
115 Finally, it might be worth checking \url{http://pyx.sourceforge.net/pyxfaq.pdf}
116 for an updated version of this FAQ.
119 \section{Python}
121 \question{c}{What is Python?}
123 {\label{q:what_is_python}
124 From \url{www.python.org}:
125 \begin{quote}
126 Python is an \textit{interpreted, interactive, object-oriented} programming
127 language. It is often compared to Tcl, Perl, Scheme or Java.
129 Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has modules,
130 classes, exceptions, very high level dynamic data types, and dynamic typing.
131 There are interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to various
132 windowing systems (X11, Motif, Tk, Mac, MFC). New built-in modules are easily
133 written in C or C++. Python is also usable as an extension language for
134 applications that need a programmable interface.
136 The Python implementation is portable: it runs on many brands of UNIX, on
137 Windows, OS/2, Mac, Amiga, and many other platforms. If your favorite system
138 isn't listed here, it may still be supported, if there's a C compiler for it.
139 Ask around on \href{news:comp.lang.python}{news:comp.lang.python} --- or just
140 try compiling Python yourself.
142 The Python implementation is
143 \href{http://www.python.org/doc/Copyright.html}{copyrighted}
144 but \textbf{freely usable and distributable, even for commercial use}.
145 \end{quote}
148 \question{a}{Where can I learn more about Python?}
150 {The place to start is \url{www.python.org} where you will find plenty of
151 information on Python including tutorials.
154 \question{c}{What do I need to import in order to use \PyX?}
155 {checked for 0.6}
156 {It is recommended to begin your Python code with
157 \begin{progcode}
158 from pyx import *
159 \end{progcode}
160 when using \PyX. This allows you for example to write simply
161 \texttt{graph.graphxy}
162 instead of \texttt{pyx.graph.graphxy}. The following modules will be loaded:
163 \texttt{attr}, \texttt{box}, \texttt{canvas}, \texttt{color}, \texttt{connector}, \texttt{data},
164 \texttt{deco}, \texttt{epsfile}, \texttt{graph}, \texttt{path},
165 \texttt{style}, \texttt{trafo}, \texttt{text}, and \texttt{unit}.
167 For convenience, you might import specific objects of a module like in
168 \begin{progcode}
169 from graph import graphxy
170 \end{progcode}
171 which allows you to write \texttt{graphxy()} instead of \texttt{graph.graphxy()}.
173 All code segments in this document assume that the import line mentioned in
174 the first code snippet is present.
177 \question{a}{What is a raw string and why should I know about it when
178 using \PyX?}
179 {checked for 0.6}
180 {\label{q:raw_string}
181 The backslash serves in standard Python strings to start an escape sequence.
182 For example {\cs n} corresponds to a newline character. On the other hand,
183 \TeX{} and \LaTeX{}, which do the typesetting in \PyX, use the backslash to
184 indicate the start of a command. In order to avoid the standard interpretation,
185 the string should be marked as a raw string by prepending it by an \texttt{r}
186 like in
187 \begin{progcode}
188 c.text(0, 0, r"\${\cs alpha}{\cs beta}{\cs gamma}\$")
189 \end{progcode}
192 \section{Plotting of graphs}
194 \subsection{General aspects}
196 \question{c}{How do I generate a graph from data as simply as possible?}
197 {checked for 0.6}
198 {\label{q:mingraphdata}
199 Suppose that you have a data file \texttt{x.dat} containing values for
200 $x$ and $y$ in two columns. Then the following code will do the job
201 \begin{progcode}
202 from pyx import *\\
204 g = graph.graphxy(width=10)\\
205 g.plot(graph.data.file("x.dat", x=1, y=2))\\
206 g.writeEPSfile("x")
207 \end{progcode}
208 \texttt{graphxy} creates a canvas (called \texttt{g} in this example) onto
209 which the graph will be drawn and it sets the default behavior including the
210 axis. There is, however, no default value for the width of the graph. In
211 \texttt{plot} you have to specify the name of the data file and the columns
212 from which the data should be taken. Finally, \texttt{writeEPSfile} will
213 generate the postscript file \texttt{x.eps} which you can view or print.
215 A minimal example is also provided in the \PyX{} distribution as
216 \path{examples/graphs/minimal.py}.
219 \question{a}{How do I generate a graph of a function as simply as possible?}
220 {checked for 0.6}
221 {The following example will draw a parabola:
222 \begin{progcode}
223 from pyx import *\\
225 g = graph.graphxy(width=10,\\
226 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x=graph.axis.linear(min=-2, max=2)\\
227 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)\\
229 g.plot(graph.data.function("y=x**2"))\\
231 g.writeEPSfile("x")
232 \end{progcode}
233 Most of the code has been explained in \uaref{q:mingraphdata}. The main
234 difference is that here you need to specify minimum and maximum for the
235 $x$-axis so that \PyX{} knows in which range to evaluate the function.
237 Another, slightly more complex, example is also provided in the \PyX{}
238 distribution as \path{examples/graphs/piaxis.py}.
241 \question{a}{How can I stack graphs?}
243 {\PyX{} always needs a canvas to draw on. One possibility therefore consists
244 in creating a new canvas with
245 \begin{progcode}
246 c = canvas.canvas()
247 \end{progcode}
248 and inserting the graphs into this canvas with \texttt{c.insert(...)}. Here,
249 \texttt{...} has to be replaced by the name of the graph. Alternatively, the
250 canvas created with \texttt{graph.graphxy} for one of the graphs can be used
251 to insert the other graphs even if they will be positioned outside the
252 first graph.
254 The second issue to address is positioning of the graphs. By specifying
255 \texttt{xpos} and \texttt{ypos} when calling \texttt{graphxy}, you can
256 define the position of a graph. Later on, the position and size of a
257 graph \texttt{g} can be referred to as \texttt{g.xpos}, \texttt{g.ypos},
258 \texttt{g.width}, and \texttt{g.height} even if for example the height has
259 never been specified explicitly but is only defined by a \PyX{} default.
261 The following example shows how to put graph \texttt{gupper} above graph
262 \texttt{glower} on a canvas \texttt{c}:
263 \begin{progcode}
264 from pyx import *\\
265 from graph import graphxy\\
267 c = canvas.canvas()\\
269 glower = graphxy(width=10)\\
270 glower.plot(...)\\
271 c.insert(glower)\\
273 gupper = graphxy(width=10, ypos=glower.ypos+glower.height+2)\\
274 gupper.plot(...)\\
276 c.insert(gupper)\\
277 c.writeEPSfile(...)
278 \end{progcode}
279 where \texttt{...} has to be replaced by the appropriate information like
280 data and symbol specifications and the name of the output file. Here,
281 \texttt{c.insert} is used to actually insert the subcanvasses
282 for the graphs into the main canvas \texttt{c} and \texttt{c.writeEPSfile}
283 in the last line requests to write the contents of this canvas to a file.
285 %In order to suppress the labels of the $x$-axis of the upper graph, use
286 %\begin{progcode}
287 %myaxispainter = graph.axispainter(labelattrs=None)
289 %gupper = graph.graphxy(...,
290 % x=graph.axis.linear(...,
291 % part=graph.linpart(),
292 % painter=myaxispainter)
294 %\end{progcode}
297 \question{a}{How can I plot grid data? \new}
299 {\PyX{} offers support for plotting three-dimensional data as two-dimensional
300 color plots or grey-scale plots and of vector fields by providing ways to
301 plot rectangles and arrows in graphs.
303 We start by considering the task of creating a two-dimensional color plot by
304 plotting a number of filled rectangles. One first needs to create a data set
305 which consists of five entries per data point. These are the lower left corner
306 $(x_\mathrm{min},y_\mathrm{min})$ and the upper right corner
307 $(x_\mathrm{max},y_\mathrm{max})$ of the triangle and a value between 0 and 1
308 determining the color via a \PyX{} color palette. The following code gives an
309 idea of how to proceed:
310 \begin{progcode}
311 g.plot(graph.data.file("datafile.dat"), xmin=1, xmax=2, ymin=3, ymax=4, color=5),\\
312 ~~~~~~~graph.style.rect(color.palette.ReverseRainbow)\\
313 ~~~~~~)\\
314 g.dodata()
315 \end{progcode}
316 Here, we assume that the data are stored in \texttt{datafile.dat} and the
317 columns contain $x_\mathrm{min}$, $x_\mathrm{max}$, $y_\mathrm{min}$,
318 $y_\mathrm{max}$, and the color value in this order. The columns are
319 numbered from 1, since the 0th column contain the line number. To
320 determine the color, we use the \texttt{ReverseRainbow} palette. The
321 last line instructs \PyX{} to plot the rectangles before plotting the
322 axes. Otherwise, the axes might be covered partially by the rectangles
323 and, in particular, the ticks might not be visible. Grey-scale plots
324 can easily be generated by specifying the palette \texttt{Gray} or
325 \texttt{ReverseGray} (cf.\ appendix C of the manual for a list of
326 predefined palettes).
328 At first sight, it seems surprising that plotting of grid data requires
329 the specification of four coordinates for the rectangle. The reason is that
330 this allows to draw rectangles of varying sizes which may help to reduce the
331 size of the postscript file by combining rectangles of the same color in
332 horizontal or vertical direction. For example, it may be sufficient to plot
333 a grey-scale image in a small number of grey shades and then combining
334 rectangles may be appropriate. Note, though, that this step is part of the
335 data creation and not preformed by \PyX{}. Another advantage of fully
336 specifying each rectangle is that it is straightforward to leave parts of the
337 graph blank.
339 The same ideas as for the color plot can be applied to plot vector fields where
340 each data point is represented by an arrow. In this case a data point is
341 specified by the position of the arrow, its size and its direction as indicated
342 in the following code snippet:
343 \begin{progcode}
344 g.plot(graph.data.file("datafile.dat"), x=1, y=2, size=3, angle=4),\\
345 ~~~~~~~graph.style.arrow()\\
346 ~~~~~~)
347 \end{progcode}
349 Complete code examples can be found in \path{examples/graphs/mandel.py} and
350 \path{examples/graphs/arrows.py}\,.
353 \question{t}{I would like a key for only some of my data sets. How do I do
354 that?}
359 \subsection{Axis properties}
361 \question{a}{How do I specify the tick increment? \changed}
362 {checked for 0.6. Maybe we should add an from pyx.graph import axis}
363 {In the partition of a linear axis, the increments associated with ticks,
364 subticks etc.\ can be specified as argument of \texttt{linpart}. In the
365 following example, ticks will be drawn at even values while subticks will
366 be drawn at all integers:
367 \begin{progcode}
368 tg = graph.graphxy(width=10,\\
369 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x=graph.axis.linear(min=1, max=10,\\
370 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~parter=graph.axis.parter.linear(tickdist=[2,1]))\\
371 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
372 \end{progcode}
375 \question{a}{How do I plot the zero line? \new}
376 {new for 0.6 since zeropathattrs was removed}
378 To stroke a grid line at a special axis position, the graph needs to
379 be finished first (at least the layout needs to be fixed). Than you
380 can access special methods and variables of the graph instance to add
381 further information.
382 \begin{progcode}
383 g.finish()
384 g.stroke(g.ygridpath(0))
385 \end{progcode}
388 \subsection{Data properties}
390 \question{a}{How do I choose the symbol?}
391 {checked for 0.6}
392 {\label{q:choose_symbol}
393 Suppose a graph called \texttt{g} has been initialized, e.g. by using
394 \texttt{graph.graphxy}. Then, data and the style of their representation
395 in the graph are defined by calling \texttt{g.plot} like in the following
396 example in which filled circles are requested:
397 \begin{progcode}
398 g.plot(graph.data.file("test.dat"),\\
399 ~~~~~~~graph.style.symbol(graph.style.symbol.circle, symbolattrs=[deco.filled])\\
400 ~~~~~~~)
401 \end{progcode}
404 \question{a}{How do I choose the color of the symbols?}
405 {checked for 0.6}
406 {Colors are not properties of the symbol as such and can therefore not
407 be specified in \texttt{symbolattrs} directly. The color is rather related
408 to the plotting of the symbol as defined by \texttt{deco.stroked} or
409 \texttt{deco.filled}. With
410 \begin{progcode}
411 graph.style.symbol(graph.style.symbol.circle,\\
412 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~symbolattrs=[deco.stroked([color.rgb.red]),\\
413 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~deco.filled([color.rgb.green])]\\
414 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
415 \end{progcode}
416 you will obtain a circle filled in green with a red borderline.
419 \question{a}{How do I choose the line style?}
420 {checked for 0.6}
421 {If you do not want to use symbols, you can set the line style as in this
422 example
423 \begin{progcode}
424 g.plot(graph.data.file("test.dat"),\\
425 ~~~~~~~graph.style.line([style.linewidth.Thin])\\
426 ~~~~~~~)
427 \end{progcode}
428 where the linewidth is set.
430 If you also want to use symbols, you can set the line attributes together
431 with the symbols. Extending the example in \ref{q:choose_symbol},
432 you could use
433 \begin{progcode}
434 g.plot(graph.data.file("test.dat"),\\
435 ~~~~~~~graph.style.symbolline(graph.style.symbolline.circle,\\
436 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~symbolattrs=[deco.filled],\\
437 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~lineattrs=[style.linewidth.Thin, style.linestyle.dashed]\\
438 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)\\
439 ~~~~~~~)
440 \end{progcode}
441 to set the linewidth and to choose dashed lines.
444 \section{\TeX{} and \LaTeX{}}
446 \subsection{General aspects}
448 \question{a}{What is \TeX/\LaTeX{} and why do I need it?}
450 {\label{q:what_is_tex}
451 \TeX{} is a high quality typesetting system developed by Donald E. Knuth
452 which is available for a wide variety of operating systems. \LaTeX{} is a
453 macro package originally developed by Leslie Lamport which makes life with
454 \TeX{} easier, in particular for complex typesetting tasks. The current
455 version of \LaTeX{} is referred to as \LaTeXe{} and offers e.g.\ improved
456 font selection as compared to the older \LaTeX{} 2.09 which should no longer
457 be used.
459 All typesetting tasks in \PyX{} are finally handed over to \TeX{} (which is the
460 default) or \LaTeX{}, so that \PyX{} cannot do without it. On the other hand,
461 the capabilities of \TeX{} and \LaTeX{} can be used for complex tasks where
462 both graphics and typesetting are needed.
465 \question{a}{I don't know anything about \TeX{} and \LaTeX{}. Where can I read
466 something about it?}
468 {\label{q:intro_tex_latex}
469 Take a look at CTAN (\uaref{q:ctan}) where in \ctan{info}
470 you may be able to find some useful information. There exists for example
471 ``A Gentle Introduction to \TeX'' by M.~Doob (\ctan{gentle/gentle.pdf}) and
472 ``The Not So Short Introduction to \LaTeXe''
473 (\ctan{info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf}) by T.~Oetiker et al. The latter has
474 been translated into a variety of languages among them korean (which you will
475 not be able to read unless you have appropriate fonts installed) and mongolian.
477 Of course, it is likely that these documents will go way beyond what you
478 will need for generating graphics with \PyX{} so you don't have to read all
479 of it (unless you want to use \TeX{} or \LaTeX{} for typesetting which can be
480 highly recommended).
482 There exists also a number of FAQs on \TeX{} at \ctan{help}.
485 \question{a}{What is CTAN?}
487 {\label{q:ctan}
488 CTAN is the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network where you will find almost
489 everything related to \TeX{} and friends. The main CTAN servers are
490 \url{tug.ctan.org}, \url{dante.ctan.org}, and \url{cam.ctan.org}. A list of
491 FTP mirrors can be found at \ctan{CTAN.sites}.
493 In this FAQ, \texttt{CTAN:} refers to the root of an anonymous ftp CTAN tree,
494 e.g. \url{ftp://ctan.tug.org/tex-archive/},
495 \url{ftp://ftp.dante.de/tex-archive/},
496 and \url{ftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/}. The links to CTAN in this document
497 point to one of these servers but you might consider using a FTP mirror closer
498 to you in order to reduce traffic load.
501 \question{a}{Is there support for Con\TeX{}t?}
503 {No, and as far as I know there no plans to provide it in the near future.
504 Given the close ties between Con\TeX{}t and Meta\-Post, Con\TeX{}t users
505 probably prefer to stick with the latter anyway.
508 \subsection{\TeX{} and \LaTeX{} commands useful for \PyX}
510 \question{a}{How do I get a specific symbol with \TeX{} or \LaTeX?}
512 {A list of mathematical symbols together with the appropriate command name
513 can be found at \ctan{info/symbols/math/symbols.ps}. A comprehensive list
514 containing more than 2500 symbols for use with \LaTeX{} can be obtained from
515 \ctan{info/symbols/comprehensive/symbols-a4.pdf}. In some cases it might be
516 necessary to install fonts or packages available from CTAN
517 (\uaref{q:ctan}).
520 \subsection{\TeX{} and \LaTeX{} errors}
522 \question{a}{Undefined control sequence \cs{usepackage}}
524 {\label{q:undefined_usepackage}
525 The command \cs usepackage is specific to \LaTeX{}. Since by default \PyX{}
526 uses \TeX{}, you have to specify the correct mode:
527 \begin{progcode}
528 text.set(mode="latex")
529 \end{progcode}
532 \question{a}{Undefined control sequence \cs{frac}}
534 {\label{q:undefined_frac}
535 The command \cs frac is only available in \LaTeX{}. In \TeX{} you should
536 use \texttt{\cb{a\cs over b}} in math mode to produce ${a\over b}$. As an
537 alternative you may ask for the \LaTeX{} mode as explained in
538 \ref{q:undefined_usepackage}.
541 \question{a}{Missing \$ inserted}
543 {You have specified \TeX- or \LaTeX-code which is only valid in math mode.
544 Typical examples are greek symbols, sub- and superscripts or fractions.
546 On the \PyX{} level, you can specify math mode for the whole string by using
547 \texttt{text.mathmode} as in
548 \begin{progcode}
549 c.text(0, 0, r"{\cs alpha}", text.mathmode)
550 \end{progcode}
551 Keep also in mind that the standard Python interpretation of the backslash as
552 introducing escape sequences needs to be prevented
553 \uaref{q:raw_string}.
555 On the \TeX/\LaTeX{} level you should enclose the commands requiring math
556 mode in \$'s. As an example, \texttt{\$\cs alpha\us i\hat j\$} will produce
557 $\alpha_i^j$. This allows you to specify math mode also for substrings. There
558 exist other ways to specify math mode in \TeX{} and \LaTeX{} which are
559 particularly useful for more complex typesetting tasks. To learn more about
560 it, you should consult the documentation
561 \uaref{q:intro_tex_latex}.
564 \question{a}{Font shape `OT1/xyz/m/n' undefined}
566 {\label{q:fontshape_undefined}
567 You have asked to use font \texttt{xyz} which is not available. Make sure that
568 you have this font available in Type1 format, i.e.\ there should be a
569 file \texttt{xyz.pfb} somewhere. If your \TeX{} system is TDS compliant
570 (TDS=\TeX{} directory structure, cf.\ \ctan{tds/draft-standard/tds/tds.pdf})
571 you should take a look at the subdirectories of
572 \path{TEXMF/fonts/type1}.
575 \question{a}{File \dots\ is not available or not readable}
577 {\label{q:no_lfs}
578 Such an error message might already occur when running the example file
579 \texttt{hello.py} included in the \PyX{} distribution. Usually, the error
580 occurs due to an overly restrictive umask setting applied when unpacking the
581 \texttt{tar.gz} sources. This may render the file mentioned in the error
582 message unreadable because the python distutil installation package doesn't
583 change the file permissions back to readable for everyone.
585 If the file exists, the problem can be solved by changing the permissions to
586 allow read access.}
588 \question{a}{No information for font `cmr10' found in font mapping file}
590 {\label{q:no_cmr10}
591 Such an error message can already be encountered by simply running the example
592 file \texttt{hello.py} included in the \PyX{} distribution. The likely reason
593 is that the \TeX{} system does not find the cmr fonts in Type1 format.
594 \PyX{} depends on these fonts as it does not work with the traditional
595 pk fonts which are stored as bitmaps.
597 Therefore, the first thing to make sure is that the cmr Type1 fonts are
598 installed. In some \TeX{} installations, the command \texttt{kpsewhich
599 cmr10.pfb} will return the appropriate path if the cmr fonts exist in the
600 binary Type1 format (extension \texttt{pfb}) required by \PyX. If the command
601 does not work but the TeX{} system is TDS compliant
602 (\uaref{q:fontshape_undefined}), a look should be taken at
603 \path{TEXMF/fonts/type1/bluesky/cm} where \texttt{TEXMF} is the root of the
604 \texttt{texmf} tree.
606 If the Type1 fonts do not exist on the system, they may be obtained from
607 the CTAN \uaref{q:ctan} at \ctan{fonts/cm/ps-type1/bluesky}. See the
608 \texttt{README} for information about who produced these fonts and why they
609 are freely available.
611 If the Type1 fonts exist, the next step is to take a look at
612 \texttt{psfonts.map}. There may be several files with this name on the system,
613 so it is important to find out which one TeX is actually using.
614 \texttt{kpsewhich psfonts.map} might give this information.
616 The most likely problem is that this file does not contain a line telling TeX
617 what to do if it encounters a request for font \texttt{cmr10}, i.e. the
618 following line
619 may be missing
620 \begin{progcode}
621 ~~~cmr10~~~~~~~~~~~CMR10~~~~~~~~~~~<cmr10.pfb
622 \end{progcode}
623 It is probable that the required lines (in practice, you do not just need
624 \texttt{cmr10}) are found in a file named \texttt{psfonts.cmz} which resides in
625 \path{TEXMF/dvips/bluesky}.
627 One solution is to instruct \PyX{} to read additional map files like
628 \texttt{psfonts.cmz} or \texttt{psfonts.amz}. This can be achieved by modifying
629 the appropriate \texttt{pyxrc} file which is either the systemwide
630 \texttt{/etc/pyxrc} or \texttt{.pyxrc} in the user's home directory. Here, the
631 names of the map files to be read by \PyX{} should be appended separated by
632 whitespaces like in the following example:
633 \begin{progcode}
634 fontmaps = psfonts.map psfonts.cmz psfonts.amz
635 \end{progcode}
636 The same effect can be achieved by inserting the following line into the
637 \PyX{} code:
638 \begin{progcode}
639 text.set(fontmaps="psfonts.cmz psfonts.amz")
640 \end{progcode}
642 An alternative approach consists in modifying the \TeX{} installation by
643 inserting the contents of the desired map files like \texttt{psfonts.cmz} into
644 \texttt{psfonts.map}. Probably, \texttt{psfonts.map} recommends not to do this
645 by hand. In this case the instructions given in the file should be followed.
646 Otherwise, \texttt{psfonts.cmz} should be copied into \texttt{psfonts.map} while
647 keeping a backup of the old \texttt{psfonts.map} just in case. After these
648 changes, \PyX{} most likely will be happy. When inserting \texttt{psfonts.cmz}
649 into \texttt{psfonts.map} it may be a good idea to include \texttt{psfonts.amz}
650 as well. \texttt{psfonts.amz} contains information about some more fonts which
651 might be needed at some point. Making these changes ot \texttt{psfonts.map}
652 will imply that the \TeX{} system will use the cmr fonts in Type1 format
653 instead of pk format which is actually not a bad thing, in particular if
654 \texttt{latex}~/ \texttt{dvips}~/ \texttt{ps2pdf} is used to generate PDF
655 output. With fonts in pk format this will look ugly and using Type1 fonts
656 solves this problem as well. When \texttt{pdflatex} is used to create PDF files,
657 Type1 fonts will be used anyway.
660 \subsection{Fonts}
662 \question{t}{I have Type1 fonts in \texttt{pfa} format. How do I obtain the
663 corresponding \texttt{pfb} files needed by \PyX?}
668 \question{a}{I want to use a font other than computer modern roman}
670 {\label{q:other_font}
671 As long as you have a font in Type1 format available, this should be no
672 problem (even though it may cost you some time to set up things properly).
674 In the simplest case, your \LaTeX{} system contains everything needed.
675 Including the following line into your code will probably work
676 \begin{progcode}
677 text.set(mode="latex")\\
678 text.preamble(r"\cs{usepackage}\cb{mathptmx}")
679 \end{progcode}
680 and give you Times as roman font.
682 If you own one of the more common commercial fonts, take a look at
683 \ctan{fonts} and its subdirectories as well as at the web page
684 \url{http://home.vr-web.de/was/fonts.html} of Walter Schmidt. It is not
685 unlikely that somebody has already done most of the work for you and created
686 the files needed for the font to work properly with \LaTeX. But remember:
687 we are talking about commercial fonts here, so do not expect to find the fonts
688 themselves for free.
690 If none of these cases applies, you should spend some time reading
691 manuals about font installation, e.g.\ \ctan{macros/latex/doc/fntguide.pdf}
692 (of course, I do not expect font wizards to read the last few lines).
695 \question{a}{Can I use a TrueType font with \PyX?}
697 {Not directly as \PyX{} only knows how to handle Type1 fonts (although it is
698 possible to get \LaTeX{} to work with TrueType fonts). However, you may use
699 \texttt{ttf2pt1} (from \url{http://ttf2pt1.sourceforge.net}) to convert a
700 TrueType font into a Type1 font which you then install in your \TeX{} system
701 \uaref{q:other_font}. You will loose hinting information
702 in the conversion process but this should not really matter on output devices
703 with not too low resolution.
706 \end{document}