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Explore powerful UNIX writer's tools

Using new, open source equivalents of the classic UNIX Writer's Workbench

Michael Stutz, Author, Consultant

Michael Stutz is author of The Linux Cookbook, which he also designed and typeset using only open source software. His research interests include digital publishing and the future of the book. He has used various UNIX operating systems for 20 years.

Summary: Long ago, UNIX® had a proprietary package called the Writer's Workbench (WWB). Developers, administrators, and technical writers who used to use this package in their work deeply miss it—its powerful capabilities made the UNIX workstation a preferred environment for document editing and proofreading. Today, many new implementations of those tools are available for all UNIX systems, and you can also find open source equivalents of the key WWB tools. Discover these tools and learn how to use them, building a custom style guide checker in the process.

Date: 22 May 2007
Level: Intermediate

Activity: 15320 views
Comments:

Resources

Learn

"Hone your regexp pattern-building skills" (developerWorks, July 2006): This article includes a discussion on finding repeated words.
"Produce device-independent documentation with Groff" (developerWorks, June 2006): Learn how to get started with GNU Groff, the open source implementation of the troff typesetter.
"Emacs editing environment, Part 1: Learn the basics of Emacs": (developerWorks, March 2007): This tutorial gets you going with the powerful Emacs editor.
GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation: Learn more about the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation from its Web site.
The Elements of Style : Read the online copy of William Strunk, Jr.'s 1918 edition.
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