Re: Latex and indexes?

[Dan BRINEGAR <vr2link -at- VR2LINK -dot- COM>]

>Date:    Fri, 25 Jul 1997 15:05:18 -0400
>From:    Matthew J Long <mjl100z -at- MAIL -dot- ODU -dot- EDU>
>Subject: Latex and indexes?
>
>AAAAAAHHHHH! Help!!!!
>
>I sent a few messages out to various software companies this week to try
>and churn up some contract work (this is the second response I have gotten
>out of 10 messages I sent--20% ain't bad, eh?).

Actually, I'd call that at excellent percentage: out of thirty electronic
resumes I sent out last week, I've gotten one hit <smile>

>
>The following is the actual text I receive back from one of
>these companies:
>
>> We are currently updating a significant portion of our documentation.
>> Have you worked with Latex before?  We are converting all of our stuff
>> to FrameMaker and we have one large Latex document to deal with.

("before" is such a relative term <grin>)

Find out a little about Latex _before_ you answer <grin>

Latex is a very studly UNIX text-processor on the order of troff,  and
stuff like that ( if you consider "vi" as the standard ultra-complex,
totally bizarre, way-overpowered scriptable UNIX text-processor [where
everything is treated like the string of text at the top of a punched
card]; then LATEX is the armor-clad, coal-fired,
24-inch-self-propelled-gun-from-Saturn of UNIX text-processors...

There's about eleventy-four million books on latex at any big computer
bookstore or library: pick up one with a good glossary, and one with a good
dope-sheet (command reference card), and  a good step-by-step example of
how it's used, study it real quick before he calls you back, and have it
there during a phone interview.

>>
>> Also, do you build indexes, by which I am primarily referring to the
>> act of identifying the topics and keywords and not simply the
>> mechanics of tagging them in a given word-processor program.

If you've built an index in Word or Frame,  and have an electronic copy of
it, put it up on yer website or be willing to email it to him.

If ya haven't, I could try to scrounge up my indexing processes from
[previous job] and send 'em to ya so you can see what putting a human face
on automated indexing is all about.


>>
>> What is your background/training/company?  Do you have a web page I
>> can look at?
>>
>> -Fred

I know you can answer that one <smile>

>I have done some indexing for a manual that is less than 200 pages,
>but depending on what he is talking about, this maybe more than I can
>handle. Indexers... what do you think?

A properly structured document can be indexed using the same techniques, no
matter how large it is: if they've used LATEX and are converting to Frame,
it's structured to a fare-thee-well... Go for it!

>
>How would you respond to this message if you were in my shoes?
>

"Dear Fred: this looks like a really interesting job, I've wanted to get
more hands-on with large conversions (I believe everything's going online,
and we can repurpose all the relevant documentation that we've spent so
much time and effort doing).

I believe my indexing skills are applicable to the project you described,
I've studied a bit about LATEX, and would appreciate a chance to work with
and learn from the veterans in your group."

(Well, you could say that over the phone... it probably needs some work in
print <grin>)

>p.s. I just had a thought... what if the guy who sent me this message is
>on this list? Hmmmmmmmm?
>

Then he may not recognize you, or he might be interested to see if the way
you act with yourslef in public is the way you act with others in private
<smile> -- be consistent and stick to your guns -- passion and enthusiasm,
naivete and idealism are good things to have either in a techwhirl setting,
in class, or in a documentation group.

Good luck!



-----------------------------------------------------------
Dan BRINEGAR, CCDB Vr2Link
Performance S u p p o r t Svcs.
Phoenix, Arizona

vr2link -at- vr2link -dot- com
http://www.vr2link.com
"Show up, be there, think it up and do it, exceed your job-description,
 control your own means of production (that's yer brain)! "

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