🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <MV5siey00Vs6c7E0Nt@andrew.cmu.edu> ao06+@andrew.cmu.edu.UUCP writes:
>
>Has anybody out there ever created an index with troff?  Or had success using
>the ptx program?


I don't know anything about ptx, and I have not personally made
an index with troff, but people in my group do it all the time.

But.  If you're looking for a method, one way is to create a macro
that will collect an indexing key or keys and the current page number.
At any given point in the text, say you want to create an index 
entry for some information about - let's be original here -
indexing macros.  You could have one macro that takes multiple keys
or use more than one macro call for each (using mm):

	.P
	Lots of interesting
	text about indexing macros.
	.Ix indexing \nP
	.Ix macros \nP
	.Ix "indexing macros" \nP
	More text about other stuff.

The macro code involves reading the arguments to the macro and popping
the key and the page number into a diversion that can then be printed
out and used later to make the index.  You may also be able to
dump directly into a file.

I don't know of a method off hand - a GOOD and USEFUL indexing
method - that can be done in that one step, though.  You'll
end up having to do some sorting and arranging and reformatting
from that raw information, grouping items under major indexing
headings and so forth.

Forget permuted indexes.  They are convenient only for the people
making the index.  They are of limited or no usefulness to people
who really need to find information.


Kathy Vincent                          kathy@bakerst.UUCP
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