@Preface @Begin
@LP
This User's Guide brings together in one document everything needed
for the day-to-day use of Version 3 of the Lout document formatting
system.
@IndexBlanks
@PP
There are three other documents describing Lout:  the Expert's Guide
@Cite { $kingston1995lout.expert }, which you need if you want to add
new features to Lout; a journal paper on the design and implementation
of Lout @Cite { $kingston1993lout.design }; and a set of overhead
transparencies @Cite { $kingston1994lout.overheads } that cover much
the same ground as this Guide.  These documents are all distributed
with the software.
@PP
Lout is distributed free of charge under the GNU Public License.  The
gnu. @Index { GNU Public License }
primary source is directory
@ID @Code "ftp://ftp.cs.su.oz.au/jeff/lout"
in which may be found the main distribution, which is a gzipped tar file
called @Code "lout.3.08.tar.gz" or similar, and various other things
including a PostScript version of this manual.  The main distribution
is redistributed on the @Code comp.sources.misc newsgroup, which is
archived at several sites around the world.  The distribution contains
source code, libraries, documentation, license, and installation
instructions.  Distribution by uuencoded email is also available, from me.
@PP
A mailing list has been set up for discussion of all topics related to
Lout.  To subscribe, send email to @Code "lout-request@niif.spb.su"
containing the word @Code "subscribe" in the Subject line.  To post an
item, send email to {@Code "lout@niif.spb.su"}; it will be forwarded to
all subscribers via email.  To unsubscribe, send email to
@Code "lout-request@niif.spb.su" containing the word @Code "unsubscribe"
in the Subject line.
@PP
Lout began in 1984 as a research project into the design of a high-level
language for document formatting.  At that time my name for the subject
was `document layout,' and this terminology survives in the names of
some of the standard packages, and in `Lout' itself.  The initial design
was strongly influenced by Brian W. Kernighan and Lorinda L. Cherry's eqn
kernighan @Index { Kernighan, Brian W. }
cherry.l @Index { Cherry, Lorinda L.}
eqn. @Index { @Code eqn equation formatter }
equation formatter @Cite { $kernighan1975eqn }, and also by Brian K. Reid's
Scribe system @Cite { $reid1980scribe }.  That
scribe.influence @SubIndex { influence on Lout }
reid.b @Index { Reid, Brian K. }
research phase ended in October 1991 with the first public release of Lout.
@PP
Since then the system has been steadily improved and extended.  Optimal
paragraph breaking and automatic hyphenation were copied from Donald
E. Knuth's @TeX system @Cite { $knuth1984tex }, and the optimal paragraph
breaking algorithm was applied to the problem of producing optimal page
breaks.  The first implementations of horizontal galleys and optimal
page breaking were by my student Gabor Inokai.  The strongest
knuth @Index { Knuth, D. E. }
tex. @Index { @TeX }
influence during this period has come from Lout's users; indeed the
number of people who have offered comments and suggestions is so great
that it is quite out of my power to acknowledge them individually.  I
hope that seeing their ideas adopted will be thanks enough.
@DP
@RLD lines @Break {
Jeffrey H. Kingston
Basser Department of Computer Science
The University of Sydney 2006, Australia
@Code "jeff@cs.su.oz.au"
}
@End @Preface
