Directory graphics/pstricks/base

PSTricks 2024

This package may be distributed under the terms of the LaTeX Project 
Public License, as described in lppl.txt in the base LaTeX distribution.
Either version 1.3 or, at your option, any later version.

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PSTricks is the original work of Timothy van Zandt

PSTricks 97 is edited by Denis Girou and Sebastian Rahtz 

PSTricks 2004 is edited by Herbert Voss <hvoss@tug.org>
and Rolf Niepraschk <Rolf.Niepraschk@ptb.de>

PSTricks 2005- is edited by Herbert Voss <hvoss@tug.org>

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For more informations go to http://tug.org/PSTricks _and_ read the
news articles in the doc directory!


1 - Copyright
    ---------

COPYRIGHT 1993, 1994, 2000 by Timothy Van Zandt, <tvz@econ.insead.fr>.
COPYRIGHT 2004, 2005 by Herbert Voss <voss@PSTricks.de> and 
                        Rolf Niepraschk <Rolf.Niepraschk@ptb.de>.
COPYRIGHT 2006--current  by Herbert Voss <hvoss@tug.org>  

This program can be redistributed and/or modified under the terms
of the LaTeX Project Public License Distributed from CTAN
archives in directory macros/latex/base/lppl.txt.

2 - Introduction
    ------------

This package is a re-release of PSTricks, incorporating all of the
beta releases and bug fixes made up to March 1997. It is *not*
intended as a full new release of PSTricks, but as a consolidation and
cleaned distribution. Because Timothy van Zandt does not currently have
enough time to work on PSTricks, he gave permission for Denis Girou, 
Sebastian Rahtz and Herbert Voss to produce this interim solution.

Some new features have been added in the 2004 version, except the release 
of the small pst-fill package for filling (tiling) arbitrary regions and the
various evolving contributions, but we have merged in all the bug fixes
and beta addons which Timothy produced.

We have renamed some of the files that make up PSTricks, for consistency.
The multido package is now in /macros/generic/multido

3 - Installation
    ------------

3.1 - (La)TeX files

      a - You have to move all the files from the "generic" subdirectory
to a directory part of your TEXINPUTS environment variable, or to add it
in your TEXINPUTS list of paths.

      b - If you are a LaTeX user (and not only a plain TeX one), you have
to do the same thing for the "latex" subdirectory, which define LaTeX
wrappers for all the PSTricks files.

3.2 - PostScript header files
The file pstricks.con is the current platform specific config file.
For other platforms read the README from the config directory 

3.3 - Known pitfalls

      a - To use the standard `color' or `xcolor' package with PSTricks, you
must load the `pstricks.sty' package, which interface the two packages,
loading them in the right order, and overriding some small parts of 
PSTricks to allow it to use the `color' or `xcolor' package system for
specifying color. We STRONGLY recommend that you use this way today.
pstricks.sty loads by default the xcolor package, but there is an option
"noxcolor". If you are a LaTeX user then load _always_ first the
pstricks.sty package.

      b - LaTeX users must also take care that the `pstricks.sty' package is
required in place of the `pstricks.tex' one if the `graphics' or `graphicx'
package is also loaded.

      c - Don't try to load the `color' or `xcolor' package if you use 
`pstricks.sty' or `pst-all' (it is already loaded in the correct order).

4 - Contents
    --------

4.1 - Subdirectories

The distribution contain the following subdirectories:

contrib : various contributions
base    : main PSTricks files
    doc     : documentations (up to date ones - the obsolete/doc subdirectory
	      contain the reference documentation for the version 0.93a and
    	      the additional old Beta material, which is still necessary to use...)
    dvips   : PostScript header files
    generic : TeX generic sources
    latex   : LaTeX wrappers


5 - Running pdflatex or lualatex
     Load package auto-pst-pdf or auto-pst-pdf-lua and run your example with
the optional argument --shell-escape (MikTeX allows also -enable-write18)

lualatex --shell-escape <file>
pdflatex --shell-escape <file>

auto-pst-pdf(-lua) creates in the background all pspicture environment as single
pdf graphic files.
See documentation for more informations.


6 - Running lualatex with luapstricks.lua
Works in nearly all  cases and make more sense than using auto-pst-pdf-lua.
However, it can be slow for heavy calculations.


7 - Documentation
    -------------
There is a mailing list devoted to discussions on PSTricks usage.
The informations to subscribe to this list and to consult the archives can
be found on the Web page.


--
Denis Girou, Sebastian Rahtz and Herbert Voss (updated August 2023)