Can I see a plain TeX source file please?

Question

all the LaTeX-tutorials tell me how LaTeX is an extention simplifying the building of TeX documents. Understandably, no one uses plain TeX anymore, right?

But I seem to learn better when I grasp the link between TeX and LaTeX. Does someone have a link to example files in plain TeX? I'd like to know which commands, macros etc. are LaTeX-specific.

Answer 1

Here's an example:

% Plain TeX for a 1 page document

%% The lines between the two rows of %'s are more or less compulsory.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

\magnification=\magstep1
\baselineskip=12pt
\hsize=6.3truein
\vsize=8.7truein
\font\footsc=cmcsc10 at 8truept
\font\footbf=cmbx10 at 8truept
\font\footrm=cmr10 at 10truept
\footline={\footsc the electronic journal of combinatorics
   {\footbf 16} (2009), \#R00\hfil\footrm\folio}

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% The further structure of the front page need not be exactly as below,
%% but the header must contain the names and addresses of the authors
%% as well as the submission and acceptance dates.

\font\bigrm=cmr12 at 14pt
\centerline{\bigrm An elementary proof of the reconstruction conjecture}

\bigskip\bigskip

\centerline{D. Remifa\footnote*{Thanks to
  the editors of this wonderful journal!}}
\smallskip
\centerline{Department of Inconsequential Studies}
\centerline{Solatido College, North Kentucky, USA}
\centerline{\tt [email protected]}

\bigskip

\centerline{\footrm 
Submitted: Jan 1, 2009; Accepted: Jan 2, 2009; Published: Jan 3, 2009}
\centerline{\footrm Mathematics Subject Classifications: 05C88, 05C89}

\bigskip\bigskip

\centerline{\bf Abstract}
\smallskip
{\narrower\noindent
The reconstruction conjecture states that the multiset of unlabeled
vertex-deleted subgraphs of a graph determines the graph, provided it
has at least 3 vertices.  A version of the problem was first stated
by Stanis\l aw Ulam.  In this paper, we show that the conjecture can
be proved by elementary methods.  It is only necessary to integrate
the Lenkle potential of the Broglington manifold over the quantum
supervacillatory measure in order to reduce the set of possible
counterexamples to a small number (less than a trillion).  A simple
computer program that implements Pipletti's classification theorem
for torsion-free Aramaic groups with simplectic socles can then
finish the remaining cases.\par}

\bigskip

\beginsection 1. Introduction.

This is the start of the introduction.

\bye

Result:

Answer 2

Since TH took the chance to post xii.tex, I take the chance and post my further condensed version (needs almost 14% less key strokes for the same output :-)). This exercise was indeed my first plunge into the inner workings of TeX.

\let~\catcode~`76~`A13~`F1~`j00~`P2jdefA71F~`7113jdefPA;;FP
AYYFvePAJJ7172F72e71PAEE71"72F72i71PAGG71Fo71dPAWW71;FPADDF
PA**7172F727171PAKK7172F72r71PAqq71.F71Kse71PAIIFoPAXXFKdiP
AQQFjbigskipDOPAzzFhPAHHFDPATT7172F72a71PAZZFTDDPAUU71,72MF
jpar71ing;jifx:72jelseU72MjfiPABB71W72;73,74:Fjif.74.jelseB
74:jfiQn tJ;z7172tz; TydDIfDCEzs;tTsm;DmWa;y "KKJtDulIY TYg
tI J;mU7173,74:MPB tJlwWf;Wq;Yq K*dmu.,eJYlnW;q Ep"p.,JntW;
lKsGZlTpe,En"nW;eDTJlsE "dTndc,Egz"eW;t Emd"TsZElk"m,JYsnW;
sTnwWo;sZs*mE"w,Ex"sW; Jg*JZsTyl,E"fWf;Y gGlEDng"KsW,fIurW;
TlcEngD"lbXsW,tzWXW;K*J JfKncz JnzsW,WJcsGnW;tWace;wI tKtuJ
DldIYsW,WKsE"ftW;aHAHHFndZPKpTEt"KdJEgn"DZpJTKDtK*J.W,:jbye

Answer 3

There are many examples of plain TeX source files. For example all my books and articles are written in plain TeX:

• TeXbook naruby / TeXbook inside out
• Lineární algebra
• ...

There is an example of Bachelor thesis written in plain TeX (including sources):

• Kvadratické rovnice na slovech

It is not true that plain TeX doesn't give possibility to separate the logical markup from typesetting tasks. I and my students consistently respect this rule. You can verify this in sources of mentioned bachelor thesis, for example.

Unfortunatelly, texbook.tex isn't good example because the typesetting macros are mixed with text here. There are \def's inside document, \eject, etc.

You can create bad document (where the typesetting task is mixed with logical markup) or good document independently off the basic used macro is plain TeX or LaTeX. From this point of view, the accepted answer here is bad example of good practice in plain TeX, because there are \bigskip\bigskip, \centerline \indent etc. inside author's part of the document.

Finally, I disagree, that the example by David Carlisle is the typical example of plain TeX. This is only an example of TeX capabilities. The plain TeX has no common with it. You can create the following document:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\def\bye{\end{document}}
\let~\catcode~`76~`A13~`F1~`j00~`P2jdefA71F~`7113jdefPALLF
PA''FwPA;;FPAZZFLaLPA//71F71iPAHHFLPAzzFenPASSFthP;A$$FevP
A@@FfPARR717273F737271P;ADDFRgniPAWW71FPATTFvePA**FstRsamP
AGGFRruoPAqq71.72.F717271PAYY7172F727171PA??Fi*LmPA&&71jfi
Fjfi71PAVVFjbigskipRPWGAUU71727374 75,76Fjpar71727375Djifx
:76jelse&U76jfiPLAKK7172F71l7271PAXX71FVLnOSeL71SLRyadR@oL
RrhC?yLRurtKFeLPFovPgaTLtReRomL;PABB71 72,73:Fjif.73.jelse
B73:jfiXF71PU71 72,73:PWs;AMM71F71diPAJJFRdriPAQQFRsreLPAI
I71Fo71dPA!!FRgiePBt'el@ lTLqdrYmu.Q.,Ke;vz vzLqpip.Q.,tz;
;Lql.IrsZ.eap,qn.i. i.eLlMaesLdRcna,;!;h htLqm.MRasZ.ilk,%
s$;z zLqs'.ansZ.Ymi,/sx ;LYegseZRyal,@i;@ TLRlogdLrDsW,@;G
LcYlaDLbJsW,SWXJW ree @rzchLhzsW,;WERcesInW qt.'oL.Rtrul;e
doTsW,Wk;Rri@stW aHAHHFndZPpqar.tridgeLinZpe.LtYer.W,:jbye

and process it by LaTeX. Will you claim that this is typical LaTeX document?

Edit I'd show the same example as in the accepted answer here (by Sadeq) but with the separated parts: macros and the author's text. The author can be somebody else than the programmer of the macros.

The plain TeX file created by the author of the text would be:

\input macros

\title      {An elementary proof of the reconstruction conjecture}
\author     {D. Remifa\footnote*{Thanks to the editors of this wonderful journal!}}
\department {Department of Inconsequential Studies}   
\address    {Solatido College, North Kentucky, USA}
\email      {[email protected]}
\edinfo     {Submitted: Jan 1, 2009; Accepted: Jan 2, 2009; Published: Jan 3, 2009\nl
             Mathematics Subject Classifications: 05C88, 05C89}
\printdata

\abstract
The reconstruction conjecture states that the multiset of unlabeled
vertex-deleted subgraphs of a graph determines the graph, provided it
has at least 3 vertices.  A version of the problem was first stated
by Stanis\l aw Ulam.  In this paper, we show that the conjecture can
be proved by elementary methods.  It is only necessary to integrate
the Lenkle potential of the Broglington manifold over the quantum
supervacillatory measure in order to reduce the set of possible
counterexamples to a small number (less than a trillion).  A simple 
computer program that implements Pipletti's classification theorem 
for torsion-free Aramaic groups with simplectic socles can then  
finish the remaining cases.

\section Introduction.

This is the start of the introduction.

\bye

The macros.tex file declares (1) the markup and (2) the dessign of the document:

\magnification=\magstep1
\font\footsc=cmcsc10 at 8truept
\font\footbf=cmbx10 at 8truept
\font\footrm=cmr10 at 10truept
\footline={\footsc the electronic journal of combinatorics
   {\footbf 16} (2009), \#R00\hfil\footrm\folio}
\font\bigrm=cmr12 at 14pt

\newtoks\title   \newtoks\author \newtoks\department
\newtoks\address \newtoks\email  \newtoks\edinfo

\def\printdata{\par
   \centerline{\bigrm\the\title}\vskip2\baselineskip
   \if^\the\author^\else \centerline{\the\author}\medskip\fi
   \if^\the\department^\else \centerline{\the\department}\fi   
   \if^\the\address^\else \centerline{\the\address}\fi
   \if^\the\email^\else \centerline{\tt\the\email}\fi
   \if^\the\edinfo^\else \bigskip
      {\footrm \leftskip=0pt plus1fill \rightskip=\leftskip \the\edinfo\par}\fi
   \vskip2\baselineskip
}
\def\nl{\hfil\break}  

\def\abstract{\par\centerline{\bf Abstract}\smallskip
   \bgroup \def\par{\endgraf\bigskip\egroup}  
   \narrower \noindent
}
\newcount\secnum
\def\section#1\par{\global\advance\secnum by1 
   \csname beginsection\endcsname \the\secnum. #1\par
}

The output is exactly the same as in the accepted answer here.

Answer 4

if you really want to be boggled by a plain tex source file, go to the ur-source: http://mirror.ctan.org/tex-archive/systems/knuth/dist/tex/texbook.tex

this is what it says it is -- the source of the texbook -- and it has been made available by don knuth so that people can see how he solved various problems. it shouldn't be tex'ed without his permission.

of course, it's most meaningful when viewed together with the printed version; try to find someone who can lend you a copy.

the formatting depends on a collection of macros created specifically for the purpose; \input manmac.tex makes these available. that file is included in the tex live distribution and it's worth taking a look at it to see how it differs from latex packages. it's my opinion that, whatever the flavor of the input one might be using for a tex job, the first order of business is to decide on (design, if necessary) the basic user interface, and only then embark on the input of the content. from there, they will most often develop in parallel.

Answer 5

The best plain TeX source is David Carlisle's xii.tex:

\let~\catcode~`76~`A13~`F1~`j00~`P2jdefA71F~`7113jdefPALLF
PA''FwPA;;FPAZZFLaLPA//71F71iPAHHFLPAzzFenPASSFthP;A$$FevP
A@@FfPARR717273F737271P;ADDFRgniPAWW71FPATTFvePA**FstRsamP
AGGFRruoPAqq71.72.F717271PAYY7172F727171PA??Fi*LmPA&&71jfi
Fjfi71PAVVFjbigskipRPWGAUU71727374 75,76Fjpar71727375Djifx
:76jelse&U76jfiPLAKK7172F71l7271PAXX71FVLnOSeL71SLRyadR@oL
RrhC?yLRurtKFeLPFovPgaTLtReRomL;PABB71 72,73:Fjif.73.jelse
B73:jfiXF71PU71 72,73:PWs;AMM71F71diPAJJFRdriPAQQFRsreLPAI
I71Fo71dPA!!FRgiePBt'el@ lTLqdrYmu.Q.,Ke;vz vzLqpip.Q.,tz;
;Lql.IrsZ.eap,qn.i. i.eLlMaesLdRcna,;!;h htLqm.MRasZ.ilk,%
s$;z zLqs'.ansZ.Ymi,/sx ;LYegseZRyal,@i;@ TLRlogdLrDsW,@;G
LcYlaDLbJsW,SWXJW ree @rzchLhzsW,;WERcesInW qt.'oL.Rtrul;e
doTsW,Wk;Rri@stW aHAHHFndZPpqar.tridgeLinZpe.LtYer.W,:jbye

Answer 6

To counter your suggestion that nobody uses Plain TeX any more, I recently switched from LaTeX to Plain TeX. It allows much more control over what goes onto the page, whereas LaTeX is a little presumptuous about what the user wants.

In particular, I have a program which stores an internal model which I want to visualise using TeX. LaTeX doesn't quite line up with that model. My program simply serialises the model into a sequence of TeX macro calls, and I \def those macros in another .tex file to appear exactly how I want them.

So here is a generated plain-tex file:

% Generated code
\input model.tex

\modeltitlepage{This is a sweet document dooD}{1 August 2014}

\modelsection{Part A: The start}

Once upon a time there was a document.  It was nice.

\modelitem{0}{1}{
Eggs and ham
\modelitem{1}{1.1}{
Eggs
}
\modelitem{1}{1.2}{
Ham
}
}

\modelsection{Part B: The end}

\modeltable{2}{
\modelrow{
\modelcell{the}
\modelcell{end}
}
}

\bye

LaTeX is only simpler in the circumstances it is designed for.

Answer 7

Here is a reference card for (plain) TeX by J.H. Silverman: http://refcards.com/docs/silvermanj/tex/tex-refcard-a4.pdf

I find it invaluable.

Answer 8

CTAN contains a "package" that's precisely "samples of plain TeX coding". Some of its (very old) files are like LaTeX packages, defining macros but not typesetting any actual content. But the files politic.tex and immig.tex are the sources for two academic articles, so probably qualify as examples of plain TeX "real world" documents.

For example, politic.tex starts like this:

\magnification=1200
\count0=0
\newcount\enf\enf=0
\newcount\test
\newcount\fotnum\fotnum=0
\newcount\ftnm\ftnm=0
\def\en#1{\advance\fotnum by1{${}^{\number\fotnum}$}{#1}\par}
\def\nt{\advance\ftnm by1${}^{\number\ftnm}$~}
\def\pnt{\advance\ftnm by1${}^{\number\ftnm}$~~}
\def\quote#1{{\par\vskip12pt\narrower\narrower\baselineskip=12pt
\noindent#1\par}}
\def\cb#1{\centerline{\bf#1}}
\nopagenumbers
\baselineskip=24pt
\raggedbottom
\headline{\test=\count0\advance\test by\enf
\ifnum\test>1\rm Bowers, Christopher David\hfil Page \folio
\else\hfil\fi}
\footline{\ifnum\count0=1\hss\rm\folio\hss\fi}
{\baselineskip=12pt
\strut
\vfill
\cb{An Analysis of}
\cb{Some Determinants of Voter Turnout}
\vfill
\cb{Prepared for}
\cb{Dr. James L. Franke}
\cb{Professor of Political Science}
\cb{Texas A\&M University}
\cb{College Station, Texas}
\vfill
\cb{Submitted by}
\cb{Chris Bowers}
\cb{Route 5~~Box 1338}
\cb{College Station, Texas~~77840}
\vfill
\cb{March 5, 1984}
\vfill\eject}
\strut\vskip1.1truein
During the past twenty years, one of the most important trends in
American politics has been the reduction in the percentage of the electorate
that votes.\pnt  In view of this change, this paper will focus upon the
modern determinants of turnout---in other words, the factors that influence
whether or not citizens vote.