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<TITLE>1.2 What Is FunnelWeb?</TITLE>
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<A HREF="index.html"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF"><B>Tutorial</B></FONT></A><BR>
<A HREF="intro.html"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">1 Introduction</FONT></A><BR>
<A HREF="macro.html"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">2 Macros</FONT></A><BR>
<A HREF="type.html"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">3 Typesetting</FONT></A><BR>
<A HREF="example.html"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">4 Example</FONT></A><BR>
<A HREF="hints.html"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">5 Hints</FONT></A><BR>
<A HREF="examples.html"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">6 Examples</FONT></A><BR>
<A HREF="web.html"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">7 Webmaking</FONT></A><BR>
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<P><FONT SIZE="5">1.2 What Is FunnelWeb?</FONT><BR>
<P>FunnelWeb is a particular literate programming system
that is implemented by a single C program. FunnelWeb takes
as input a single <SAMP>.fw</SAMP> <STRONG>input file</STRONG>
and writes one or more <STRONG>product files</STRONG> and a
<STRONG>documentation file</STRONG> (see below).
<P>
<PRE>
+-----------+
| sloth.fw |
+-----------+
|
v
o-------------------o
| FUNNELWEB Program |
o-------------------o
|
+-----------+-----------+
| |
v v
+----------------+ +--------------------+
| Product File | | Documentation File |
| (e.g. sloth.c) | | (e.g. sloth.html) |
| | | (e.g. sloth.tex) |
+----------------+ +--------------------+
</PRE>
<CENTER><B>Architecture of FunnelWeb.</B><BR></CENTER>
<P>In literate programming systems, it is usual to refer
to the product file as a "program file". However, as
FunnelWeb is a general tool that can be used to prepare all
sorts of text files that are not computer programs, the more
generic term "product file" was chosen. Product
files should be carefully distinguished from the term
<STRONG>output files</STRONG> which refers to all of the
output files produced by FunnelWeb.
<P>FunnelWeb is distinguished by the following
characteristics:
<P><BLOCKQUOTE><B>Simplicity:</B> A governing
design goal of FunnelWeb is to provide a <I>simple</I>
tool that could be easily learnt and completely mastered.
This manual is thick because it is comprehensive and lingers
on the ways in which FunnelWeb can be used. The tool itself
is quite simple.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><BLOCKQUOTE><B>Reliability:</B> Another
design goal is to provide a tool that will protect the user
as much as possible from silly errors. Macro preprocessors
are notorious for causing obscure errors. Every attempt has
been made in FunnelWeb to keep the syntax robust. For
example, in FunnelWeb the syntax of macro calls has been
purposely designed to be highly visible so that the reader
is always aware when the macro facility is being invoked.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><BLOCKQUOTE><B>Language and Typesetter
Independence:</B> Unlike Knuth's
original
Web system which was specific to the Pascal programming
language<STRONG>[BSI82]</STRONG> and the TeX typesetting
language<STRONG>[Knuth84]</STRONG>, FunnelWeb strives to be
language and typesetter independent.
FunnelWeb is completely language independent. FunnelWeb
input files can be typesetter independent too, and
FunnelWeb can generate documentation in TeX and HTML formats.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><BLOCKQUOTE><B>Portability:</B> FunnelWeb
has been written in the C programming language with great
emphasis on portability. FunnelWeb currently runs on the
Sun, OpenVMS, IBM PC, and Mac.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><BLOCKQUOTE><B>Controllable:</B> FunnelWeb
is an extremely controllable tool. To protect users'
investment in source files constructed in the FunnelWeb
macro language, the C source code to FunnelWeb has been
released under a GNU General Public License
(GPL). This means
that it will always be available to everyone. Furthermore,
license has been granted for the FunnelWeb User's Manual to
be copied freely so long as they are not modified. All this
means that FunnelWeb is not going to disappear suddenly.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><BLOCKQUOTE><B>A Production Tool:</B> Above all, FunnelWeb has been designed to be a production
tool and every effort has been made to ensure that it will
operate effectively in a professional environment. FunnelWeb
is "open" and portable. There is a comprehensive
user manual. Its error messages are comprehensive. It is
fast. Finally, it has been designed with the experience of
three years of using FunnelWeb V1.</BLOCKQUOTE>
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