>>   How about googling "latex spell checker"?
> 
> If there's one thing I've learned, it's that giving Google search terms 
> that contain the word "latex" can be a very, very bad idea. ;-)

Just copy&paste from the pdf into Word and do the spell check from there.

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scott wrote:

> Just copy&paste from the pdf into Word and do the spell check from there.

Doesn't work. The ligatures get all screwed up.

Besides, it's fairly labour-intensive. I'd have to copy each page, check 
it, get the correction, find the corresponding position in the TeX file, 
correct it, rebuild the PDF, and repeat to check I fixed it. For every 
page in the document! o_O

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> Here's a little something a wrote. I'm sure you'll enjoy pointing out
> all the simplifications, factual inaccuracies and incorrect use of
> terminology.

Yes I liked it, I learnt a few new things and it prompted me to think about 
things I never really bothered to think about before.  Well done!

> PS. I think it really needs some diagrams... Some day I hope to find a
> way to do that!

Yes, could certainly do with some of those, IIRC for my 4th year project 
write-up at University I just did the diagrams in powerpoint and then 
exported them as something that my latex compiler could understand (wmf or 
something maybe).  If not then I'm sure something like inkscape can export 
into a format that you can include.

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>> Just copy&paste from the pdf into Word and do the spell check from there.
>
> Doesn't work. The ligatures get all screwed up.
>
> Besides, it's fairly labour-intensive. I'd have to copy each page, check 
> it, get the correction, find the corresponding position in the TeX file, 
> correct it, rebuild the PDF, and repeat to check I fixed it. For every 
> page in the document! o_O

Umm, I just pressed Ctrl-A Ctrl-C in adobe reader, then Ctrl-V in a blank 
word document and it copied the lot for me.  Then ran the spell check and 
got this list:

renouned
amoung
assey
convinient
seperate
eleminate
severly
eleminate
clusted
seperate
amoung
constrast
quadriples
negligable

OK so it messes up the ligatures and hyphens, but the above is a start!

But for the long term solution, definitely find a spell checker that works 
in Latex, are there not any IDEs specifically for Latex that will flag up 
spelling errors in-place?

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scott wrote:

> Yes I liked it, I learnt a few new things and it prompted me to think 
> about things I never really bothered to think about before.  Well done!

Heh. I posted something in a forum that only contains super-experts, and 
somebody *learned something* from it! If that isn't an accolade, I'm not 
sure what is... ;-)

Sorting and searching is something that just sorta happens, and you 
don't really think about it. As I kind of tried to say in the 
introduction, most average bods probably just thing "computers are fast; 
they can process information quickly" and don't stop to realise that it 
even takes any cleverness to make the process happen *fast enough*.

I think some of the facts did get kinda just inserted haphazardly with 
no real flow, especially towards the end. Oh well!

>> PS. I think it really needs some diagrams... Some day I hope to find a
>> way to do that!
> 
> Yes, could certainly do with some of those.

I'm thinking specifically the stuff about tree traversals. Computer 
nerds are very familiar with binary trees, but your average Random Dude 
has never heard of 'em.

Also the stuff about arrays and why you have to move stuff around, etc.

It wouldn't need to be anything flashy...

> IIRC for my 4th year project 
> write-up at University I just did the diagrams in powerpoint and then 
> exported them as something that my latex compiler could understand (wmf 
> or something maybe).  If not then I'm sure something like inkscape can 
> export into a format that you can include.

Hmm... Inkscape would seem the "obvious" choice, but I hadn't thought of 
PowerPoint. I'm only after a few boxes with some lines and a little 
text. Indeed, even if PowerPoint won't export it, I could take a 
screenshot. IrfanView can save it as PNG or EPS or just about any format 
I desire! :-D

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scott wrote:
>>> Just copy&paste from the pdf into Word and do the spell check from 
>>> there.
>>
>> Doesn't work. The ligatures get all screwed up.
>>
>> Besides, it's fairly labour-intensive.
> 
> OK so it messes up the ligatures and hyphens, but the above is a start!

True. But it could only be for a final, labour-intensive pass.

> But for the long term solution, definitely find a spell checker that 
> works in Latex.

Heh. Maybe I should *write* one? ;-)

> Are there not any IDEs specifically for Latex that will 
> flag up spelling errors in-place?

Yes: Vim, Ecams, LyX, and any mannar of other Unix-based tools. :-P

Actually, it appears that Aspell can do it, and is easily installable on 
Windows. But I'll have to do that at home; anything I install at work 
has to be recorded, and it already looks suspecious as hell that I've 
installed stuff like IrfanView, MiKTeX, Firefox, Thunderbird, Ghostscript...

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A fine sorting algorithms summary. :)

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nemesis wrote:
> A fine sorting algorithms summary. :)

And searching! Don't forget the searching... ;-)

Damn, I'm so hot at searching algorithms, it's a wonder I haven't found, 
say, a girlfriend or a better job yet... hmm... O_O

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Invisible wrote:
> 
> If there's one thing I've learned, it's that giving Google search terms
> that contain the word "latex" can be a very, very bad idea. ;-)
> 

You mean like in Three dead trolls in a baggies song Keep your parents
off the Internet?

-Hello son, I'm thinking of painting the garage and I'll do a search for
"Latex bondage"

-Aero

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Invisible wrote:
> Sorting and searching is something that just sorta happens, and you
> don't really think about it. As I kind of tried to say in the
> introduction, most average bods probably just thing "computers are fast;
> they can process information quickly" and don't stop to realise that it
> even takes any cleverness to make the process happen *fast enough*.

"The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody
appreciates how difficult it was."

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