Since the GS characters do not translate to the Web pages, it is best to reference the TUTOR4.EXT GS tutorial file from TRIANGLE. This tutorial is located in the MANUALS subdirectory and describes the basic methods for using the GS notation with TRIANGLE. The following text is part of the first two sections from that tutorial.
Section 1. Introduction to basic GS notation.
Prof. John Gardner, director of the SAP, and Prof. Norberto Salinas, of the Department of Mathematics, University of Kansas, have collaborated to develop the GS compact linear notation for general character-based information. The syntax of GS is modeled on the page markup language LaTeX that is heavily used by professional scientists and mathematicians. Thus, GS notation uses a linear form to describe mathematical functions.
The GS symbols are expressed with a "building block" notation that uses approximately 200 building blocks. These symbols have a 1-to-1 correspondence for screen, voice, and Braille displays. That is, a single character on the screen is displayed as a single Braille character and is read as a single character by speech screen readers. The 1-to-1 mapping means that visual, speech, and Braille users have equivalent displays. The TRIANGLE program has been designed to make full use of the GS notation.
Section 2. Typing GS symbols
The TRIANGLE editor allows a user to type many more symbols than are found on a standard keyboard. These include both extended characters and markup indicators. Extended characters include Greek letters, common literary characters such as bullet, copyright sign, UK pound, directional quote marks, times and divide signs, and all common scientific symbols. Markup indicators include subscript and superscript indicators, font indicators, and many others needed to reproduce modern scientific literature.
The easiest way to find the symbol that you want to type is to use the dictionary menu. This menu can be accessed by pressing CTRL F9 and then using the arrow keys to scroll through the list of extended symbols. After finding the desired symbol, press the Enter key and that symbol will appear in the editor.
A somewhat shorter method for typing the extended symbols is to type the first few letters of the symbol's name after pressing CTRL F9. TRIANGLE will beep when the dictionary finds a unique symbol whose name matches the typed letters.
Each extended character can be inserted through a two step sequence. The keyboard is remapped for one keystroke using the F9 key (some screen readers have additional remap keys for convenience). Then the keymap key for the desired extended character is pressed to enter that key. Keymap keys for all extended characters are given in the help file (F1).
Markup indicators can also be entered by pressing ALT F9 to remap the keyboard for markup indicators, then pressing the appropriate hot key. Again, some screen readers may have other, more convenient keys that reproduce the ALT F9 function. The keymap keys for all markup indicators are given in the help file. Finally, the most common markup indicators may be entered with a single hotkey CTRL or ALT combination. Hotkeys, where defined, are given in the help file.
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