LaTeX with CPP and Make for typesetting textbooks

# Automating Textbook Layout: LaTeX with CPP and M4 Preprocessors

To automate the layout of textbooks or technical documentation, a combination of LaTeX, the CPP preprocessor, GNU Make, and utilities like M4 is used. This separates content from formatting, enables macros, and manages builds through Makefile. Key tools: pdflatex from MiKTeX, Cygwin for POSIX utilities, Eclipse as the editor, git for version control.

Required software set includes:

• cpp — C preprocessor for conditional compilation and includes.
• pdflatex — LaTeX compiler (path: C:\Program Files\MiKTeX\miktex\bin\x64\pdflatex.exe).
• make — build orchestrator.
• m4 — alternative preprocessor with scripting.
• pandoc — converter to DOCX.
• Additionally: realpath, sort, tree, grep, MiKTeX.

Checking pdflatex availability is critical for correct Cyrillic handling.

File Processing Pipeline

The build is structured as a pipeline: .texi (sources) → preprocessor (cpp/m4) → .tex → pdflatex → PDF. Sources (.texi, .mk, pix/) are versioned in git. Each chapter is a separate folder with .texi, .mk, and images.

Example .texi for a chapter:

sinclude(`latex_m4_preproc_utils.texi')

\graphicspath{ {PATH_CHAPTER_X_DIR/pix} }

\chapter{Name Glavy}

\section{Prolog}
khkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkh

\section{Paragraf_1}
khkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkh

\section{Itog}
khkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkhkh

\section{Giperssylki}

\begin{enumerate}
  \item \href{wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww}{zzzzzzzzzzzz}
\end{enumerate}

GNU Make manages dependencies, generating .tex from .texi using cpp or m4.

Basic LaTeX Elements for Technical Texts

LaTeX automates numbering, indents, and formulas. Minimal set of constructs:

• Images.
• Quotes.
• Code listings.
• Tables.
• Enumerations.
• Hyperlinks.
• Equations.
• Table of contents.
• Bibliography.

Inserting Images

Standard block:

\begin{figure}[h]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.99\textwidth]{arch}
    \caption{Harvard architecture }
    \label{fig:mesh1}
\end{figure}

CPP macro:

#define INSERT_PIX(FILE_NAME,HINT )  \
  \begin{figure}[h]  \
    \centering   \
    \includegraphics[width=0.99\textwidth]{FILE_NAME}   \
    \caption{HINT }  \
    \label{fig:FILE_NAME}  \
  \end{figure}

On M4:

define(INSERT_PIX2, format(
                           \begin{figure}[h!]  
                               \centering   
                               \includegraphics[width=0.75 \textwidth]{%s}   
                               \caption{%s }  
                               \label{fig:%s }  
                           \end{figure}
                           , $1, $2, $1
                          )     )

Quotes and Listings

Quote:

\begin{quote}
    "In any dele important define prioritety. 
    Inache vtorostepennoe, khotya and nuzhnoe, otnimet all sily 
    and not dasetcoyti to glavnogo."
\end{quote}

Listing (preamble setup lstset: breaklines=true, frame=single):

\begin{lstlisting}[label=some-code,caption=Ruleilnyy if]  
    int ret = NVRAM_Get(ID_IPv4_ROLE, tmp, 1, &tmp_len);
    if (MM_RET_CODE_OK != ret) {
        return ERROR_CODE_HARDWARE_FAULT;
    }
\end{lstlisting}

In C-code listings, escape # to avoid conflicts with the preprocessor.

Tables and Lists

Acronym table:

\begin{tabular} {ll}
    Akronim & Rasshifrovka \\
    \hline
    TUI & Text-based user interface \\
    CLI & command-line interface \\
    UART & universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter \\
    JTAG & Joint Test Action Group \\
    LED & light-emitting diode \\
    CIC & Cascaded integrator–comb \\
\end{tabular}

Numbered list:

\begin{enumerate}
    \item 
    \item 
    \item 
\end{enumerate}

Headers, References, and Preamble

Headers: \usepackage{fancyhdr}, \pagestyle{fancy}.

References: \usepackage[hidelinks]{hyperref}, \usepackage{cleveref}. Labels \label{} and \Cref{}.

Example:

\subsubsection{Upravlenie diskretnymi outputami}
\label{DOUTctrl}
...
\item Provide the ability to read discrete inputs; \Cref{DinRead}

Configuring CPP as a Universal Preprocessor

Keys for LaTeX:

| Option | Description |

|--------|-------------|

| -E | UTF-8 output |

| -P | No linemarkers |

| -C | Preserve comments |

| -traditional-cpp | Preserve whitespace |

| -nostdinc | No standard includes |

| -fexec-charset=UTF-8 | UTF-8 encoding |

| -DHAS_XXX | Macros |

| -undef | No GCC macros |

CPP is applicable for GraphViz, ASM, LD scripts.

Project Structure

Repository: folders by chapters (chapter.mk, chapter.texi, pix/), common: preamble.texi, library.mk.

Example tree:

.
├── about_author
│   ├── about_author.mk
│   ├── about_author.texi
│   └── pix
... (12 directories, 33 files)

Root .tex collects chapters via include.

Key Points

• Separation of concerns: Author focuses on content, LaTeX on layout.
• Preprocessing: CPP/M4 for macros, includes, conditional compilation.
• Automation: GNU Make as dependency manager for chapters and images.
• Cross-platform: Cygwin + MiKTeX for Windows.
• Extensibility: Easy to add listings, formulas, bibliography.

— Editorial Team