The standard format is under review at the moment and may change, but until further notice, follow the Styleguide.
To get started with a contribution, first make sure you have a working LaTeX toolchain set up on your machine.
Compiling the document should require any standard LaTeX distribution as well as the following packages:
- amsmath
- circuitikz
- enumitem
- float
- geometry
The pdf documents should be kept up to date with each commit and are there for people who only want to view without recompiling the documents.
The compilation process uses latexmk. See this quick introduction for installation instructions and a tutorial.
This process may get wrapped in a Makefile or shell script for ease of use, but in the meanwhile, to compile the PDF, it is recommended that you use latexmk. Run the following command to build the pdf and remove any auxiliary files afterwards:
# Build the pdf; Replace N with the chapter number
latexmk -pdf ChapterN.tex
# Clean out auxiliary files
latexmk -cThis section is about writing solutions qualitatively. For information on formatting, see Solutions under Document Formatting
When writing solutions, do not repeat the original problem statement so as to not violate copyrights. Assume the reader has read the problem and has access to all the same variables presented in the problem and any images the problem may reference.
Make sure you are explaining all your steps as well as any formulas used. Do not just apply a formula without at least briefly mentioning it. (Use your best judgement; there is probably no need to explain V=IR in Chapter 5, but in Chapter 1, that might be a good thing to note when you apply it.)
If possible, explain the thought process behind arriving at the solution instead of just throwing out formulas. This helps people learn how to approach new circuits rather than limiting them to circuits they have seen before.
To keep the style consistent throughout the document, there is a set of LaTeX macros located in taoesolutions.sty.
All documents should start with
\begin{article}
\usepackage{taoesolutions}
If for some reason, there is a package needed by only one document, then add a \usepackage{packageName} after using taoesolutions. However, it is likely that if the package is needed in one document, it will be necessary in other documents as well, so it might be better just to modify taoesolutions.sty to import it for all documents.
Use \title{titleName} to create a title at the top of the document with the name titleName. Note that this overrides LaTeX's default \title{} function.
Important: for consistency, each title should be of the form: Solutions for Chapter n, where n is the chapter in question.
For each exercise, use \ex{exerciseNum} to create a header for that particular exercise. Use the full number of the exercise (e.g. 1.10) for exerciseNum. You only need the number, not the word "Exercise".
Solutions should follow each Exercise header (see above). Write these with plain text in LaTeX. Use any ordinary math environments as necessary.
Within a math environment, several macros have been defined to make formatting easier. They are outlined in the table below.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
\V |
Displays V in text form (non-italicized) within a math environment. Equivalent to \text{V}. |
\A |
Displays A in text form within a math environment. Equivalent to \text{A}. |
\Ohm |
Displays uppercase omega. Equivalent to \Omega. |
\W |
Displays W in text form. Equivalent to \text{W}. |
\C, \H |
Displays each letter in text form within a math environment. Equivalent to \text{letter}. |
\in, \out, \Th |
Displays each one in text form within a math environment. |
For solutions with a single, concise answer (i.e. solutions that are just a number or a single phrase of text), use \mans{ans} inside a math environment and \tans{ans} inside a text environment to indicate the final answer. (These commands stand for math-answer and text-answer.) These commands bold the answer and surround it with a box for emphasis and ease of checking. If a problem is a proof or an explanation, then this kind of emphasis does not really make sense, so do not use these commands. Just write the answer as usual.
TAoE uses letters to indicate parts, so we will follow that convention here. The enumerate command has already been formatted to use letters, so just use
\begin{enumerate}
\item
Solution for part (a)
\item
Solution for part (b)
...
\end{enumerate}
to create different parts in your solution.
It may be helpful in your solution to provide circuit drawings. This can be accomplished using the included custom environment
\begin{circuit}{label}{caption}
...
\end{circuit}
This macro handles all the boilerplate code for the circuitikz pacakge. Simply type circuitikz code directly in the body of the environment -- no need for semicolons or any \draw commands that circuitikz requires. Also automatically applies the american style within circuitikz.
Also note that each circuit should be accompanied by a label and a caption. The caption is a standard Latex caption, and the label is a standard Latex label that can be referenced. To keep all labels descriptive and unique, use the following convention for all labels:
fig:<chapterNum>.<exerciseNum>.<figureNum>
For example, suppose the solutions for exercise 3.2 use six different circuit drawings/images. To label the fourth image/circuit, use fig:3.2.4 as the label. Use this notation for images as well as circuits (which are just treated internally as images).
\todo{noteToSelf}is a handy macro that will insertnoteToSelfin bolded red text within the final document as a reminder of unfinished work.