91 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
91 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
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# A slightly improved thesis template
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What's new:
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- modern packages (biblatex, cleveref, better fonts)
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- less confusing directory structure
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- slightly more useful examples (figures, diagrams, tables, code listings),
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structure&writing hints, some goodies
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- autobuilding of PDF/A abstracts directly from metadata
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- multiple variants of the front page
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- MFF with the new logo
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- "traditional" UK variant
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- Nature faculty & bioinformatics
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- Czech localization with properly translated references
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- Automated docker-based & CI build options
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See the [pre-built version](https://exaexa.github.io/better-mff-thesis/thesis.pdf) for details.
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## CI configuration
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The repository contains valid configuration for both *GitLab* CI and the *GitHub* actions.
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No matter what Git hosting you use, you can always download latest version of your thesis right from the artifacts!
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The GitHub version additionally pushes the files to GitHub pages to enabler easier sharing (incl. the link above); you can disable that by removing `.github/workflow/pages.yml`.
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## How-to
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1. Type `make`, check that everything compiles. You should get a `thesis.pdf` that passes the [PDF/A validation](https://github.com/mff-cuni-cz/cuni-thesis-validator). If not, complain.
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2. Fill in `metadata.tex` and all `xmpdata` files.
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3. Look at the example code (there is plenty of advice to follow), then erase it.
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4. Write the thesis.
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5. Submit and defend the thesis.
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### Installing LaTeX
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LaTeX installation may be hard (especially on various substandard operating systems).
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On most BSD and GNU-style Linux distributions, it should be sufficient to install some random `texlive-*` packages (and add more if non-standard TeX functionality is required); see e.g. [a complete list for Debian](docker/Dockerfile).
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- For a single-user distribution on unix, use the provided [installation script](https://www.tug.org/texlive/quickinstall.html).
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- On windows, use [MiKTeX](https://www.tug.org/texlive/windows.html).
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- On Mac, use any suitable variant of [MacTeX](https://www.tug.org/mactex/).
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Optionally, you can use a Docker container with TeX. You can either build the image yourself from the supplied `Dockerfile`:
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```sh
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cd docker
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docker build -t betterthesis/latex .
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```
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...or get some pre-built one (which is usually much faster:
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)
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```sh
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docker pull aergus/latex
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```
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After that, you should be able to compile the thesis using this command (change the container name to `betterthesis/latex` in case you built it yourself):
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```sh
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docker run -u $UID -ti --rm -v $PWD:/th -w /th aergus/latex make
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```
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## PDF/A
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With a bit of luck, you should get a valid PDF/A right out of LaTeX. If you are using GitHub actions or GitLab CI, the CI will run the PDF/A verifier automatically for you.
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A PDF/A validator that can point out exact problems is available here: https://github.com/mff-cuni-cz/cuni-thesis-validator
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Common PDF/A problems include:
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- imported PDF pictures that are not PDF/A.
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- the used font does not support PDF/A (including the fonts in imported pictures). See https://martin.hoppenheit.info/blog/2018/pdfa-validation-and-inconsistent-glyph-width-information/ for a very ugly case.
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Solutions:
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- use `pdfa.sh` to convert the imported picture PDFs to PDF/A-compatible form the "hard way" (although this does _not_ retain the PDF/A metadata mark, see comments in the script)
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- read the commentary by Martin Mareš (that describes most of the common problems) here: https://mj.ucw.cz/vyuka/bc/pdfaq.html
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- as a last resort if everything other fails, use `pdfa.sh` for the whole `thesis.pdf`
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## Ideas/improvements/more examples?
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Pull requests welcome.
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## License?
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Parts of the code (esp. the title page) are based on the original template (available from the faculty website) by Martin Mareš, Arnošt Komárek, and Michal Kulich.
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Small and useful fixes were coded or pointed out by Vít Kabele, Jan Joneš, Gabriela Suchopárová, Evžen Wybitul, and many others.
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(Many thanks to everyone involved!)
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University and faculty logos are a property of the respective universities and faculties.
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Everything else in this repository is released into the public domain, not encumbered by any kind of copyright at all.
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