1techtalk-pse(1)              Presentation Software             techtalk-pse(1)
2
3
4

NAME

6       techtalk-pse - superior technical demonstration software
7

SYNOPSIS

9        cd /path/to/talk/; techtalk-pse
10
11        techtalk-pse /path/to/talk/
12

DESCRIPTION

14       Tech Talk "Platinum Supreme Edition" (PSE) is Linux Presentation
15       Software designed by technical people to give technical software
16       demonstrations to other technical people.  It is designed to be simple
17       to use (for people who know how to use an editor and the command line)
18       and powerful, so that you can create informative, technically accurate
19       and entertaining talks and demonstrations.
20
21       Tech Talk PSE is good at opening editors at the right place, opening
22       shell prompts with preloaded history, compiling and running things
23       during the demonstration, displaying text, photos, figures and video.
24
25       Tech Talk PSE is bad at slide effects, chart junk and bullet points.
26
27       This manual page covers all the documentation you will need to use Tech
28       Talk PSE.  The next section covers running the tool from the command
29       line.  After that there is a "TUTORIAL" section to get you started.
30       Then there is a detailed "REFERENCE" section.  Finally there is a
31       discussion on "WHAT MAKES A GOOD TALK".
32

RUNNING THE TOOL FROM THE COMMAND LINE

34       Tech Talk PSE talks are just directories containing "*.html", "*.sh"
35       (shell script) and "*.term" (terminal) files:
36
37        0010-introduction.html
38        0500-demonstration.sh
39        0600-command-line.term
40        9900-conclusion.html
41
42       The filenames that Tech Talk PSE considers to be slides have to match
43       the regular expression:
44
45        ^(\d+)(?:-.*)\.(html|sh|term)$
46
47       (any other file or subdirectory is ignored).  Shell scripts and
48       terminal files must be executable.
49
50   DISPLAYING AN EXISTING TALK
51       To display or run a talk, change into the directory containing all
52       those files and run the "techtalk-pse" command:
53
54        cd /path/to/talk/; techtalk-pse
55
56       You can also run "techtalk-pse" without changing directory, instead
57       specifying the path to the talk:
58
59        techtalk-pse /path/to/talk/
60
61   OPTIONS
62       --help
63           Display brief help and exit.
64
65       --last
66           Start at the last slide.
67
68           You cannot use this with the -n / --start option.
69
70       -n SLIDE | --start SLIDE
71           Start at the named slide.  SLIDE is the shortest unique prefix of
72           the slide name, so to start at a slide named
73           00010-introduction.html, you could use -n 00010 or -n 00010-intro,
74           or give the full filename -n 00010-introduction.html.
75
76           The default is to start at the first slide in the talk.
77
78       --verbose
79           Display verbose messages, useful for debugging or tracing what the
80           program is doing.
81
82       --version
83           Display version number and exit.
84

TUTORIAL

86   START WRITING A TALK
87       [Before you start writing your real talk, I urge you to read "WHAT
88       MAKES A GOOD TALK" below].
89
90       To start your talk, all you have to do is to make a new directory
91       somewhere:
92
93        mkdir talk
94        cd talk
95
96       A tech talk consists of HTML files ("slides") and shell scripts.  The
97       filenames must start with a number, followed optionally by a
98       description, followed by the extension (".html", ".sh" or ".term").  So
99       to start our talk with two slides:
100
101        echo "This is the introduction" > 0010-introduction.html
102        echo "This is the second slide" > 0020-second.html
103
104       To run it, run the command from within the talk directory:
105
106        techtalk-pse
107
108       Any other file in the directory is ignored, so if you want to add
109       Makefiles, version control files etc, just go ahead.
110
111   TIPS FOR WRITING HTML
112       You may have your own techniques and tools for writing HTML, so this
113       section is just to share my ideas.  I start every HTML file with a
114       standard stylesheet and Javascript header:
115
116        <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css" type="text/css"/>
117        <script src="code.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
118
119       That just ensures that I can put common styling instructions for all my
120       slides in a single file ("style.css"), and I have one place where I can
121       add all Javascript, if I need to use any ("code.js").
122
123       BACKGROUNDS, FONTS AND LOGOS
124
125       To add a common background and font size to all slides, put this in
126       "style.css":
127
128        body {
129            font-size: 24pt;
130            background: url(background-image.jpg) no-repeat;
131        }
132
133       To add a logo in one corner:
134
135        body {
136            background: url(logo.jpg) top right no-repeat;
137        }
138
139       SCALING AND CENTERING
140
141       Scaling slide text and images so that they appear at the same
142       proportionate size for any screen resolution can be done using
143       Javascript.  (See
144       <https://developer.mozilla.org/En/DOM/window.innerHeight>).
145
146       If you want to center text horizontally, use CSS, eg:
147
148        p.center {
149            text-align: center;
150        }
151
152       To center text vertically, CSS3 is supposed to offer a solution some
153       time, but while you're waiting for that try
154       <http://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/007/center#vertical>.
155
156       PREVIEWING HTML
157
158       I find it helpful to have Firefox open to display the HTML files and
159       styles as I edit them.  Just start firefox in the talk directory:
160
161        firefox file://$(pwd) &
162
163       When you edit an HTML file, click the Firefox reload button to
164       immediately see your changes.
165
166       Tech Talk PSE uses WebKit embedding to display HTML.  HTML is
167       standardized enough nowadays that what you see in Firefox and other
168       browsers should be the same as what Tech Talk PSE displays.  WebKit-
169       based browsers (Chrome, Safari) should be identical.
170
171   CREATING FIGURES
172       Use your favorite tool to draw the figure, convert it to an image (in
173       any format that the Mozilla engine can display) and include it using an
174       "<img>" tag, eg:
175
176        <img src="fig1.gif">
177
178       Suitable tools include: Inkscape, XFig, GnuPlot, GraphViz, and many TeX
179       tools such as PicTex and in particular TikZ.
180
181   EMBEDDING VIDEOS, ANIMATIONS, ETC.
182       Using HTML 5, embedding videos in the browser is easy.  See:
183       <https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Using_audio_and_video_in_Firefox>
184
185       For animations, you could try Haxe <http://haxe.org/> which has a
186       Javascript back-end.  There are many other possibilities.
187
188       If you are sure that the venue will have an internet connection, why
189       not embed a YouTube video.
190
191   DISPLAYING EXISTING WEB PAGES
192       Obviously you could just have an HTML file that contains a redirect to
193       the public web page:
194
195        <meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="0; url=http://www.example.com/">
196
197       However if you want your talk to work offline, then it's better to
198       download the web page in advance, eg. using Firefox's "Save Page As ->
199       Web Page, complete" feature, into the talk directory, then either
200       rename or make a symbolic link to the slide name:
201
202        ln -s "haXe - Welcome to haXe.html" 0010-haxe-homepage.html
203
204   TIPS FOR WRITING SHELL SCRIPTS
205       Make sure each "*.sh" or "*.term" file you write is executable,
206       otherwise Tech Talk PSE won't be able to run it.  (The program gives a
207       warning if you forget this).
208
209       The difference between "*.sh" (shell script) and "*.term" (a terminal
210       script) is that a shell script runs any commands, usually graphical
211       commands, whereas a terminal script runs in a full screen terminal.
212
213       A good idea is to start each script by sourcing some common functions.
214       All my scripts start with:
215
216        #!/bin/bash -
217        source functions
218
219       where "functions" is another file (ignored by Tech Talk PSE) which
220       contains common functions for setting shell history and starting a
221       terminal.
222
223       In "functions", I have:
224
225        # -*- shell-script -*-
226
227        # Place any local environment variables required in 'local'.
228        if [ -f local ]; then source local; fi
229
230        export PS1="$ "
231
232        export HISTFILE=$talkdir/history
233
234        rm -f $HISTFILE
235        touch $HISTFILE
236
237        add_history ()
238        {
239            echo "$@" >> $HISTFILE
240        }
241
242        terminal ()
243        {
244            # Make $HISTFILE unwritable so the shell won't update it
245            # when it exits.
246            chmod -w $HISTFILE
247
248            # Execute a shell.
249            bash --norc "$@"
250        }
251
252       By initializing the shell history, during your talk you can rapidly
253       recall commands to start parts of the demonstration just by hitting the
254       Up arrow.  A complete terminal script from one of my talks would look
255       like this:
256
257        #!/bin/bash -
258        source functions
259        add_history guestfish -i debian.img
260        terminal
261
262       This is just a starting point for your own scripts.
263

REFERENCE

265   ORDER OF FILES
266       Tech Talk PSE displays the slides in the directory in lexicographic
267       order (the same order as "LANG=C ls -1").  Only files matching the
268       following regexp are considered:
269
270        ^(\d+)(?:-.*)\.(html|sh|term)$
271
272       For future compatibility, you should ensure that every slide has a
273       unique numeric part (ie. don't have "0010-aaa.html" and
274       "0010-bbb.html").  This is because in future we want to have the
275       ability to display multiple files side by side.
276
277       Also for future compatibility, don't use file names that have an
278       uppercase letter immediately after the numeric part.  This is because
279       in future we want to allow placement hints using filenames like
280       "0010L-on-the-left.html" and "0010R-on-the-right.html".
281
282   BASE URL AND CURRENT DIRECTORY
283       The base URL is set to the be the directory containing the talk files.
284       Thus you should use relative paths, eg:
285
286        <img src="fig1.gif">
287
288       You can also place assets into subdirectories, because subdirectories
289       are ignored by Tech Talk PSE, eg:
290
291        <img src="images/fig1.gif">
292
293       When running shell scripts, the current directory is also set to be the
294       directory containing the talk files, so the same rules about using
295       relative paths apply there too.
296
297       The environment variable $talkdir is exported to scripts and it
298       contains the absolute path of the directory containing the talk files.
299       When a script is run, the current directory is the same as $talkdir,
300       but if your script changes directory (eg. into a subdirectory
301       containing supporting files) then it can be useful to use $talkdir to
302       refer back to the original directory.
303

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TALK

305       I like what Edward Tufte writes, for example his evisceration of
306       PowerPoint use at NASA here:
307       <http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB>
308
309       However it is sometimes hard to translate his ideas into clear
310       presentations, and not all of that is the fault of the tools.  Here are
311       my thoughts and rules on how to deliver a good talk.
312
313       First, most important rule: Before you start drawing any slides at all,
314       write your talk as a short essay.
315
316       This is the number one mistake that presenters make, and it is partly a
317       tool fault, because PowerPoint, OpenOffice, even Tech Talk PSE, all
318       open up on an initial blank slide, inviting you to write a title and
319       some bullet points.  If you start that way, you will end up using the
320       program as a kind of clumsy outlining tool, and then reading that
321       outline to your audience.  That's boring and a waste of time for you
322       and your audience.  (It would be quicker for them just to download the
323       talk and read it at home).
324
325       Secondly: How long do you want to spend preparing the talk?  A good
326       talk, with a sound essay behind it, well thought out diagrams and
327       figures, and interesting demonstrations, takes many hours to prepare.
328       How many hours?  I would suggest thinking about how many hours of
329       effort your audience are putting in.  Even just 20 people sitting there
330       for half an hour is 10 man-hours of attention, and that is a very small
331       talk, and doesn't include all the extra time and hassle that it took to
332       get them all in one place.
333
334       I don't think you can get away with spending less than two full days
335       preparing a talk, if you want to master the topic and draw up accurate
336       slides.  Steve Jobs was reputed to spend weeks preparing his annual
337       sales talk to the Apple faithful.
338
339       Thirdly: Now that you're going to write your talk as an essay, what
340       should go in the slides?  I would say that you should consider
341       delivering the essay, not the slides, to people who don't make the
342       talk.  An essay can be turned into an article or blog posting, whereas
343       even "read-out-the-bullet-point" slides have a low information density,
344       large size, and end-user compatibility problems (*.pptx anyone?).
345
346       What, then, goes on the slides?  Anything you cannot just say:
347       diagrams, graphs, videos, animations, and of course (only with Tech
348       Talk PSE!) demonstrations.
349
350       Lastly: Once you've got your talk as an essay and slides, practice,
351       practice and practice again.  Deliver the talk to yourself in the
352       mirror, to your colleagues.  Practice going backwards and forwards
353       through the slides, using your actual laptop and the software so you
354       know what to click and what keys to press.  Partly memorize what you
355       are going to say (but use short notes written on paper if you need to).
356

SEE ALSO

358       The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, Tufte, Edward R.
359

AUTHOR

361       Richard W.M. Jones <http://people.redhat.com/~rjones/>
362
363       Daniel Berrange <http://berrange.com/>
364
366       Copyright (C) 2010-2012 Red Hat Inc.
367
368       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
369       under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
370       Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
371       option) any later version.
372
373       This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
374       WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
375       MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
376       General Public License for more details.
377
378       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
379       with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
380       675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
381
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383
384techtalk-pse-1.2.0                2022-01-25                   techtalk-pse(1)
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