ubcdiss -- a dissertation template for LaTeX
============================================
This distribution provides a LaTeX template for writing a dissertation
conformant with UBC's specifications (as of June 2008). The template
uses only packages available in most LaTeX distributions such as
MacTeX, MikTeX, and TeXLive.
The template has some documentation in doc.pdf. This documentation
is itself written using the template, and the content is found in
ack.tex, glossary.tex, and intro.tex. diss.tex is the main file
but all the content is contained in the other files which are included
from diss.tex using \include.
Note that this is only a template: you'll likely need to add
additional packages to manage the particular quirks required for
your dissertation. There are some pointers in diss.tex and doc.pdf
to useful packages for handling common problems/requirements. You
may need to manually install these for your distribution; teTeX in
particular seems to ship with a much smaller package base.
FoGS has very strict formatting requirements, and these requirements
may change. You should review the various FoGS Thesis Specifications
and Formatting Requirements. FoGS is very lenient with font choice,
as long as the fonts are used consistently.
http://www.grad.ubc.ca/students/thesis/index.asp?menu=000,000,000,000
http://www.grad.ubc.ca/students/thesis/index.asp?menu=005,000,000,000
I developed this template independently from Michael Forbes's
ubcthesis.cls/genthesis.cls. Forbes' class appears to be a heavily
a modified version of some other LaTeX class and suffers from
compatibility problems with some LaTeX packages from my experience
acting as a LaTeX guru to other students. My template's document
class instead builds on top of the standard LaTeX book class, which
ensures much better compatibility with standard LaTeX packages.
The functionality is implemented using the commonly available
packages found in most LaTeX distributions such as MacTeX, MikTeX,
and TeXLive. My thanks are owed to the countless volunteers who
write and maintain the many TeX packages!
Please feel free to contact me if you have problems, though I make
no guarantees. Before reporting a problem, please ensure that
1. you have the latest version of the template (see the abstract
in doc.pdf or version.tex),
2. you are using the latest version of your TeX distribution,
2. your question isn't answered in the FAQ file, and
3. you've exhausted your local LaTeX wizard's help (should you
have one).
When reporting a problem BE SURE TO INCLUDE:
1. the version number of this template (see the abstract in doc.pdf or
the version.tex),
2. details on the operating system and TeX distribution you are using
(e.g., Windows XP and MikTeX 2.5, SuSE Linux 10 and its bundled
installation, MacOS X 10.5.4 and MacTeX 2007),
3. the log file (likely called diss.log).
Brian de Alwis
bsd@acm.org