getting DocBook to print

["A.R. (Tom) Peters" <tpeters@xs4all.nl>]

I've been writing a course book in DocBook/XML, and have a toolchain
working on a Debian system with openjade, jadetex, dvips using NW's DSSSL
stylesheets.
However, the output is sub-standard or the tools fail to produce
proper output (Indices etc.)
I've been told that XSL produces better results.  Unfortunately, the
instructions I found do not provide a desired result (my specific
questions after the full output):



$ xsltproc -o GemBook.fo
/usr/share/sgml/docbook/stylesheet/xsl/nwalsh/fo/docbook.xsl GemBook.xml
Making portrait pages on USletter paper (8.5inx11in)


I had to double the buf_size in texmf.cnf for the following command:


$ pdfxmltex GemBook.fo
This is pdfTeX, Version 3.14159-1.00a-pretest-20011114-ojmw (Web2C 7.3.7)
(./GemBook.fo{/usr/share/texmf/pdftex/config/pdftex.cfg}
LaTeX2e <2001/06/01>
Babel <v3.7h> and hyphenation patterns for american, french, german,
ngerman, n
ohyphenation, loaded.
xmltex version: 2002/06/25 v1.9 (Exp):
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/xmltex/config/xmltex.cfg)
No File: GemBook.cfg (/usr/share/texmf/tex/xmltex/passivetex/fotex.xmt)
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/base/article.cls
Document Class: article 2001/04/21 v1.4e Standard LaTeX document class
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/base/size10.clo))
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/xmltex/passivetex/fotex.sty
)
No file GemBook.aux.
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/cyrillic/t2acmr.fd)
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/base/ts1cmr.fd)
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/psnfss/t1ptm.fd)
No file GemBook.out.
No file GemBook.out.
INFO: Using normal, i.e. nonfrench-spacing in document
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/psnfss/t1phv.fd)
[1{/usr/share/texmf/dvips/config/p
dftex.map}]
Overfull \vbox (10.0pt too high) has occurred while \output is active
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/psnfss/ts1ptm.fd) [2]
Overfull \vbox (10.0pt too high) has occurred while \output is active [3]
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/amsfonts/umsa.fd)
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/amsfonts/umsb.fd)
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/wasysym/uwasy.fd)
(/usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/misc/ustmry.fd) [4] [5] [1] [2] [3]
! Missing number, treated as zero.
<to be read again>
                   p
l.32 ...umn-width="proportional-column-width(3)"/>
                                                  <fo:table-column
column-nu...

?


... and here processing hangs.



Questions:

1) How do I change the default Letter paper to A4, in this particular
case?

2) What is the .cfg file that pdfxmltex is missing?  Do I need it?  What
should be in it?  Where can I find it?

3) What goes wrong in the second step and what can I do about it?



Any suggestions are welcome.

--
#>!$!%(@^%#%*(&(#@#*$^@^$##*#@&(%)@**$!(&!^(#((#&%!)%*@)(&$($$%(@#)&*!^$)^@*^@)

	Tom "thriving on chaos" Peters
		NL-1062 KD nr 149	tel.    +31-204080204
 			Amsterdam	e-mail  tpeters@xs4all.nl