[OS X TeX] Who should use (La)TeX - who is able to use it?

[Herb Schulz]

On 11/14/04 9:35 AM, "Fernando Pereira" <fcnpereira at mac.com> wrote:

> On Nov 14, 2004, at 8:21 AM, Arno Kruse wrote:
> 
>> I hope the reader understands my motivation and my sorrows (and looks
>> after my decent ability to write English in a good manner). I fear
>> TeX, LaTeX and Co. are in danger to die out whether they do not match
>> the needs "normal" people are asking for.
> 
> Software is always a compromise among conflicting needs and goals. TeX
> and its many packages and derivatives have done and continue to do very
> well for the people they were designed for: scientific and technical
> writers, other authors with very specific typographical needs. It's an
> added benefit if others learn to use and enjoy the benefits of TeX and
> friends, with the help of convenient front-ends like TexShop or
> iTexMac. But decades of experience and failed attempts have shown that
> a powerful typesetting language cannot be successfully hidden behind a
> graphical interface. Even the much simpler problem of graphical editing
> of HTML has not been successfully solved, as anyone who uses
> Dreamweaver knows. And that's a commercial  program backed by the
> development resources of a successful company. Programs like LyX are
> making a valiant effort to prove the skeptics wrong, but my recent
> experience with it didn't do anything to change my assessment.
> 
> -- F
> 

Howdy,

I still haven't gotten around to playing with Wolfram's Publicon as a
technical document ``WP'' but it sounds like it may be closer to what you're
talking about; it can produce LaTeX output which didn't look too bad in the
example I grabbed from Wolfram's site. Hopefully it can be easily configured
and customized to produce exactly what one needs.

Good Luck,

Herb Schulz
(herbs at wideopenwest.com)

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