[OS X TeX] TeXShop's %& ugly bug

[Will Robertson]

On 11 Sep 2004, at 4:13 PM, Maarten Sneep wrote:
> No, technically you're right. And what I think is good about the tex 
> wrapper as proposed now by Jérôme, is that it is _less_ ambitous: 
> Keynote stores all its files (including the master-source file) in the 
> wrapper. If you do that for tex, you will have a problem, since tex is 
> so versatile, you can never take care of all options. The user will 
> have to manage that hierarchy yourself, and writing file manipulation 
> tools is not what I have in mind: that's what you have the Finder for.

In its original form, the "tex wrapper" was what you recommend against 
above - every file contained within. The thing about them is that they 
decompose naturally - if you don't want your tex folder to be a wrapper 
(I prefer the term "bundle"), delete its extension. It would allow 
simple documents to be expressed in a single file - possibly a great 
convenience to TeX newcomers.

But you are no doubt correct; at some stage of document complexity 
you'd be unable to handle it with the frontend. But as more features 
are added to the frontend, more complex structures would be allowed. I 
think the whole "project" has been bogged down by too broad ideas from 
the outset. Start off simple, and grow the program as necessary.

> IIUTC: the tex wrapper idea is just to combine several configuration 
> files in one (standardised) location, and have no configuration 
> information in the source file.

What configuration files? All that is required is a single XML file 
with some properly defined schema for:
  - File encoding
  - Intended typesetting script
  - Master file
  - Daughter files (I can see a possible advantage, but not strictly 
necessary)

Is there even anything else required?
It's a pity Gerben's on holidays, or he could open up the TeX wrapper 
list again.

Will
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