use of Jade TeX backend?

Subject: use of Jade TeX backend?
From: Sebastian Rahtz <s.rahtz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 11:15:45 +0100 (BST)
Can I ask people on this list about usage of the Jade TeX backend? As
you know if you have tried it, it writes fairly `dumb' TeX
(\startFoo .. \endFoo) which has to be implemented in a TeX macro
package. I maintain such a package, JadeTeX, but I am reaching the
limits of what I can achieve in TeX macro programming, and am anyway
concerned with performance (its based on LaTeX, and does a lot of
macro expansion). As a specific example, try nested fences in math and
watch it screw up..

Questions:
 - does anyone rely on the current TeX output? are there other macro
    packages implementing the macros?
 - if you use JadeTeX, what are your priorities for fixes? (apart from
    getting tables right...)
 - would TeX users be happy if the TeX backend stopped being stable,
    and underwent a period of change in association with a macro
    package?

the kind of changes I have in mind are (started with minor and going
up):
 1. shorter macro names to make smaller output files
 2. adding in some extra brace pairs to solve ad hoc problems (like the
    fences)
 3. supporting  the extra characteristics of the RTF backend
 4. adding a non-standard `float' flow-object to plug the gap until
     complex page models are supported
 5. moving the font change code largely to the backend
 6. working out vertical spacing in the backend
 7. doing more table work in the backend
 8. rewriting the dependency on LaTeX, to make a smaller package
 
I have already done the work for 1-3; I have mostly done 4. but it doesnt
work (am consulting James and David :-})

5. and 6. are for speed. TeX spends a lot of time fiddling with
them. 7 may not be needed if I can steal some code from Elsevier's
private table package :-}

Apart from all that, I would guess the priority in the backend is to
clean up and extend the cross-referencing.

Sebastian


 DSSSList info and archive:  http://www.mulberrytech.com/dsssl/dssslist


Current Thread