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
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