121–130 of 185 posts
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LaTeX + git
It would be interesting if someone could write a program that could diff two LaTeX documents and produce a change-tracked version showing insertions and deletions. I think it's doable, but it's a serious project.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
LaTeX + git
It would be interesting if someone could write a program that could diff two LaTeX documents and produce a change-tracked version showing insertions and deletions. I think it's doable, but it's a serious project.
But I recognize that some readers prefer the fully justified version. This suggests that the real problem is designing for a fixed page layout. It would be better to publish in something like EPUB, where you can display it however you like. Everybody I know who reads scientific papers reads mostly on screens now, and I think this is common. The printed paper version is more for archival than actual reading, so it doesn't make sense to prioritize paper based typography.
I disagree that the LaTeX pdf looks better than the LibreOffice pdf, because fully justified text is less legible. If you take your eyes off the text for a moment then it's harder to find your place again. It's all one featureless block with nothing to guide your eyes. The uneven right edge of the LibreOffice version makes it easy to distinguish individual lines. This is especially important if you're skim reading. B…
\usepackage[document]{ragged2e}I've switched from writing latex to writing pandoc markdown. I then convert it to latex and then to pdf. This gets the same result as latex, but is much easier to type for common stuff like, sections, emphasis and verbatim. It also allows you to type "&" symbols anywhere. When I require "advanced" stuff like tables and figures you can easily fallback to inline latex commands within you're markdown. It really is a sig…
> you can easily fallback to inline latex commands within [your] markdown How? This sounds like a very nice middle ground between easy formatting and advanced features.
Except for handwriting based solutions like the very cool Nebo app, I really don't think there is a better way to enter formulas, and it can be learnt in a matter of hours.
Writing complete documents in LaTeX is perhaps a bit more verbose, but then he can use some of the methods suggested here, like pandoc.
Spellchecking he can have if he wants, and even WYSIWYG.
It's worth noting also that if you're aiming for a career in math or physics, not learning LaTeX isn't really an option.
EDIT: I referred to the Nebo app as 'MathPad', which is an older incarnation of the same idea, Nebo is MUCH better.
Does this post contain any other argument than "I think it is too hard"? Except for handwriting based solutions like the very cool Nebo app, I really don't think there is a better way to enter formulas, and it can be learnt in a matter of hours. Writing complete documents in LaTeX is perhaps a bit more verbose, but then he can use some of the methods suggested here, like pandoc. Spellchecking he can have if he wants,…
Scribble is well designed to be a more readable Latex with the ability to be beautifully type set.
Example:
#lang scribble/base
@title{On the Cookie-Eating Habits of Mice}
If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk.
Pandoc is a great tool to use if all you need is Math. http://pandoc.org/MANUAL.html#math
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> combining several languages in one document (Turkish + Russian what's the problem with this ? just encode as UTF-8 and type however you like.
The hyphenation algorithm, I guess, needs some knowledge of the language. Probably a lot more issues as well.
So, to demonstrate how bad LaTeX is, he picks the single most markup heavy thing you do (barring tables) and compares it to plain text? Plain text, I'll point out, that doesn't format the same way. In practice, there _are_ a bunch of extra steps to get this working in Word, they're just not easy to express in a text document. Then he goes on to show the example of trying to find a spelling error. Ignoring that this j…
> work with multiple people or track the history of a document I often proofread for my friends. I tell them that they must use Track Changes in Word. Is there a better tool that you recommend?
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He does not imply they are "always typeset in Computer Modern". The relevant quote is "everything is (typically) printed in this weird, old-fashioned-looking typeface called Computer Modern." The "(typically)" implies that there are cases where the result is not in Computer Modern. On the same topic, "if you want to do anything really wild and crazy – like using a typeface other than Computer Modern – then plain vani…
> The relevant quote is "everything is (typically) printed in this weird, old-fashioned-looking typeface called Computer Modern." The "(typically)" implies that there are cases where the result is not in Computer Modern. In school, I was told that you should only put stuff in parentheses that is not strictly required to understand the statement. Without them, we're left with "Everything is printed in [...] Computer M…