11–20 of 56 posts
Does it have mathematical typesetting like Tex?
It's actually one of the big questions I'm having, as well.
But I have to call out the claim:
> I think Pollen just won the Hello World Tournament.
That tournament was won permanently by the M4 language in 1977. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hello_world_program_exa...
TeX has been mentioned several times — I don't mind that comparison at all, since my thinly-veiled ambition is to create a contemporary successor to TeX. Contemporary = optimized for web publishing + better "macro" language (Racket) + shallower learning curve.
That said, TeX got a lot of things right. Especially the basic notion that a book (or other publication) should be represented as a program, and that authors should be able to freely intermix text and code. With digital books, I think it's essential.
(PS on Racket: HN was built with Arc, which was also built with Racket.)
Beautiful, and I'll use it for my first book. But I have to call out the claim: > I think Pollen just won the Hello World Tournament. That tournament was won permanently by the M4 language in 1977. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hello_world_program_exa...
I mean, I see the reason for using a weird symbol, but I'm not even sure how to enter it from the keyboard other than by copy-pasting it. Is it some sort of standard symbol in DrRacket environment?
Maybe, a directive for changing this symbol can be added: #commands_start_with my-char
I've been looking at this recently. It looks like an extension of what made TeX so successful: your typesetter is programmable -- and macros can live in your documents, defined at any time -- so any common tedious task can be automated. Sure, Markdown and the rest have a simple syntax for everything, but what if you're writing a book and want cross-references? Or you commonly use side-by-side examples (good grammar v…
It would also allow one to write why one is writing what one is writing without actually putting it in the book. Kind of like writing a "behind-the-scenes" while writing the book.
Interesting software. Actually, I wish there was a way to use some other character (or string) instead of the lozenge character (◊) for commands. I mean, I see the reason for using a weird symbol, but I'm not even sure how to enter it from the keyboard other than by copy-pasting it. Is it some sort of standard symbol in DrRacket environment? Maybe, a directive for changing this symbol can be added: #commands_start_wi…