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I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

fransskarman.com

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Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#321

Post by rcpt »

noelwelsh wrote: post #261
rcpt wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure but if the LLMs are making LaTeX easy to work with then why bother trying migrate everyone to a new language?

I think there are a bunch of assumptions behind your statement that I believe are not true: 1. Latex is sufficient for all document publishing needs. E.g. converting Latex to HTML is bad to non-existent, while Typst has HTML export. 2. LLMs are sufficient for solving all problems one can encounter. 3. Things that are easier for humans are not also easier for LLMs. 4. New releases of LLMs will not learn more about Typ…

It's a python3-tier ask to move everyone off LaTeX and I'm not sure HTML rendering is worth it.

Yeah the syntax of typist looks nice but that's just not a big advantage anymore.

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#322

Post by rcpt »

Ar-Curunir wrote: post #284
rcpt wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure but if the LLMs are making LaTeX easy to work with then why bother trying migrate everyone to a new language?

Because LaTeX is ugly to write and not human-friendly. Adding an AI agent to the loop does not fix those issues.

It very directly does solve those issues

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#323

Post by yunohn »

ykonstant wrote: post #216
wenc wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typst looks good, but I'm actually going back to LaTeX but paired with Claude Code in VS Code. I took a hiatus from LaTeX (got my PhD more than a decade ago). I used to know TikZ commands by heart, and I used to write sophisticated preambles (lots of \newcommand). I still remember LaTeX math notation (it's in my muscle memory, and it's used everywhere including in Markdown), but I'd forgotten all the other stuff. Cla…

I don't know about Claude, but when it comes to LaTeX IDE, I will always recommend TeXStudio over everything else. It handles all the annoying problems of LaTeX setup and compilation, and it provides a discoverable interface with classic-style menus (words, it has words instead of inexplicable little icons!) for various common tasks. I say that as someone who uses a tricked-out Vim for my own LaTeX workflow, and VS C…

I used to have a tricked out latex setup on Ubuntu and completely migrated over to TexStudio when I got a Mac - highly recommend it too!

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#324

Post by Ar-Curunir »

rcpt wrote: post #322
Ar-Curunir wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because LaTeX is ugly to write and not human-friendly. Adding an AI agent to the loop does not fix those issues.

It very directly does solve those issues

Have you actually written any research papers? You definitely have to edit and what the AI spits out, otherwise you'll have vague and meaningless garbage

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#325

Post by a5c11 »

_Algernon_ wrote: post #192
a5c11 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I checked, flipping a coin twice gave different results.

Did you flip the coin in the exact same way? Probably not.

That's the clue - you never repeat the same activity exactly the same way.

Seemingly identical action, from the performer's point of view, is performed in a different environment each time it is repeated. Unless you are the Laplace's Daemon, you can't say for sure you repeat the same action over and over because the environment could change in the meantime in an unimaginable way, and that could influence the outcome.

I just really hate that quote because it is detached from reality.

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#326

Post by a5c11 »

pantulis wrote: post #227
a5c11 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I checked, flipping a coin twice gave different results.

If you flip it an infinite number of times, you will get the same results anyway. Call when you're finished :P

I'm finished, the result was different 50% of time :).

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#327

Post by pantulis »

a5c11 wrote: post #326
pantulis wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you flip it an infinite number of times, you will get the same results anyway. Call when you're finished :P

I'm finished, the result was different 50% of time :).

That's 18 hours to go to infinity and back... nice roundtrip!

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#328

Post by Skeime »

Jap2-0 wrote: post #303
Skeime wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I checked, Word was also basically untenable for math-heavy writing because there was too much procedure involved in setting a formula. This is fine if you need one here and there, but if you have lots of formulas (including many tiny ones, like just using the name of a variable), switching to a dedicated formula mode in the interface is just not pleasant. In LaTeX (or Typst), I just type $, and off I go.

Alt + = will put you in the equation editor fairly easily, and from there you can pretty much use LaTeX notation.

Even with a keyboard shortcut, I never found it to be truly satisfying. I cannot quite recall what was annoying, though. Maybe you cannot space back into the formula after closing it? (I certainly recall having the experience of typing a formula, closing it, noticing a mistake, hitting backspace, and deleting the entire formula.) Maybe there was just a slight delay for the formula editor to open? Also, $ is still more pleasant to type than Alt+=.

I would be willing to try again, but I'm not buying Word for the privilege.

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#329

Post by vessenes »

vessenes wrote: post #191
gucci-on-fleek wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and one area the current crop is bad at is doing layout in anything but latex. Not that they are good at latex, but they are terrible, terrible, terrible at typst I'm surprised to hear that—I've been using GitHub Copilot with ConTeXt [0] since 2021, and it mostly works fairly well. And ConTeXt is much more obscure than Typst (but also much older, so maybe that gives it an advantage?). [0] https://wiki.contextgarden…

I’ll tell you my failing prompt - hopefully you can help! I haven’t tried since 4.0 / o3 / 2.5 pro came out. I want a flowed book layout (so we have a facing page with inner and outer margins.) I am rendering chats in the main part of the page. Chats alternate left and right alignment so it looks a bit like a text conversation. For each chat I want to put metadata (reactions, sender, time) on the margin it is aligned…

Update, o3 couldn't do it -- but gemini 0605 did! Fairly esoteric set of packages were pulled in and the vertical layout is rock steady.

Re: I wrote my PhD Thesis in Typst

#330

Post by imtringued »

codeape wrote: post #314
JohnKemeny wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> IMO, the only people that use LaTeX are people who are willing to trade the convenience and productivity of using a sane document authoring format for the warm and fuzzy feeling [...] I hope you are aware that literally all research in mathematics and computer science is typed up and published in LaTeX?

Imagine the rapid advancements we could make in those fields if researchers stop wasting time on a baroque, outdated typesetting system.

All you're optimizing for is a learning curve that you should have passed by the end of your bachelors degree.
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