Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpl-opus!hpnmdla!hpsadle!walter From: walter@hpsadle.HP.COM (Walter Coole) Newsgroups: comp.text.tex Subject: Re: Why is TeX so Great? (want info) Message-ID: <13590027@hpsadle.HP.COM> Date: 12 Nov 90 20:10:34 GMT References: Organization: HP Signal Analysis Division - Rohnert Park, CA Lines: 31 At some risk of redundancy, I'd suggest you look at the TeXbook and the LaTeX book, since many of the questions you have aren't short answer questions. IMHO: WYSIWYG vs. TeX There is no actual WYSIWYG word processor, due to resolution, aspect ratio, CPU horsepower limitations, you end up with "the best we can manage to represent what you're going to get". I find that an adequate previewer does a better job of showing me what my document is going to look like than the typical MSDOS word processor. Most wp's are harder to adapt to new CPU, printer, and software rev. than TeX has been for me. TeX is better suited to long documents (books) than wp's, but still reasonably convenient for papers, memos, etc. TeX allows much more precise control over format. TeX is readily extensible and customizable, while the macro facility in most wp's is fairly primitive. For the typical naive user LaTeX is probably easier to use than plain TeX, so it is probably the best comparison with wp's. troff vs. TeX troff is the AT&T standard way to deal with text, so many UNIX programs do things in ways that produce sensible troff. nroff is compatible with troff and is the standard way for man pages to be formatted. Other than interaction with other UNIX tools, I find troff's command language to be clumsier than TeX (I may be biased, since I'm more familiar with TeX). There are fewer supported devices for ditroff than for dvi. troff requires a license while TeX is available for free. TeX's macro facility is, in fact, a complete programming language, unlike the simple keyboard macro capability of some wp's. While size, fluency and speed may make certain things undesirable to write in TeX, there are no fundamental barriers precluding any sort of computation within TeX.