Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcsun!ukc!warwick!cudcv
From: cudcv@warwick.ac.uk (Rob McMahon)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex
Subject: Re: Idea for Discussion: Remove LaTeX from TeX Group?
Message-ID: <1991Feb9.171210.16763@warwick.ac.uk>
Date: 9 Feb 91 17:12:10 GMT
References: <58132@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU>
Sender: news@warwick.ac.uk (Network news)
Organization: Computing Services, Warwick University, UK
Lines: 35

In article <58132@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> xiaofei@acsu.buffalo.edu (Xiaofei Wang) writes:
>Few people use both Plain TeX and LaTeX.  I am a Plain TeX user and not
>interested in how to do this and that in LaTeX. And I presume that a LaTeX
>user is not interested in how qto do this and that in Plain TeX.

I think you presume wrong.  I use LaTeX almost exclusively, because it makes
so many things less messy, but I often have to drop down into plain TeX to do
things not covered by LaTeX.  LaTeX is, after all, more or less a superset of
plain TeX.

>Separation of LaTeX will do good for Plain TeX people as well as LaTeX
>people.

It certainly won't do the LaTeX people any good.  The answer to a sticky LaTeX
problem is generally in plain TeX, so I predict a lot of cross-posting from
there, to pick up on the TeX experts.  Also, all LaTeX users will have to read
the TeX group as well, to keep up on MF, device drivers, fonts, etc.

>LaTeX is designed the way as it is, it is inappropriate and a waste of time
>to ask it to do things it is not designed to do. In that case, I would think
>one should write one's own macro based on *original* TeX.

But that doesn't mean you have to ditch LaTeX and re-write all the things it
was doing right for you.

>[It seems to me that everything LaTeX can do Plain TeX can but not the
>opposite.]

Of course, since LaTeX is written in TeX.

Rob
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Rob McMahon, Computing Services, Warwick University, Coventry CV4 7AL, England