Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!ox-prg!culhua!Damian.Cugley From: Damian.Cugley@prg.ox.ac.uk (Damian Cugley) Newsgroups: comp.text.tex Subject: Re: Why use TeX if ... Message-ID: Date: 15 May 91 16:16:28 GMT References: <1991May9.164341.14084@csrd.uiuc.edu> <1991May9.204113.17636@beaver.cs.washington.edu> <1991May10.065219.23433@agate.berkeley.edu> Sender: news@prg.ox.ac.uk Organization: Computing Laboratory, Oxford University, UK Lines: 24 In-reply-to: edward@priam.Berkeley.EDU's message of 10 May 91 06:52:19 GMT > From: Edward Wang > Message-Id: <1991May10.065219.23433@agate.berkeley.edu> > Surely the box-and-glue model is a superset of the Postscript > (positioning by coordinate) model. I agree that most of the glue > features wouldn't be necessary if Tex had a more complete programming > language, but I don't think it really gets in the way. PostScript's imaging model (arbitrary filled or "stroked" Bezier curves arbitrarily transformed) is a superset of TeX's (untransformed bitmaps placed in arbitrary positions). The model TeX uses internally for deciding where to put the character bitmaps -- the boxes and glue stuff -- corresponds to whatever internal data structures used by the WP/DTP system that generates the PostScript page description. There is nothing to stop someone from using a cleverer line-breaking system than the usual "greedy" algorithm. You could just about write a boxes-and-glue typesetter in PostScript if you wanted to. ---- Damian Cugley -------------------------------- pdc@prg.ox.ac.uk --- Computing Laboratory, 11 Keble Rd, Oxford OX1 3QD Great Britain ------------------------------------------------------------------------ malvern-request@prg.ox.ac.uk "share and enjoy"