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From: dww@stl.UUCP (David Wright)
Newsgroups: net.text
Subject: Re: embedded-command text systems
Message-ID: <266@stl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Dec-85 14:04:04 EST
Article-I.D.: stl.266
Posted: Fri Dec 13 14:04:04 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 16-Dec-85 05:14:57 EST
References: <705@unc.unc.UUCP> <2168@glacier.ARPA> <259@uwstat.UUCP>
Reply-To: dww@stl.UUCP (David Wright)
Distribution: net
Organization: STL,Harlow,UK.
Lines: 23

In article <259@uwstat.UUCP> mikem@uwstat.UUCP writes:
>... my PRIMARY reason for a wysiwyg system ;  TECHNICAL symbols (in my case
>mathematical equations, but other special symbols are just as important).
> ... Anyone who has worked with eqn or TeX knows how hard it is to 
> get the equations correct.

Funny you should say that - I've just helped a colleague set a bit of fairly
'hairy' maths with TeX without much trouble, except for one diagram that
just could not be done right in TeX - so we went to the trusty Mac, did it in
MacDraw, and pasted it in.  On the Mac - unlike TeX whick 'knows' about these
things - the main problem was to get the equations shown on the diagram lined
up and in suitable fonts (especially subscripts).  Lines and shapes are MUCH
easier on the Mac though.

Conclusion? we need text setting systems that let the user draw what can be
drawn but know enough about the context and rules for the information so that
the system - not the user - can be responsible for the less creative part of
the job like getting the right relative font sizes, positions, justification
etc..   At present no one system does it all.  I hope that when one does we'll
be able to afford it!
--
Meta-quote from the TeXbook:  " `Producing Greek letters are as easy as pi -
you just type  ... as easy as $\pi$' - Leslie Lamport. "