Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!snorkelwacker!spdcc!merk!alliant!linus!philabs!sxm@bebop
From: sxm@bebop (Sandeep Mehta)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex
Subject: Re: Graphics in TeX
Message-ID: <82219@philabs.Philips.Com>
Date: 21 Feb 90 14:05:23 GMT
References: <1990Feb20.235243.21897@Neon.Stanford.EDU>
Sender: news@philabs.Philips.Com
Reply-To: sxm@philabs.philips.com (Sandeep Mehta)
Organization: Autonomous Systems, Philips Labs, Briarcliff Manor, NY
Lines: 35
In-reply-to: rokicki@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki)

In article <1990Feb20.235243.21897@Neon.Stanford.EDU>, rokicki@Neon (Tomas G. Rokicki) writes:
>It is becoming increasingly obvious that the future of graphics with TeX
>(and virtually anything else for that matter) is in PostScript graphics.

couldn't agree more.

>All that lacks is the appropriate connection between TeX and PostScript.
>All TeX previewers and printer drivers should be retrofitted with some
>sort of communication to a PostScript interpreter so that included
>graphics can be rendered automatically, easily. 

i would think NeWS would be an appropriate platform for this. assuming
that the included PostScript code downloaded through the connection to
the NeWS server can be rendered (i.e., the server doesn't choke on
some operators etc.). doing it under X or something assumes that a full
fledged PostScript interpreter can efficiently reside between the
display server and the client TeX tool. 

>output can be easily integrated.  (And Apple and Microsoft should hire
>some competent people to revise their awful prologs.)
>

so far i (and some others) have been satisfied with Trevor Darrell's
psfig macro package (and dvi2ps/dvips). it works with most WYSIWYG
drawing editors and other pd tools (actually it is broken with
FrameMaker 2.0 :-(). the best one can hope for in a previewer, at
present, is displaying reserved space. since the graphic has been edited
WYSIWYG this is just about liveable.

i think that something more robust and standard is on order. else, i wonder
how TeX/LaTeX will fare under the onslaught of niftier WYSIWYG systems.

sandeep
--
sxm@philabs.philips.com                             ...to be or not to bop ?