"Adrian F. Clark" alien@essex.ac.uk writes:
What XML does is allow the database developer to define the _content_ of what will eventually become a web page using application-oriented tags and without having to worry about the page's appearance.
In *theory*, you don't worry about appearance for most of the time in LaTeX. As with HTML, reality bites.
[...] In principle (though I've never seen it done) XML could produce LaTeX so that we could get typeset output that looks better than what spews out of Netscape, which is definitely of the same kind of abysmal quality as Word.
Well, you can look at this two ways: firstly, there are LaTeX ways to produce XML and manipulate XML (I think it's xmltex, but that might be wrong); secondly, XML can be rendered to FOP and then to PDFs which aren't bad at all, especially combined with SVG.
However, it all smacks of reinventing wheels again, doesn't it?
The advantage XML over (say) keyword-value pairs is that XML allows the developer to build up a tree-like structure that can be parsed and processed by a standard piece of software.
Indeed, but S-expressions (lispish ones to the rest of you) never really caught on, did they? Once again, the lispers got it right 40 years before everyone else, but have nothing to show for it but the knowledge that they were right 40 years before...
Anyway, Neill is using lyx, not pukka LaTeX -- urghhhh!
Eeek, using a non-free library to boot! Burn him at the viva! ;-)
--- MJ Ray markj@cloaked.freeserve.co.uk wrote:
"Adrian F. Clark" alien@essex.ac.uk writes:
In *theory*, you don't worry about appearance for most of the time in LaTeX. As with HTML, reality bites.
Hmm, tight rubber. Oh you mean LateX not latex, oops :o)
Well, you can look at this two ways: firstly, there are LaTeX ways to produce XML and manipulate XML (I think it's xmltex, but that might be wrong); secondly, XML can be rendered to FOP and then to PDFs which aren't bad at all, especially combined with SVG.
However, it all smacks of reinventing wheels again, doesn't it?
We can tell your a statistician not a Engineer. The wheel was invented wrong, and like other badly design products (MS Windows, VHS etc...) was well marketed and created a monopoly. With a normal wheel when you stop on a hill you roll back. It needs to be square, that way when you stop you don't roll back? Surely this makes more sense?
Indeed, but S-expressions (lispish ones to the rest of you) never really caught on, did they? Once again, the lispers got it right 40 years before everyone else, but have nothing to show for it but the knowledge that they were right 40 years before...
Yep, Lisp guys were right 40 years ago, but as usual (Apple Mac's, Betamax etc...) people prefered the shallower learning curb on non LISP stuff.
Anyway, Neill is using lyx, not pukka LaTeX -- urghhhh!
Eeek, using a non-free library to boot! Burn him at the viva! ;-)
Agreed.
<fx action="lights torch ready for burning the sinner"/>
Thanks
D
-- MJR
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