[tex-live] I must be missing something with TeX...

[Zdenek Wagner]

2011/1/30 Tim Legg <postfix_list at timothylegg.com>:
> I decided to try using TeX again.  I installed texlive-full in Ubuntu.
>
> I also used texworks as a frontend.  I cannot find a single tutorial or
> hello world type of document that will work using it.  I have probably
> seen the better portion of the set of possible errors, no matter which of
> the document choices I used.
>
> There are so many splinter groups, each with their own standard and there
> doesn't seem to be any cross compatibility between the document standards
> (between tex, Latex, xetex, xelatex and so on)
>
It's the same as there is no cross compatibility between sandglass and
digital watch, or if we should stick at computers, there is no cross
compatibility between C, Perl, Basic, SmallTalk, Java, etc. What you
mentioned are different dialects of the same (TeX) language family.
you have to decide which one you wish to use. And there is quite good
compatibility in the plain family (plain TeX, XeTeX, luatex) and the
LaTeX family (LaTeX, XeLaTeX, lualatex). Xe- and lua- means that some
extensions were added to the base language.

> How bad does it have to get before somebody decides that things need to be
> re-organized and a common standard is developed?  Because, as it is, this
> is just ridiculous.
>
What do you mean by common standard? I have typeset more than 100
books and more than 1000 other documents. I typeset books belonging to
a series, therefore I have developed a special LaTeX class for this
series. I have also developed LaTeX classes for a few customers but
there is nothing like common standard. The classes serve particular
purposes. Similarly If you wish to write a journal article for
publishing by Elsevier, you will use their LaTeX class, not a "common
standard". AMS journals will probably require RevTeX.
>
> Tim Legg
>
>



-- 
Zdeněk Wagner
http://hroch486.icpf.cas.cz/wagner/
http://icebearsoft.euweb.cz