[XeTeX] The future of XeTeX

[Philip TAYLOR]

Adam Twardoch (List) wrote:

> I believe that the TeX world needs a "policy" on naming engine-specific
> commands. This is akin to the CSS browser-specific prefixes, such as
> "-webkit-text-security" or "-moz-font-features". XeTeX already does
> this: all the XeTeX-specific commands are prefixed with "XeTeX". Some of
> those commands are of general use (in such case, the XeTeX and LuaTeX
> developers should communicate to standardize a new command) while others
> may really not be of general use at all, as they're more-less "hacks" or
> ways to achieve certain effects in a way tied very much to the specific
> implementation of the engine.

I agree.  And I also think (although this is a spur-of-the-moment idea,
and I may regret it tomorrow) that perhaps we also need a "TeX Council",
to co-ordinate naming conventions across disparate TeX-based
developments.

** Phil.