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Re: Math font announcement in TTN 4,2



Robin Fairbairns writes:
 > Frank writes (and I agree with most of what he says that's not
 > reproduced here):
 > 
 > > there is, for example, a group on standardizing \special's which
 > > exists I think longer than i'm part of the TeX community which goes
 > > way back. Nothing really ever happened in terms of final decisions or
 > > actual implementations although a lot went on over the years. 
 > 
 > That's probably a bad example to choose, since (AFAICT) that group has
 > got itself into gear and is likely imminently to produce some real
 > workable ideas/working code.
 > 
 > TWGs in general aren't a stunning success, but a lot of good solid
 > work seems to be done, and we may see others than the specials, maths
 > fonts and TDS groups also producing something soon.

I like to apologize for any insults in my last mails concerning TWG
work by its members. Work in the TeX world is very very difficult if
it needs coordination and I didn't intend to suggest that people in
any such TWG don't try to produce good work or don't produce it in the
long (or short) run. What I was trying to say is that there are a
large set of questions unresolved for a very long time with people
trying to solve them without success and once in a while one does get
things runnning only by throwing something out ready to try to people.

And I think the \special's are a good example as they are a problem
(with people working on it) as long as TeX exists. Even if the groups
didn't call themselves TWG's those days but "driver committees" etc.
And how long does TeX exist by now? And how long do we really badly
needed a standard for \special's? 15 year?

I'm glad to learn that we will finally get to it and it will one day
make the implementation of the graphics and color package of LaTeX
much easier. But my point was that basically after those packages were
designed and written at least the LaTeX world (sorry here comes the
LaTeX centred view) can now even live more or less without any such
standard---not that having the standard implemented in all drivers
wouldn't improve things.

Are you sure that having the graphics interface standard --- showing
that even without the \special standard something could be achieved
--- didn't help getting things rushed in that TWG? I don't know,
perhaps the problem simply became more and more pressing in the TeX
community but I think it is an interesting coincidence

best

frank