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The problem is that a lot of LaTeX zealots and fanboys tell you to use it as soon as you mention Word/Pages/Google Docs/etc. This can confuse beginners and the

The problem is that a lot of LaTeX zealots and fanboys tell you to use it as soon as you mention Word/Pages/Google Docs/etc. This can confuse beginners and the public in general as to what LaTeX is for.

taeric 10y ago
Meh. The public, in general, has a hard time with Word, too. Which isn't to say that word processors aren't nice. I actually held off on learning LaTeX years ago because I didn't see the point. The fact that I can still reliably open my documents is huge, though. And it only takes training to learn to use it. For transient things that just don't matter? Yeah, they work fine. What irks a lot of us is how we typically are given yet another document sharing method for documents that have to be kept in sync with source. Worse, a SharePoint or workdocs link that only works from one of my browsers correctly and has horrendous correspondence features. So bad that collaboration typically is, pick someone from the team and they will completely own this.
- foldr 10y ago
  >The fact that I can still reliably open my documents is huge, though I've had multiple instances where a document that compiled with one LaTeX installation didn't compile with another. It was always possible to fix after a certain amount of head-scratching, but LaTeX is a twisted network of packages that interact with each other in unpredictable ways, and there's no real guarantee that your LaTeX will still compile in 10 years.
  - taeric 10y ago
    This is not that surprising. But I usually limited the packages I would use. Certainly didn't use too many in one shot. I've toyed with the idea of going vanilla TeX for most things. Haven't done it, yet. Org-mode has made it so I really like the source format.
- RhysU 10y ago
  Word processor file formats lack diffs that a human can read. And nobody has had show codes since WP died. LaTeX is a mystery, but it rewards the curious.
  - _acme 10y ago
    Word itself will diff Word documents beautifully, and there are alternative solutions as well (Workshare/DeltaView, Change-Pro, etc.) that are even more powerful.
    - taeric 10y ago
      It has certainly gotten better, to say it is beautiful is a stretch. Seems invariably, someone doesn't realize which is the old and which the new. So, when someone finally "accepts" the changes, something if getting lost. Worse, the folks that never accept and just keep passing the review docs. And heaven help you if you want to preview style or layout changes. (And please don't take it as this being fixed by other toolchains. Not my intent.)

taeric 10y ago

Meh. The public, in general, has a hard time with Word, too. Which isn't to say that word processors aren't nice. I actually held off on learning LaTeX years ago because I didn't see the point. The fact that I can still reliably open my documents is huge, though. And it only takes training to learn to use it. For transient things that just don't matter? Yeah, they work fine. What irks a lot of us is how we typically are given yet another document sharing method for documents that have to be kept in sync with source. Worse, a SharePoint or workdocs link that only works from one of my browsers correctly and has horrendous correspondence features. So bad that collaboration typically is, pick someone from the team and they will completely own this.

foldr 10y ago
>The fact that I can still reliably open my documents is huge, though I've had multiple instances where a document that compiled with one LaTeX installation didn't compile with another. It was always possible to fix after a certain amount of head-scratching, but LaTeX is a twisted network of packages that interact with each other in unpredictable ways, and there's no real guarantee that your LaTeX will still compile in 10 years.
- taeric 10y ago
  This is not that surprising. But I usually limited the packages I would use. Certainly didn't use too many in one shot. I've toyed with the idea of going vanilla TeX for most things. Haven't done it, yet. Org-mode has made it so I really like the source format.
RhysU 10y ago
Word processor file formats lack diffs that a human can read. And nobody has had show codes since WP died. LaTeX is a mystery, but it rewards the curious.
- _acme 10y ago
  Word itself will diff Word documents beautifully, and there are alternative solutions as well (Workshare/DeltaView, Change-Pro, etc.) that are even more powerful.
  - taeric 10y ago
    It has certainly gotten better, to say it is beautiful is a stretch. Seems invariably, someone doesn't realize which is the old and which the new. So, when someone finally "accepts" the changes, something if getting lost. Worse, the folks that never accept and just keep passing the review docs. And heaven help you if you want to preview style or layout changes. (And please don't take it as this being fixed by other toolchains. Not my intent.)