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The purposes of HTML and PDF are not orthogonal, there is a great deal of overlap. The real advantage of PDF is that the images which are used inside the docum

The purposes of HTML and PDF are not orthogonal, there is a great deal of overlap. The real advantage of PDF is that the images which are used inside the document are bundled into the same file... Whereas HTML has historically required the image files to be loaded from elsewhere which made it not portable. That said, now with HTML, you can define images with base64 data, so it could in fact replace PDF.

solarmist 6y ago
The real advantage of PDF is that it is a final form document format. Truly WYSIWYG. Which is literally the anthesis of HTML which is completely separated (theoretically) from the display/formatting.
- shkkmo 6y ago
  > Truly WYSIWYG. PDFs are treated that way, but it isn't really true. Due to the complexity of the format, there are many PDFs that will display differently in different viewers.
  - solarmist 6y ago
    Sure, but in comparison to other formats and especially HTML it is 90%+ there.
- jondubois 6y ago
  I don't agree with this view. HTML with CSS can support either fixed or fluid (and responsive) layouts... So it supports all the features required by PDF and more. I don't see a problem with giving the document creator the option to go with a fluid or fixed layout and make the software default to fixed layout.
  - tabtab 6y ago
    Coordinate-based HTML/CSS implementation is too inconsistent across implementations and versions to be relied upon, especially with regard to fonts. What are some good WYSIWYG vector standards, including the font department? It could be useful for a GUI markup standard also so that we can have platform-neutral GUI's and GUI's over HTTP. The server side may still have a dynamic/flow layout engine, but calculated coordinates are sent to the client, keeping the client simpler and more predictable.
  - solarmist 6y ago
    "Supporting all the features required" and being able to rely on them on most platforms and in most readers are a very different thing. HTML and CSS theoretically have these properties, but if you asked someone in the publishing industry to layout a book with them they would either quit on the spot or hate you until their dying breath. That or they're a masochist and want to see if they could actually do it because it is theoretically possible.
- GoblinSlayer 6y ago
  But most publications don't need WYSIWYG.
  - solarmist 6y ago
    Need is a relative term. Talk to any designer/artist who’s published something and they’ll disagree with you all day.

solarmist 6y ago

The real advantage of PDF is that it is a final form document format. Truly WYSIWYG. Which is literally the anthesis of HTML which is completely separated (theoretically) from the display/formatting.

shkkmo 6y ago
> Truly WYSIWYG. PDFs are treated that way, but it isn't really true. Due to the complexity of the format, there are many PDFs that will display differently in different viewers.
- solarmist 6y ago
  Sure, but in comparison to other formats and especially HTML it is 90%+ there.
jondubois 6y ago
I don't agree with this view. HTML with CSS can support either fixed or fluid (and responsive) layouts... So it supports all the features required by PDF and more. I don't see a problem with giving the document creator the option to go with a fluid or fixed layout and make the software default to fixed layout.
- tabtab 6y ago
  Coordinate-based HTML/CSS implementation is too inconsistent across implementations and versions to be relied upon, especially with regard to fonts. What are some good WYSIWYG vector standards, including the font department? It could be useful for a GUI markup standard also so that we can have platform-neutral GUI's and GUI's over HTTP. The server side may still have a dynamic/flow layout engine, but calculated coordinates are sent to the client, keeping the client simpler and more predictable.
- solarmist 6y ago
  "Supporting all the features required" and being able to rely on them on most platforms and in most readers are a very different thing. HTML and CSS theoretically have these properties, but if you asked someone in the publishing industry to layout a book with them they would either quit on the spot or hate you until their dying breath. That or they're a masochist and want to see if they could actually do it because it is theoretically possible.
GoblinSlayer 6y ago
But most publications don't need WYSIWYG.
- solarmist 6y ago
  Need is a relative term. Talk to any designer/artist who’s published something and they’ll disagree with you all day.