Pollen is really impressive, for programmers it's probably the most accessible way to get professional quality typesetting for web and small documents. I use it

Pollen is really impressive, for programmers it's probably the most accessible way to get professional quality typesetting for web and small documents. I use it for my resume, contracts, flyers, anything intended to printed out. It's missing some tools you'd need for full printed & bound books but it can cover pretty much everything else. Learning curve is acceptable if you know css well and lisp somewhat. Might be a struggle if not but still more flexible for a beginner than luatex I think.