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(2013) shows here, and it’s about web pages, not typesetting printable documents. Hyphenation is built into CSS now: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/W

(2013) shows here, and it’s about web pages, not typesetting printable documents. Hyphenation is built into CSS now: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/hyphens https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/hyphens (although I personally don’t think hyphenation is really useful on the Web). Also, the sans versions of Computer Modern don’t really scream LaTeX at me like the classic serif version does…

spockz 3y ago
I found that hyphenation doesn’t get the same quality of typesetting as latex did, also because there are no page breaks to take into account. One exception though is documentation. I find justified and hyphenated pages of documentation much easier to ingest than without. Maybe that is because my mind has a trained response to go into learning mode because of reading so many papers. For me the results are significant. Without hyphenation and justified alignment, my eyes “glide” off texts on screen as if they were islands. With, I can stay on it.
- nextos 3y ago
  I also find LaTeX hyphenation noticeably better than anything else. Actually, for even better hyphenation than stock LaTeX, the package microtype is wonderful. It uses lots of small refinements such as adjusting kerning, spacing, and letting hyphens overhang at the end of lines to arrange text in a more aesthetic way.
  - spockz 3y ago
    Thank you. Is something like this even possible in web pages? Short of reimplementing it with canvas or SVG.
    - nextos 3y ago
      I imagine it would be possible, but a ton of work! Maybe WebAssembly makes it doable.
djhn 3y ago
Hyphenation is extremely useful for headings in languages with very long words. If you aim to maintain visual hierarchy between headings and paragraphs through font size, you will inevitably run into words that exceed screen width on mobile devices if the compound words in that language are formed without spaces.

spockz 3y ago

I found that hyphenation doesn’t get the same quality of typesetting as latex did, also because there are no page breaks to take into account. One exception though is documentation. I find justified and hyphenated pages of documentation much easier to ingest than without. Maybe that is because my mind has a trained response to go into learning mode because of reading so many papers. For me the results are significant. Without hyphenation and justified alignment, my eyes “glide” off texts on screen as if they were islands. With, I can stay on it.

nextos 3y ago
I also find LaTeX hyphenation noticeably better than anything else. Actually, for even better hyphenation than stock LaTeX, the package microtype is wonderful. It uses lots of small refinements such as adjusting kerning, spacing, and letting hyphens overhang at the end of lines to arrange text in a more aesthetic way.
- spockz 3y ago
  Thank you. Is something like this even possible in web pages? Short of reimplementing it with canvas or SVG.
  - nextos 3y ago
    I imagine it would be possible, but a ton of work! Maybe WebAssembly makes it doable.

djhn 3y ago

Hyphenation is extremely useful for headings in languages with very long words. If you aim to maintain visual hierarchy between headings and paragraphs through font size, you will inevitably run into words that exceed screen width on mobile devices if the compound words in that language are formed without spaces.