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I don't use LaTeX simply because LaTeX outputs pdfs. Pdfs stink in their own right but furthermore, pdfs are for printed documents and I don't use paper anymore
by adamwong246 13y ago
I don't use LaTeX simply because LaTeX outputs pdfs. Pdfs stink in their own right but furthermore, pdfs are for printed documents and I don't use paper anymore.
- c0g 13y agoPDFs stink, but I've yet to find something that stinks less! What I need: * High quality fonts and images * Single file * Cross platform * Simple to create using LaTeX * Excellent support for math * LaTeX style readability considerations * Massive user base * Many extensions
- IvarTJ 13y agoHTML?
- c0g 13y agoSpecifically for writing math heavy papers (what I use LaTeX for) HTML offers: 1. (kinda.. if I want to use Google's font API and the browser renders it well) 2. Not a single file. 3. Not cross-platform - it will render differently on my linux desktop and mac laptop. 4. I don't know how to convert all of my LaTeX macros and workflows to HTML so I'd need something like htmltex (doesn't exist, I want it). 5. MathJax is good, but it ain't great. Too many compromises. 6. No typesetting and words per lining heuristics like LaTeX - again, need htmltex. 7. and 8. were a bit unclear, sorry. I mean in writing mathematical papers. HTML has a huge community but signal to noise for writing readable papers is pretty high. Mapping what I do in LaTeX to HTML requires many more lines of code.
- mbq 13y agoThere is htmltex (i.e. almost full stack emitting HTML), it is called latexml. There is also a lot converters, most notably Pandoc. Still I 100% agree that even HTML is too primitive and too inconsistently implemented for scientific writing.
- c0g 13y agoThanks for the pointer, I shall play with latexml!
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- amacfie 13y agoYes, I think HTML is superior to LaTeX for modern documents. The reason LaTeX is still popular is mostly inertia.