5 ms·
Since there already exists a perfectly fine TeXLive distribution, why write it in JS? (In that case, I believe JS is deeply inadequate, probably missing somethi
by nmc 13y ago
Since there already exists a perfectly fine TeXLive distribution, why write it in JS? (In that case, I believe JS is deeply inadequate, probably missing something...)
I was far more impressed by the LaTeX2HTML5 [1] project, to compile LaTeX into part of a webpage instead of a DVI or PDF.
[1] https://github.com/pyramation/LaTeX2HTML5 https://github.com/pyramation/LaTeX2HTML5
- lelf 13y agoIt's not writing in, it's compiling to. JS is the new assembler language.
- nmc 13y agoI fail to understand your point. I see a "pdftex.js" [1] program which seems to compile a TEX file into a PDF file... which I would call writing TeXLive in JS. If I read correctly, this was partly automated by using "emscripten" to convert the original C++ implementation into a JS implementation (which is why some parts "compile to" JS). I also do not understand what "new assembler language" means in the context of TeXLive. But what I want to understand is: why? Why would any one want TeXLive in JS? Where is the advantage? (Please do not answer "portability".) [1] https://github.com/manuels/texlive.js/blob/master/pdftex.js https://github.com/manuels/texlive.js/blob/master/pdftex.js
- JoshTriplett 13y agoOne obvious advantage: a service that supports live TeX document editing could run TeX for previews on the client side rather than the server side, freeing up a huge amount of server resources and making it possible to scale much more easily.
- dbaupp 13y agoWhy is portability a bad answer?
- nmc 13y agoBecause TeXLive is already pre-compiled for any distribution you may want to typeset LaTeX with.
- dbaupp 13y agoNo, it's not compiled to run in the web browser; at least, not until people do things like this project.
- nmc 13y agoHum... if you can run a browser, you can already run executable files (ELF or the Windows-crap-equivalent), including all TeXLive tools. Thus, running in a browser does not bring portability. However, as "JoshTriplett" pointed out, running in a browser brings the possibility of client-side computation triggered from a web host. But this is not what I call portability.