[Tugindia] FWD: Subject: Re: [ilugd] Re: hindustan times -> TeXnical deviation

[Kapil Hari Paranjape]

Hello LL,

Ceasefire offer refused (esp. since you accompanied this offer with
some terrorist attacks :-)

On Tue, May 06, 2003 at 11:40:04PM +0530, LinuxLingam wrote:
> 200-page magazines, where each page or section is individually designed, 
> month after month, with only some few design principles common. example: 
> wired magazine.

How about Linux Gazette? Perhaps that is too text-oriented for you.
LG is not written in TeX but in its not-so distant cousin HTML. However,
you probably mean something like the glossies "India Today","Outlook"
and the like.

> Kapil wrote:
> > Why would *anyone* want to use TeX for this kind of design?
> 
> that's my point. when someone asked if there are desktop publishing solutions 
> under gnulinux, and by that question, this is what is implied, some people 
> incorrectly refer to TeX as the solution. and i was merely trying to point 
> out that error.

When "those" people talk about DTP, I agree that they mean the jazzy
stuff that you are talking about and TeX is inappropriate.

\begin{flame}
The reasons are:
%
 \begin{enumerate}
 %
  \item Because the kind of stuff they create emphasizes style over content. 
 %
  \item Because most this is created by adults who were and are unable to cope
    with even the minimal precision required by high school science and
    mathematics.
 %
 \end{enumerate}
%
\end{flame}

If we really want to talk about publishing. Creating books of stories,
poems, plays (even illustrated ones). Or writing popular or text-book
accounts of science, engineering and mathematics. Or even for preparing
official letters, reports. For all these TeX is close to being the most
appropriate tool for about 90% of the material. Only for hand-drawn
illustrations would you *really* have to go outside TeX; though most
people use other tools for graphs and technical drawings as well.

\begin{flame}
%
  {\em In other words any publication where the content is important
  enough that people will read it or examine it carefully can be done
  with TeX.}
%
\end{flame}

IMHO, the message from TeX is:

	"You (the author) create the content and indicate (through
	markup) the logical structure of this content. I (TeX) will
	ensure that you will have a beautifully type-set document
	where the content will be contextually emphasized."

(Others, notably Knuth, have said this better).

Kapil.

-- 
The best defense against logic is ignorance.
--