[OS X TeX] your wiki needs you?

[Dr. Clea F. Rees]

On Wed 17th Sep, 2008 at 23:23, Maarten Sneep seems to have written:

> On 17 sep 2008, at 22:25, Dr. Clea F. Rees wrote:
>
> [snip] a functional classification of editors, viewers and front-ends (or 
> integrated systems).
>
>> TextMate has a viewer. Therefore it goes on the Front Ends page. That
>> it uses WebKit doesn't change that really - that isn't an application.
>> The user need know nothing of WebKit (or Cocoa or...).
>
> I still would put TextMate in the editor category. Yes, webkit sort of works, 
> but you do not get synchronized viewing or juming between source and pdf. I 
> think that that is an essential feature of present day systems - yes, things 
> change, it's called progress, and I'm happy with it. You can do the same with 
> TextMate, but then you're in the same category as BBEdit et al.
>
>> I agree it is artificial. There are grey areas. Distinctions are often
>> like that. But I think it is still useful - especially to somebody
>> trying to figure out what's needed to start out.
>
> Sure.
>
>> Both the Editors page and the Viewers page contain explanatory notes
>> and links at the top. They both have additional links at the bottom.
>> 
>> Not everything on the viewers page has synctex/pdfsync integration,
>> either. (Preview? Adobe Reader?)
>
> Correct. Preview will now at least re-load a pdf when told to open a file 
> that it has already open, and keep it in the same location. That is a huge 
> simplification for basic viewing, and scripting the updates. Acrobat (no cost 
> edition) is still horrible. Skim is my favorite at the moment.
>
>> At least, this is how I've been interpreting the distinction. I think
>> the only other way to do it would be to put everything on one page -
>> front ends, editors and viewers. But that would make for a rather
>> unmanageable page, I think.
>
> Agreed, it is not that I don't think the classification is wrong, but my 
> impression of TextMate is more of an editor (with decent LaTeX support, but 
> not even out of the box IIRC), than a complete front end.
>
> Yes, I could edit right now, but no-one wants an edit-war ;-)

Highly unlikely. I think TextMate should be on the Front Ends page
because it is simpler that way and makes more intuitive sense to me.
Otherwise I think we have a problem because some of the viewers will
turn out not be be viewers at all. But I'm not so committed to this
view I'd get into an edit-war over it and I don't think anybody else
would either. Not sure what would make me participate in an edit-war,
actually. Well, I guess some things. Not TeX software, though.

I think the description of TextMate should be rewritten - by somebody
who knows what it is/does/isn't/doesn't do. Right now it is sort of
implicit that it doesn't use synctex but not terribly obvious.

Would be nice if people who used the other front ends noted whether
they support synctex/pdfsync etc., too.

- cfr