[pdftex] SVG Graphics

[John Culleton]

On Saturday, June 11, 2011 06:02:05 am George N. White III wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 3:57 PM, Kip Warner <kip at thevertigo.com> wrote:
> > On Fri, 2011-06-10 at 15:34 -0300, George N. White III wrote:
> >> Can't say without more information.    How much do you care about
> >> legacy platforms?   Would the documents be useful without graphics?
> >> I gather you want users of your package to be able to build the
> >> software and the documentation -- is that correct?
> > 
> > Hey George. Here is a summary:
> > 
> > - Fine with any platform that has access to a package manager, like
> > Ubuntu and Debian. In other words, if it is available on apt, it's a
> > candidate.
> 
> texlive 2009 should be available on newer releases, but some might
> only offer tetex with older pdftex and limited set of packages.
> 
> > - Document would not be useful without graphics.
> 
> I take this to mean you have no need for a plain text version (.info
> files)?
> 
> > - Source format of document should be diff friendly, which is one of 
the
> > reasons why I am using Texinfo and not a binary or machine friendly 
only
> > format like ODT. Another advantage of the source being in a flat text
> > format is the build system can dynamically update variables as need be.
> > 
> > - Should be able to build with the rest of the software when it runs
> > through a makefile as part of the build system.
> > 
> > - Would like to customize pages with artwork in page margins, custom
> > fonts, page colours, etc.
> 
> Sounds like a job for ConTeXt, except that the distro packaging is not
> yet there.
> That leaves latex.
> 
> > - Hopefully not a massive amount of work to migrate from the Texinfo
> > source I have come up with to the replacement format.
> 
> texinfo to latex should not be a huge job.
> 
> > - A GUI is nice icing on the cake, but not required.
> > 
> >> If you have not done so, you should look at examples from ConTeXt
> >> (maximum flexibility, least likely to be "working" on a randomly
> >> selected box) and the R project.  Can you think of existing widely
> >> available books that come close your "ideal"?  Tell us what you would
> >> change about the existing examples.
> > 
> > Can't think of anything off the top of my head, but maybe a typical 
game
> > strategy guide. It's as far as possible from black on white generic
> > textbook look, with everything that can be customized is customized.
> 
> What you describe is very far from the typical latex document -- even
> further from texinfo.
> 
> Color and hyperlinks are not part of the original tex design, so support
> for such elements is a weakness in latex. There have been efforts to
> develop newer markup languages, but with latex you get something 
reliable.
>  Is it better to fight to overcome  the limitations of latex or to
> overcome the bugs in a newer markup language?
> 
> Perhaps someone else can suggest existing examples based on latex.
> 
> You should probably try mocking up some sample pages using latex.


Getting back to the original topic, we can already insert graphics in a 
variety of formats. But two of the most useful formats, svg (vector) and 
TIFF (bitmap) are not included. Is it more difficult to handle these than 
to handle eps and jpg?

Color and hyperlinks have been available in pdftex for many years. Their 
inclusion is not IMO a weakness but a necessary modernization. 
-- 
John Culleton

"Death Wore Black" Police procedural: http://www.deathworeblack.com/

"Create Book Covers with Scribus"
www.lybrary.com/create-book-covers-with-scribus-p-74177.html  
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