[texhax] Choosing TeX um ... stuff (Eplain)

[Uwe Lueck]

"Peter Davis" , 17.11.2010 22:23:25:
> I'd appreciate any help with the following questions:
> * True or False: TeX can be categorized along three orthogonal axes:
> * by format (plain TeX, LaTeX, ConTeXt, others?)
> * by implementation (web2c, pdfTeX/pdfLaTeX, LuaTeX, others?)
> * by distribution (MikTeX, TeXLive, MacTeX, others?)

It seems to me that FAQ "Things with “TeX” in the name":

    http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=texthings

nicely covers the questions and adds a few things.

"Mojca Miklavec" <mojca.miklavec.lists at gmail.com>, 17.11.2010 22:38:48:
>> by format (plain TeX, LaTeX, ConTeXt, others?)
[...]
>There are other formats like cstex, cslatex, ..., but they are not too
> important.

Some others are listed in 

     http://mirror.ctan.org/macros/

while not all of these entries are formats
(at least, there is no "generic" format). 

The abovementioned FAQ page additionally mentions Eplain,
and here may be an occasion to learn how "important" it is. 

Or maybe better: What reasons could there be 
to use Eplain instead of LaTeX or ConTeXt?

... or not to use ...?

Cheers,

    Uwe.