[XeTeX] XeTeX in lshort

[Keith J. Schultz]

I do not get it. A text document is per say structured one way or the other.
Tex-documents do not add anymore structure to the text than any other
WYSIWYG-Program. 

With WYSIWYG the structure of the document is not visible in the form of
command codes, but are represented directly on your screen. If you take the 
time to look at a Word-file(doc or docx) verbatim, you will see the structure.
Though some of it will not be human discernible.

With Tex et al. the structure/formatting commands are in document verbatim.
When using TeX et al. you are more aware of what you are doing, but there is 
not more structure.

The only thing Tex et al. gives you is more flexibility and makes it easier to change 
style and page metrics as compared to Word.

Most users in Word do not bother with creating custom styles and enforcing their
use. Even when groups have to collaborate and have to adhere to a style.
The problems start when they try to bring things together. Now, if they had taken 
the time to create a style and distributed to the others there would be problems, if 
the format had to be changed.

With TeX et. al. you basically use styles naturally and adhere to them.
But, in a group if somebody does not or decides to start modifying commands you get
similar problems as above. I seen happen all to often and trying top get a decent
document was one hell of a job and the end the end document was put together piecemeal.

People how do use TeX, though do have a more intimate relationship to layout and formating,
because they have to not that they want to. 

regards
	Keith.


Am 30.09.2010 um 14:25 schrieb Gerrit Glabbart:

> 2010/9/30 Mike Maxwell <maxwell at umiacs.umd.edu>:
>> On 9/29/2010 9:29 PM, Herbert Schulz wrote:
>>> 
>>> I just like well organized articles with good hierarchy although I
>>> used to (before I retired) do all my exams in LaTeX with some custom
>>> macros.
>> 
>> I think you're quite unusual.
> 
> … but in a good way! :)
> 
> Actually, the fact that *TeX enforces structured documents is an
> important feature, and it makes LaTeX useful even for people who have
> little or no need for math typesetting or non-latin scripts. Yes, you
> can (sort of) create structured documents with word processors like MS
> Word, but since you don't have to, and the advantages are not obvious
> at first, too few people do. In LaTeX, they have to, and find out the
> advantages for themselves, later. A similar argument can be made in
> favor of first composing the text and worrying about appearances
> (margins, fonts, layout, etc) later. Again, this too can be done in
> wysiwyg word processors, but I haven't yet met anyone who could resist
> tinkering with the layout while the focus should have been on the
> content only.