[XeTeX] SILE 0.9.0 is released
Simon Cozens
simon at simon-cozens.org
Mon Sep 1 15:53:08 CEST 2014
Hello all,
This is not exactly xetex-related, although I think it will be of interest to
xetex people. I have been working on a new typesetting system written from
scratch in Lua.
Being completely written in Lua means that the typesetter itself can be
modified in interesting ways and solve problems which are difficult to solve
in TeX. The first book typeset entirely in SILE has just been printed, and
there is at least one project in progress which is typesetting the Bible (with
complex annotations/footnotes/sidenotes/parallels etc.) using SILE.
Some more details are below.
## What is SILE?
SILE is a typesetting system. Its job is to produce beautiful printed
documents. It’s similar to TeX, but with some ideas borrowed from InDesign,
and written with modern technologies in mind.
## What can I do with it (that I can’t do with TeX)?
SILE allows you to
* Produce complex document layouts using frames.
* Easily extend the typesetting system in a high-level programming language. (Lua)
* Directly process XML to PDF without the use of XSL stylesheets.
* Typeset text on a grid.
## Getting and installing
SILE can be downloaded from [its home page][1], or directly from [the release
page][2].
SILE is written in the Lua programming language, so you will need a Lua
installation; it also relies on the Cairo and Pango libraries.
You will then need to run:
* `luarocks install stdlib lgi lpeg luaexpat inspect luaepnf luarepl cassowary`
Once your dependencies are installed, run
* `lua install.lua`
This will place the SILE libraries and executable in a sensible location.
Now try `sile examples/test.sil`.
## Finding out more
Please read the [full SILE manual][3] for more information about what SILE is
and how it can help you.
## Why is this 0.9.0?
While this release is perfectly functional for typesetting complex documents,
SILE has several technical and social goals that need to be accomplished
before it can be considered "1.0". See the [roadmap][] for more information.
## Contact
Please report bugs and send patches and pull requests at the [github
repository][4]. For questions, please contact the author, Simon Cozens
<simon at simon-cozens.org>.
## License terms
SILE is distributed under the [MIT licence][5].
[1]: http://www.sile-typesetter.org/
[2]: https://github.com/simoncozens/sile/releases
[3]:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/simoncozens/sile/master/documentation/sile.pdf
[4]: https://github.com/simoncozens/sile
[5]: http://choosealicense.com/licenses/mit/
[roadmap]: https://github.com/simoncozens/sile/blob/master/ROADMAP
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