Mail Archives: djgpp/1996/04/18/07:10:41
On Thu, 18 Apr 1996, Martynas Kunigelis wrote:
> Is there a share/freeware version of LaTEX browser available? And what
> are its priorities against `info'?
I don't know exactly what LaTeX adds to TeX, but at least TeX is not at
all a language for hypertext documentation. It's a non-WYSIWYG
word-processor which is great for describing page layout and fonts, but
has nothing to offer in the hypertext field. Texinfo source can be used
to generate a TeX output (using special TeX macros) but this is usually a
step towards generating printed version of the docs.
> Why did Eli choose TEX format for DJGPP
> documentation sources? I suppose because there are converters to most other
> formats from TEX, is that true?
DJGPP documentation is not written in TeX, it's written in Texinfo (and I
didn't choose it for DJGPP, only for the FAQ). Texinfo is *very*
different from TeX; the name is just a reminder that you can produce both
TeX and Info output from the same source.
The reason I've chosen Texinfo for the FAQ is that (1) the Info and text
versions of the FAQ are easily produced from it; (2) it has a macro
facility that allowed me to produce the HTML version without changing the
Texinfo package; (3) it is part of DJGPP, so I don't have to tell people
to install or port additional software; and (4) Emacs has an extensive
support for writing Texinfo documentation, which made it easy for me to
write the source.
> I'm quite satisfied with info, but I am
> dreaming about something more comfortable, with mouse support, highlighting
> and that kinda stuff. Is that what TEX is all about?
No, TeX is certainly not about this. You should distinguish between a
language and a browser used to read the documents written in that
language. For instance, I read the Info documentation with Emacs, which
does support the mouse and color highlighting of Info files that you are
after. If you need it badly enough, you could add these features to the
stand-alone Info reader too.
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