Message-ID:  <98112515182973@man.ac.uk>
Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
Date:         Wed, 25 Nov 1998 15:18:29 GMT
From: Phillip Helbig <helbig@MAN.AC.UK>
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L
              <LATEX-L@URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
Subject:      Re: figures and images (was "base" LaTeX)
Status: R

> Phillip Helbig writes:
>  > I disagree here.  The beauty of PSFRAG is that one can divorce the
>  > graphic from the .tex file.  Often, graphics are made for overheads etc
>  > and later recycled in a .tex file.
> i can sort of see this scenario, but it sounds weird. why dont you
> generate the graphics in a high-level system if this is your need?

I write a Fortran program, run it for several weeks on a computer, and
it produces some output.  To look at this output, show it to colleagues
etc I plot it (again with a Fortran program, in my case, but it could be
with anything).  I can make an overhead for a talk etc.  Depending on
various factors, it might end up in a paper for journal A, journal B, a
conference proceeding etc---all of which might have different font
requirements.  If the plot is involved, i.e. takes half an hour to make
it (choose contour levels, label certain features, perhaps highlight a
certain region, overlay it with another plot etc) I don't want to have
to repeat that just to change the font!

What does `high-level system' mean here?

>  > recreate the plot, which in some cases might mean a lot of effort, every
>  > time I change fonts in my document!!!!!!!  The whole beauty of TeX/LaTeX
>  > is macros; I don't want to hard-wire fonts into anything!
> i sympathize. and would use Metapost for my plots, obviating the
> problem :-} (but then Berthold would hate me again)

I admit not having looked into METAPOST yet.

> psfrag is great, _if_ you live in a world of one formatter, and one page
> description language. Big "if", if you ask me (which you didnt, before
> anyone says so)

In my world (astronomy), at least for now, LaTeX and PostScript are sort
of standard and life is not that difficult.

> i know i sound like an evangelist, but XML/MathML/SVG really *are*
> designed to cover this sort of game. your SVG graphic will embed
> MathML markup cleanly.

Maybe I can change the Fortran code to make XML/MathML/SVG an output
format option.  :)  (Now it does PostScript, Sixel graphics, Tektronix
graphics etc).


--
Phillip Helbig                          Email ......... p.helbig@jb.man.ac.uk
Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories   Tel. .... +44 1477 571 321 (ext. 297)
Jodrell Bank                            Fax ................ +44 1477 571 618
Macclesfield                            Telex ................ 36149 JODREL G
UK-Cheshire SK11 9DL                    Web ... http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/~pjh/