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Date:         Sat, 1 Feb 2014 18:32:26 -0800
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From: William F Hammond <gellmu@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Feasibility of GUIs for authors and class designers in LaTeX3
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There are two long-standing questions underlying this discussion.

1. Can present LaTeX users learn to write well-structured user-level LaTeX?

2. Can well-structured markup be written in a GUI?

I believe the answer to the first is "yes".  For one thing, I think the
LaTeX being submitted to arXiv (arxiv.org) is improving.  I commonly look
at arXiv source and try to run it through tex4ht toward html+mathml with
mathjax.  I see success there as a sign of well-structured LaTeX.  But I've
not made a systematic investigation on this point.

I hope with user-level documents in LaTeX3 that on-target pertinent markup
diagnostics (without obscure package or engine diagnostics) will keep users
honest.  Of course, in order to maintain service on old documents, this
should only be the case for users who ask for it.

As to the second question, my opinion is that a user who understands
well-structured markup might be able to generate it in a suitable GUI, but
a user without such understanding will not be able to generate good
markup.  For example, the naive user would be able to write something that
appears formatted as an enumerated list, but without invocation of a
list-making widget in the GUI, it won't be a list.

Personally, I expect that I would find using a GUI to be inefficient.

     -- Bill


-- 
William F Hammond
Email: gellmu@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/william.f.hammond
http://www.albany.edu/~hammond/

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div><div><div><div><div>There are two long-standing quest=
ions underlying this discussion.<br><br></div>1. Can present LaTeX users le=
arn to write well-structured user-level LaTeX?<br><br></div>2. Can well-str=
uctured markup be written in a GUI?<br>
<br></div>I believe the answer to the first is &quot;yes&quot;.=C2=A0 For o=
ne thing, I think the LaTeX being submitted to arXiv (<a href=3D"http://arx=
iv.org">arxiv.org</a>) is improving.=C2=A0 I commonly look at arXiv source =
and try to run it through tex4ht toward html+mathml with mathjax.=C2=A0 I s=
ee success there as a sign of well-structured LaTeX.=C2=A0 But I&#39;ve not=
 made a systematic investigation on this point.<br>
<br></div>I hope with user-level documents in LaTeX3 that on-target pertine=
nt markup diagnostics (without obscure package or engine diagnostics) will =
keep users honest.=C2=A0 Of course, in order to maintain service on old doc=
uments, this should only be the case for users who ask for it.<br>
<br></div><div>As to the second question, my opinion is that a user who und=
erstands well-structured markup might be able to generate it in a suitable =
GUI, but a user without such understanding will not be able to generate goo=
d markup.=C2=A0 For example, the naive user would be able to write somethin=
g that appears formatted as an enumerated list, but without invocation of a=
 list-making widget in the GUI, it won&#39;t be a list.<br>
<br>Personally, I expect that I would find using a GUI to be inefficient.<b=
r></div><div><br></div><div>=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 -- Bill<br><br></div><=
div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br>-- <br><div dir=3D"ltr">William F Hammond<br>=
Email: <a href=3D"mailto:gellmu@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">gellmu@gmail.c=
om</a><br>
<a href=3D"https://www.facebook.com/william.f.hammond" target=3D"_blank">ht=
tps://www.facebook.com/william.f.hammond</a><br><a href=3D"http://www.alban=
y.edu/~hammond/" target=3D"_blank">http://www.albany.edu/~hammond/</a><br><=
br></div>

</div></div>

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