Marcel Oliver writes: > So would anybody be interested seriously set up a portable LaTeX > project? i, for one, could consider asking my management to allow me time to work on it. i would volunteer to work on the reference LaTeX-subset to *ML converter. > I think the frontmatter/bibliography stuff we have discussed enough, but we havent resolved it...:-} > For area 3, one would initially need at least one reference > implementation of a LaTeX to *ML converter were one must make sure > that it supports a complete portable LaTeX standard which allows > serious scientific publishing without unnecessary restrictions. (Would > the Elsevier converter come close to this description?) Moreover, a the Elsevier converter is slightly odd. I would suggest, rather, that a TeX4ht configuration to produce XML/MathML is more realistic, and portable. Eitan Gurari and I have done a lot of this already. > (TeX based) LaTeX package for verifying that the portability of a > LaTeX file. we tried that once here. one can go quite a long way, i think > - LaTeX is hackable. While this is certainly opposed to the goals of a .. > I believe a lot of resistance to a pure *ML solution comes from the > fear for loss of hackability. of course, i agree. its a real issue a cautionary tale: i am in the process of learning Java, and have great problems readjusting myself to a `real' language after the freedom of Perl. but i will persist, because I know my Perl programs are not going to stand the test of time. i feel the same about LaTeX - I can write fast in it, like it, get results with it, but I know its not good for me. so i must force myself to readjust. i'll do my hacking in a different part of the process > Do people feel that such an approach is useful and has a sufficient > chance of success? If so, would anybody actually do some work? I am i feel very strongly that your suggestions will get nowhere without a single leader, who can devote real time to it. i know i advocate Bazaarism, but in this case, it'll get nowhere without a coordinator. IMHO. Sebastian