>> tex4ht makes use of unicode letter when this is not needed. This happens when >> the latex code contains the sequence "ff" or "fi" and maybe other sequences. >> For >> example, here is a latex code and the html code generated by ht4tex and >> htlatex. Note how >> the sequence "fi" was translated to fi > >Could you please tell me why you think this is a bug? Please keep the >following in mind. > >1. TeX4HT tries as much as possible to be *like* TeX except that it > outputs hypertext. > >2. TeX uses ligatures whenever it encounters ff, fi, fl and so on. > >3. It *is* possible for you to define an alternate mechanism to avoid > ligatures---create your own htf files which skip the ligatures.
It is not me who originally sent the bug but I do agree that TeX4HT shouldn't put ligatures in its output. Main argument: ligatures are not appropriate for html and other outputs of TeX4HT by their nature. Ligatures were invented for better representing groups of letters on _paper_. TeX also uses kerning (adjusting spaces between letters) for such purpose, which TeX4HT omits in its output. Html document format is not designed to contain excessive formatting information: formatting decisions (breaking paragraphs into lines, often font choice) are left to the browser. Kerning and ligatures also fall into this category, since they are influenced by the choice of font. TeX4HT also puts ligatures in DocBook output. DocBook is designed for the structural content of a document, no formatting. Noone puts ligatures in a DocBook document manually. As to your 3 points above: To point 1: Since TeX4HT outputs hypertext, it should differ from TeX (which is designed for paper output) whenever the different nature of output justifies it. To point 2: Just what I have said above: the different kind of output justifies omitting ligatures for TeX4HT and the use of ligatures by TeX. If TeX4HT omits kerning but keeps ligatures, this requires further explanation. Gabor Braun -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
