I wrote --
Dear Norman,
One problem that I see with the broad acceptance of literate programming within the general (non academic) software development community. Is the requirement to learn the LaTex language (we outsiders generally don't have to write papers), as well as the lack of a WYSIWYG editor.
I have noticed of late that there has been a large effort in the generation of a "free" LaTex editor namely LyX" (http:\\www.lyx.org).
I wonder if this tool could become an integrated WYSIWIG front end for noweb. The prime problem that I can see is the difference in processing models for the tools, namely, noweb uses a batch model with substantial translation (indexing & Xref) of the noweb source. An alternative might be to drop the concept of weave & use the LaTex source presented by LyX as the documentation & "tangle" from this code directly (ie. like WinWordWeb). With indexing & Xref support as extra "macro expansion" functions from within LyX (like MS Word's table of contents & index generation functions).
It is to be noted that I am not advocating the removal of LaTex as the formatting language (in fact I regard it as rather useful, since it is by design human readable & is not proprietary). Rather I propose that LaTex be hidden during the bulk of the source generation to allow the user to remain at a higher semantic level in a WYSIWIG environment & be able to view & manipulate the source in LaTex for detailed & special effects.
As you may have gathered I am new to the domain of noweb, LaTex & LyX, but intend to increase my expertise rapidly.
Thanks for your time.
Norman Ramsey ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) responded with --
> One problem that I see with the broad acceptance
of literate programming
> within the general (non academic) software development
community. Is
> the requirement to learn the LaTex language (we
outsiders generally
> don't have to write papers), as well as the lack
of a WYSIWYG editor.
Indeed. I myself dislike wsywig, but many people like it.
N.B. Noweb also supports documentation written in HTML or troff.
> I have noticed of late that there has been a large
effort in the
> generation of a "free" LaTex editor namely LyX"
(http:\\www.lyx.org).
>
> I wonder if this tool could become an integrated
WYSIWIG front end for
> noweb.
It's anybody's guess how you'd want to structure such
a thing.
If I were doing it I would build support for noweb chunks
into lyx.
Lyx does support batch-mode emission of latex, so batch-mode
emission
of noweb might not be a problem.
Of course, If you want to keep cross-reference info up
to date in real
time, that's another story. Does lyx have suitable
support?
In any case, I look forward to hearing more about your
efforts.
Norman
I am interested in pursuing an integration of Lyx & noweb, where I can see as an outcome, Lyx being used as a simple "Integrated Development Environment (IDE)" for Literate Programming.
What does the Lyx community think about this ? Is it worth while ? Is it technically feasible ?
My current problem is that I am new to Lyx, Latex & noweb, and would
appreciate any assistance, suggestions & recommended courses of action.
PS: In the Latex world, what do you normally use as a "diagram drawing tool".
--
Regards
Martin Kew
Vision Abell Pty Ltd
Second Avenue, Technology Park
Mawson Lakes SA 5095 Australia
Tel +61 8 8300 4544
Fax +61 8 8349 7420
email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.vsl.com.au
