On this note, add my pipe. If the speed with which LaTeX could operate were such that output could be produced and displayed within the timeframe of a human keystroke (for fun, lets say you're a really good 150 wpm typist), how would this differ from WYSIWYG?
LyX is not WYSIWYG, unless your display side is tantamount to a LaTeX processor, and if that is the case, why not just save the produced image, instead of running LaTeX again to produce a file? LyX/LaTeX are not WYSIWYM because it makes decisions about where I want text and graphics to be. Well, let me put this claim under suspension, while I test the various alternative *frame* mechanisms that have been suggested by others. I think the product is both, and yet lacking in some very interesting ways, this view subject to my lack of detailed knowledge of La/TeX. What I find missing is knobs. I guess I have to get used to working without knobs. Ventura Publisher has lots of knobs to its user interface, really powerful knobs. One point of decorum, please, do not confuse Ventura Publisher with the limitations associated with brochures and pamphlets. VP is first and foremost intended for the production of large volumes, including multi-volume books. It is a dream tool for those who edit and publish collections of essays. To boot, it will handle a publication of many thousands of pages, all while allowing you to adjust the position of a period at the end of a particular sentence. It you want, it will layout the text for you. If you want, it will let you layout the text with the finest degree of control. That choice is yours. LyX clearly eases the burden of writing the *assembly language of words* and that is a godsend to me. I think that LyX can be every bit as WYSIWYG as Ventura Publisher, without sacrificing the WYSIWYM ethos of La/TeX. Perhaps I express naïveté but, why does every .lyx document contain only one LaTeX file? Would it not make sense for *box* and its kind to contain separately TeXable source? LyX could then at a higher level piece a document together, page by page, outputting the image to a PDF, or what have you? wrb > -----Original Message----- > From: Steve Litt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 8:43 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: WRB - Installing LyX > > On Wednesday 26 March 2008 05:22, Eric S Fraga wrote: > > At Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:33:22 -0700 (PDT), > > > > Rich Shepard wrote: > > > On Fri, 21 Mar 2008, Andre Poenitz wrote: > > > > WYSIWYG promise? > > > > > > Andre', > > > > > > I hope not!! That's why there's AbiWord and OO.o. > > > > Exactly! I sure don't want wysiwyg which, in my view, is > for people > > who want a glorified typewriter. I want a typesetter that > knows more > > than I do about how to prepare documents that look good! > And LaTeX or > > LyX are perfect for that! > > Oh oh, here it goes again :-) > > In my opinion, LyX *is* WYSIWYG to a significant degree. LyX > content in LyX looks very much like its PDF output. > Typefaces, sizes, weights, slants, margins all look similar > to the eventual output. > > For something that really, truly isn't WYSIWYG, look at old > WordPerfect 5.1. > Everything's one size monofont in WordPerfect 5.1, but the > printed page has typefaces, slants, weights, sizes and the > like. WordPerfect 5.1 didn't even show graphics -- it just > had a 1 character white block to represent the graphic. Now > THAT was non-WYSIWYG. > > I've never understood the "WYSIWYM" and "we are not WYSIWYG" > marketing of LyX. > Why can't just say things like the following: > > * Our output looks much better > * Our output follows true typographic convention by default > * Our page numbers are always accurate > * Our two column stuff comes out right > * Our chapters begin on the correct page > * Our figures are placed in pleasing places by default > * Our program is much more stable than most word processors > * Our native format is easy to parse text > * Our user interface is fast for the touch typist > > I think the "we're not WYSIWYG" and "WYSIWYM" slogans are > confusing to prospective and new LyX users, and really don't > make much sense. > > SteveT > > Steve Litt > Books written in LyX: > Troubleshooting Techniques of the Successful Technologist > Twenty Eight Tales of Troubleshooting > Troubleshooting: Just the Facts > >
