El 17/04/2012 03:39 a.m., Andrew Parsloe escribió:
On 17/04/2012 8:43 p.m., PhilipPirrip wrote:
Excuse me for not trying what you've done, but I have to ask first: why
do you think this is better than using Mendeley, for instance, or some
other bibliography management software?
Tha answer to this is easy, because LyX can actually do it, is just a
matter of correct implementation. Secondly, why should I move out of LyX
to edit my Bib files? Is not LyX a full text editor? Right now it
isn't, because of some deficiencies like this that can be solved.
I don't (not that I've ever tried any bibliography manager) but it is
better than editing a bibliography in a text editor, which is what I
used before. So why don't I get Mendeley (or whatever)? There are many
answers to that: life is short and there are lots of things I want to
learn other than new software; I already know how to use LyX, I don't
know how to use Mendeley; my needs in this area are likely to be
sporadic at most -- plenty of time between uses to forget how to use
unfamiliar software.
I'm fully agree with you
The same kind of issue arose last year in relation to spreadsheet
capabilities for LyX. I've spent considerable effort getting the LaTeX
spreadtab package to work harmoniously with LyX. It means now that on
those sporadic occasions when I have columns of figures to add up (for
the accountant for instance), I can stay with familiar software -- LyX
-- to do something that simply doesn't require the heavy machinery of
Gnumeric, and trying to remember how to use it. (The struggle -- even
anguish? -- of the LyX developers getting to grips with git has been
fascinating to observe.)
Once one has moved out of the professional or academic environment,
the need for professional software in many secondary fields
evaporates. All one needs is something with which one is familiar and
that will do an adequate job on those sporadic occasions when it is
called for.
And this is the reason why most scientist, authors and redactors want
something like LyX, because it allows you to focus in content and not in
the edition. The same applies for most softwares.
A bit of a rant, I know, but it touches a sensitive spot with me (but
thanks for the question).
Andrew
