Re: Re: Which editor do you use for math articles
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg95625] Re: [mg95605] Re: Which editor do you use for math articles
- From: Andrzej Kozlowski <akoz at mimuw.edu.pl>
- Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:06:16 -0500 (EST)
- References: <200901161109.GAA14132@smc.vnet.net> <gkscfe$eet$1@smc.vnet.net> <200901221203.HAA11350@smc.vnet.net>
On 22 Jan 2009, at 13:03, Mariano Su=E1rez-Alvarez wrote: > On Jan 21, 9:48 am, Andrzej Kozlowski <a... at mimuw.edu.pl> wrote: >> On 20 Jan 2009, at 11:45, Mariano Su=E1rez-Alvarez wrote: >> >> >> >>> On Jan 19, 6:00 am, Andrzej Kozlowski <a... at mimuw.edu.pl> wrote: >>>> On 18 Jan 2009, at 11:32, AES wrote: >> >>>>> [Unless your TeX input has some error, in which case the typeset >>>>> output >>>>> will only appear up a point where the error occurs; a description >>>>> and >>>>> explanation of the error will appear in a third "log window" -- = >>>>> an= > d >>>>> hitting some other key combo will take you back to the input >>>>> window >>>>> **with the cursor positioned at the point or line where the error >>>>> was >>>>> encountered".] >> >>>>> This has been the case for many years. >> >>>> Amazing. That means they must have produced a mind-reading >>>> version of >>>> TeX that I am not aware of. In all versions that I know (and I have >>>> been using TeX,LateX,Ams-Latex etc for decades) the cursor will >>>> appear not at the place where the error (for example a missing >>>> right >>>> brace })occurred but at the place where TeX first notices some >>>> inconsi= > stency >>>> with its syntax - which is almost never the place where the error >>>> actually occurred. At that point you have got to manually find the >>>> actual error, which can be far from simple. The only TeX >>>> implementation that I know that partly gets around this problem is >>>> the Mac TeX system Textures = (http://www.bluesky.com/products/products_= > frames. >>> html >>>> ), which continually typesets your output as you type (without the >>>> need to hit any keys), which usually will make you aware of an >>>> error >>>> as soon as it occurs rather than much later, when you try to >>>> typeset >>>> the you course code. Moreover, Textures has several other nice >>>> features that are implemented only imperfectly in other versions. = >>>> But >>>> there are major caveats - a Mac OS X version is still only in beta, >>>> years after Mac OS X occurred, and Textures costs hundreds of >>>> dollars. >> >>>> But, and here is something anyone considering TeX should carefully >>>> ponder upon. Before Mac OS X appeared, there were many persons >>>> (including myself) willing to pay hundreds of dollars for Textures >>>> and more for regular upgrades, in spite of the fact that lots of = >>>> free = > TeX >>>> implementations have always existed on the Mac (I myself now use = >>>> TeX >>>> Shop with Japanese PTex engine). This was because TeXtures avoids = >>>> the >>>> huge amount of hassle that installing and using TeX is for any >>>> beginner and even for an experienced user. Then Blue Sky, the >>>> company >>>> that makes Textures, failed to come up with a Mac OS X compatible >>>> version and most users reluctantly drifted away to other programs. >>>> But if you look mailing lists where TeX on Mac OS is discussed >>>> you wil= > l >>>> find that many are intending to return (even though it will cost = >>>> them >>>> money) as soon as a full featured version is again available. Which >>>> only proves that standard, free implementations of TeX are far form >>>> the sort of thing some make them out to be. I strongly recommend = >>>> you >>>> to try TeX, but I suspect you will be soon back to using >>>> Mathematica >>>> (if not Word). >> >>> Have you tried installing TeXLive? >> >>> -- m >> >> Yes. It certianly makes keeping up to date with various packages >> easier, but I don't think it addresses the issues I mentioned and >> does >> not have the features Textures offers (or used to). Among these were: >> >> 1. Continuously updated preview > > Urgh. Why would you want that? > > What's next, Clippy?!! :) > >> 2. "Traffic light" - an interactive device that keeps you informed >> while you are typing if your input is syntactically correct (so you >> can catch errors as they occur > > Any decent editor will have syntax highlghting, which is > good enough to catch commor errors. The uncommon ones (TeX > is essentially impossible to syntax check!) are uncommon ;-) > >> 3. Synchronicity. Command-click on any text in the preview and you = >> are >> taken to the corresponding point in your source code. Do the same to >> any word in the source code and you are taken to the right place in >> the preview. > > You can do this using xdvi and vim; I imagine emacs > does it also, but I do not speak emacs. Add > > xdvi.editor: gvim --servername xdvi --remote +%l %f > > to ~/.xdvirc, and compile using > > latex --src-specials=cr,display,hbox,math,par,hbox ... > > and start editing uxing > > gvim --servername xdvi myfile.tex > > or > > vimx --servername xdvi myfile.tex > > When you then ctrl-click on something in xdvi, vim jump > to the correct position in the source. > > On the other hand, add > > map <buffer> <silent> <F1> :call system("xdvi -sourceposition " . > string(line('.')) . expand("%:r"))<CR> > > (This should be in one line, I guess) to your ~/.vimrc; > then pressing F1 while editing a tex file will result in > xdvijumping to that position. > > I understand that you can do this also with PDF, assuming > your PDF previewer has the necessary support, but I have > never tried. > > > You should really consider Auctex. > > -- m > Hmm... I don't think you have won very many friends for TeX with this post (me, I have been using TeX for over 20 years, so I am kind of resigned to it...). In particular, I am sure AES must have loved it, particularly in view of his repeated complaints about how "arcane" Mathematica some commands are (compared to what?) Andrzej Kozlowski=
- References:
- Which editor do you use for math articles
- From: TL <latev@shaw.ca>
- Which editor do you use for math articles