Re: Choosing TeX um ... stuff

[Paul Isambert <zappathustra@free.fr>]

Selon "Philip Taylor (Webmaster, Ret'd)" <P.Taylor@rhul.ac.uk>:

>
>
> Peter Davis wrote:
> >    2. True or False: plain TeX and LaTeX(2e) are warhorses ... been
> >       around for decades, quirks well known, lots of documentation, etc.
>
> Yes, except that while Plain TeX has more-or-less remained
> static (modulo essential bug fixes by Don), LaTeX2e has
> continued to evolve.  I have heard rumours that this particular
> evolutionary branch may have come to an end, but I have
> no definite knowledge of this.

And plain TeX doesn't have a lot of documentation. Anyway there isn't much to
document. Basically using plain TeX means you need a very good knowledge of the
engine, and you'll write tons of macros (in a way there are no plain TeX users,
only users of personal formats based on plain).

> >    3. True or False: ConTeXt is newer, with a lot of built-in features,
> >       but still changing quite a bit from build to build.
>
> Context is a L O T newer : it has many devotees, but is still
> something of an outside to mainstream TeX usage.

Philip, plain TeX isn't exactly mainstream anymore, and ConTeXt probably beats
it on this point. And ConTeXt is already more than 15 years old, so it's not so
new, although it does keep moving.

Paul