From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Roodwriter@core.com" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Off-topic: Plain text, XML or LaTex? Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 17:03:59 -0400 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: References: <81u1ahq8ur.fsf@kwikemart.springfield.se> Reply-To: Roodwriter@core.com NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit X-Trace: main.gmane.org 1056402961 22756 80.91.224.249 (23 Jun 2003 21:16:01 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@main.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 21:16:01 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Mon Jun 23 23:15:59 2003 Return-path: Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 19UYfP-0005uS-00 for ; Mon, 23 Jun 2003 23:15:59 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.20) id 19UYX6-0002TS-Gl for gnu-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Mon, 23 Jun 2003 17:07:24 -0400 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!sn-xit-03!sn-xit-06!sn-post-01!supernews.com!corp.supernews.com!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help User-Agent: KNode/0.7.1 Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@supernews.com Original-Lines: 50 Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:114662 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1b5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Archive: List-Unsubscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:11155 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:11155 Mac wrote: > > I apologize for this off-topic posting. But I really like to know how > you fellow Emacsien feal about his. > > I like plain text, and have for a long time used outline-mode to write > both my own private notes as well as draft documents. I have also for > a long time been thinking about moving to LaTex so that I also can > produce my final documents in Emacs as well. > > Now I have an opportunity to move to XML instead. So I would > appreciate your thoughts about this. > > How can I get up-to speed with writing XML inside Emacs? Is it worth > it, or should I stick with plain-ol-text? Any pointers to tutorials, > books etc is appreciated. > > Perhaps you have a completely different setup that you are willing to > share with me? > > /mac > > One reason for liking plain text is it's portability (but so are eg > .pdf these days). Another is version control, I'm a heavy user of cvs > (pcl-cvs is *great*). I've never used XML but I have used LaTeX. I'm a big fan of it. I not only like its superior quality but the fact that the files are plain text. File formats come and go but from my experience, plain text is forever. LaTeX isn't for everyone, though. If what you're producing fits into the way it's set up, it'll be one of the easiest ways to go. If what you're producing doesn't fit in, you may be in for frustration. You can probably make it work but not without a lot of effort. Unless you like solving problems, or, like me, just fall in love with it. For more opinions you could also post the question to comp.text.tex. --Rod -- Author of "Linux for Non-Geeks--Clear-eyed Answers for Practical Consumers" and "Boring Stories from Uncle Rod." Both are available at http://www.rodwriterpublishing.com/index.html To reply by e-mail, take the extra "o" out of my e-mail address. It's to confuse spambots, of course.