[H-GEN] Text Processor Tool

[Greg Black]

On 2004-07-31, James Mills wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 31, 2004 at 10:19:03AM +1000, Greg Black wrote:
>>> Has anyone come across an application with any or similar features to
>>> the following:
>>> 
>>> * XML based source files
>>> * Document classes (Article, Book, CV, etc... similar to LyX)
>>> * Tree-Like editing (open/close 'ing of edited sections) much the same
>>>   way as the Debian package 'woody'.
>>> * Export to: HTML, PDF, PostScript, DVI ...
>>> * vi-like key bindings or something configurable or easy to use
>>> -> * NCurses-based or Terminal-based app
>> 
>> OpenOffice does all this except for the final item.
> 
> *nods* I haved in the past used various Text Editors, Word Processing
> (yes including Microsoft Office), however the best and most productive
> that I have found to use is in fact LyX a LaTeX front-end. LyX is a
> marvelous tool for producing professional documents which is what I do
> some of the time doing Software Engineering at uni.

If you're happy with LyX, why not just continue using it?  Or
has something changed that makes you need something with extra
capabilities?

> I therefore use a 17" LCD because of the cystal clear display it can
> provide vs. a CRT monitor of the same size or larger. My LCD though
> these days I have found is not quite big enough, so one day I may be
> looking at Apple's new 23", 25" and 30" LCDs!
> 
> I do use Larger Fonts on my Terminals, and I do use X-Windows, so
> obviously I am using a GUI of some sort (Window Maker). I guess the main
> problem with a lot of GUI's is the Font, and in some applications I have
> found you can't change the Font Face or even Size! :( X-Chat which I use
> regularly though does allow you to change both the Face and Size of the
> font.

You can certainly change the font face and size through a wide
range in OpenOffice.

> But, I find myself using more and more, text or terminal based
> application for several reaons: The font is easier to read (and I use an
> x-term with the fonts fairly large but not too large so I still can read
> a fair bit on my 17" LCD), I have learnt how to use powerfull tools like
> abook, mutt, vim, hnb, Python, Bash to my advantage that a mouse+gui
> based environment can't always offer. I use the keyboard more than I do
> the mouse.

OK, I happen to have a 17" LCD screen on my desk; mine runs at
1280x1024 -- is that what you're using?  If so, can you tell me
what font you use in your xterms so that I can gauge what you're
looking for?

> The note about Large Fonts but not too large, is one of the biggest
> problems I face. If you make the Font too large, you can't see as much
> of what you're trying to do on the screen. You'd need a bigger screen.
> If you make them too small, you can't read them and have to use a
> software magnifier or handl-held pysical one...

This is a general problem, whether or not you have a vision
problem.  A few minutes of web browsing is enough to make me
want to go on a killing spree when I am confronted with web
pages created by idiots who think they know what size screen I'm
using and who know better then me what size and style of font I
should be using.

> I already mentioned why I don't use OpenOffice as my word processing
> tool. Just for the shear fact that there's too many menu's and buttons
> makes it hard.... LyX vs. OpenOffice, LyX is easier to use and is more
> productive for me.

I've never used LyX -- it was too broken last time I checked and
I never went back to it.  But I use TeX for all my documentation
(at least when I care about its appearance); and I also use OO,
because I have relatives and customers who use it and I need to
know how to drive it so I can be their help desk.  I happen not
to like the "word processor" approach, as used in Word and OO;
but I must say that I find it easy enough to use them, and I
know that it's possible to ignore the mouse and menus and that
stuff most of the time -- there are key strokes that do pretty
much everything just as well.  But, since I don't see the world
the same way as you do, it's possible that what I think of as
easy may not be so for you.

> In any case, I may have to write my own word/text processing tool which
> includes the features that I mentioned above :) Perhaps in Python, I
> just lerant that 3 days ago :)

I'd strongly suggest trying out as much as you can from what's
already available first -- while it would be possible to write
your own in Python (or a hundred other languages), it's a
non-trivial undertaking unless you really have time on your
hands.  (This is spoken as somebody who thinks that the best way
to learn a new language is to reimplement the Unix ed program as
the first real exercise.)

Cheers, Greg