Re: Layout program or markup language

["Michele Marques" <mmarques -at- cms400 -dot- com>]

"Micaela Kayser" <Mica -dot- Kayser -at- topcall -dot- co -dot- at> asks why technical writers 
seem to use "page layout" programs, such as PageMaker, rather 
than "mark-up" programs, such as TeX.

I think the question is a bit mis-placed, as TeX is a mark-up 
language to do page layout. TeX gives excellent control of layout for 
text and especially for equations. It is still used by academics in 
mathematics and finance.

Unless there have been good WYSIWIG tools developped for TeX, 
the problem for many people is that it is annoying to type and 
maintain mark-up codes. And because you can easily make errors, 
you then have to de-bug your TeX document in order to compile it 
and print. 

Many people find WYSIWIG programs (e.g, Word, WordPerfect, 
PageMaker, FrameMaker, Ventura) easier to work with because 
they see more immediately the effects of their mark-up and 
because the computer will prevent them from making some sorts of 
careless mistakes (e.g., forgetting end tags, mis-typing mark-up 
codes, etc.). 

Much of the discussion you've seen in response to your question 
has been about which of these programs to use. Some programs 
are better suited to giving you tighter control over layout on a page, 
some are better for providing consistent layout over long 
documents, etc. 



-------------------------------------------------------
Michele Marques
Lead Technical Communicator, CMS Manufacturing Systems
mmarques -at- cms400 -dot- com        
905-477-4499 x280