Re: [toolbox] LaTeXiT 1.2 beta

[Herbert S. <he...@wi...>]

On Jul 3, 2005, at 7:24 AM, Pierre Chatelier wrote:

>>>> - Since we're talking LaTeX, it would be better to write
>>>>    Display (\[...\])
>>>>   because $$...$$ is, to be strict, incorrect.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I guess this is a debatable problem. I did never use \[...\]  
>>> myself, since I find $$ more handy. But I am certainly not a  
>>> LaTeX expert. What does the majority of people expect here (this  
>>> is a question for the mailing list) ?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> To quote Lamport on this (L. Lamport, "LaTeX, a document  
>> preparation system (LaTeX2e edition), page 233): "Plain TeX's $$  
>> does not work properly; it has been replaced by the LaTeX commands  
>> \[ and \]."
>>
>> In short, $$ should not be used with LaTeX.
>>
> Ok, that makes sense. What about $ for inline mode ? Is there  
> another, better shortcut ? By the way, during the latexisation, I  
> do not even use \[ but $\displaystyle. Is it a potential problem ?
>

Howdy,

Many people still use $...$ for in-line maths but a ``more LaTeX  
way'' would be to use \(...\). Under normal circumstances they are  
equivalent but some packages may redefine \( and \) for their own  
purposes while $ (or something with the same catcode) is a TeX  
primitive.

I'm not sure there would any difference between $\displaystyle ...$  
(or the \(\displaystyle ... \)) and \[...\] besides some vertical  
spacing and centering. What happens if there is an array?

>
>>>>   But I think users tend to know enough of what's going on to be  
>>>> able to write   | Display | Inline | Text | in those buttons and  
>>>> put \[...\] , etc., in a tooltip.
>>>>
>>> Here I disagree a little. For people not familiar with LaTeX's  
>>> vocabulary, the use of the button becomes obvious. Here again,  
>>> what do people think about that ?
>>>
>> People not familiar with LaTeX's vocabulary will have some trouble  
>> using LaTeXiT anyway. I think the descriptive names (which can be  
>> localized) on the buttons are better, with the command displayed  
>> in the tooltip as a backup.
>>
> Finally, it's fair to say that it would be, visually, less heavy.
>
> Regards,
>
> Pierre
>

I agree that the description should be enough. A tooltip would be a  
nice addition. I'd also propose just using ``LaTeX'' rather than  
``LaTexise'' (British?) or ``LaTeXize'' (US?); solves the problem.  
Having the ``decimal point'' be the one used with the system  
localization would be nice too; luckily, most folks who use TeX seem  
to have been internationaliz(s)ed enough to understand either.

Good Luck,

Herb Schulz
(he...@wi...)