Re: [AUCTeX] ConTeXt MkIV Support

[Tobias Berndt]

Hello Arash,

>It seems that there is some support for scite:

>    https://github.com/contextgarden/context-mirror/tree/beta/context/data

>There is also some support for TeXworks.

Yes, I know that. And since Scite is recommended by ConTeXt developers on their 
page, there're people using it for coding ConTeXt. BUT Emacs (+ AucTeX) has 
been becoming the standard for working with tex-files for years. I wouldn't 
change to any other editor ... and one reason to prefer Scite to Emacs editing 
ConTeXt might be the missing Emacs support for ConTeXt MkIV?

>I have no idea about ConTeXt community, but do you think it is big enough and 
>the demand for Emacs support is large >enough to financially support somebody 
>to write that support?  Of course, that someone is to be found (and will not 
>be >me).

Tough! I personally think since Emacs/AucTeX is the state of the art-tool for 
editing TeX, you shouldn't refuse support for such an important TeX development 
like ConTeXt---it's true: it isn't the most popular TeX, but it might be the 
best. Missing popularity is reasonable, because there are no efforts at all 
coming from ConTeXt group to make the system more popular, so, there are not a 
huge community, and to learn some TeX structure again to use ConTeXt deters 
LaTeX users from switching to ConTeXT.

Is there already a relevant community, big enough and hence worth to spent 
money developing an AucTeX support for ConTeXt MkIV? I wished I could simple 
say YES, go for it! But, I do not know? I can say, community is growing on a 
smooth level. In my opinion there'll be this future: If ConTeXt will be better 
known, LaTeX will become a TeX for private users and ConTeXt will be become the 
TeX for professional usage (universities, scientific corporates, publishing 
firms, technical editing offices and so on.

Will ConTeXt better known in future? Who knows? Since I published already a 
book about LaTeX by Addison-Wesley, maybe I'll write that big ConTeXt book, 
closing the documentation gap and everyone switches? Maybe one big publisher 
discovers ConTeXt and its advantages to LaTeX and writes an article about it in 
the New York Times and it gets popular this way? This way or another, ConTeXt 
will increasingly assert itself in the future, I think. But, it could also be 
that ConTeXt go on sleeping his long sleep and never will wake up ...

Look at me: My company have been using LaTeX for documentation purposes for 
more than eight years. But we almost stopped using TeX because XeTeX did not 
meet expectations of a modern editorial environment anymore. Then ConTeXt came 
along! Would have you asked me before about ConTeXt ... :)= ... but now!

Will there be a huge community for ConTeXt one day? I don't know? Should AucTeX 
support ConTeXt MkIV in near future? Definitively yes!


BEST, tobber




Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Tobias Berndt
Technischer Redakteur

baramundi software AG
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