Re: Preaching DSSSL (Re: using LOUT)

[Pierpaolo Bernardi]

> Could you please describe to a clueless newbie how Lout will fix the
> problems of LaTeX? Is that just a faith that LaTeX is bad and Lout is
> good or is it the experience of people who use Lout that it is less
> prone to mysterious behaviours.

It is the experience of people who use Lout that it is not prone to
mysterious behaviours.  At least that's my experience.

I am a newcomer to Lout myself, but it doesn't take very long to
realize how much superior it is to {La}TeX.  Just browse through, say,
Leslie Lamport's latex book, and the Lout manuals.  The first book is
full of exceptions, don't dos, and chicken wavings.

The main difference is that TeX has macros _only_.  Lout has functions
with proper lexical scoping, in addition to macros.  I think there's
no need to remind to a fellow lisper, the importance of proper
functions.  8-)

Pierpaolo Bernardi.