On 5/21/2014 8:16 AM, Philipp Gesang wrote:
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2213858&WT.mc_id=Author_Knuth_20Questions
Quote:
“The people at MSP wrote special software that converts my TeX
source text into suitable input to other software that
creates pdf files.”
I wonder why using a TeX engine capable of producing PDF output
directly wasn’t an option.
Don't overestimate the large publishers. They often have no clue what
interactive pdf is or what is needed to make it, and that it can be done
easily. Also, as they have no r&d, they seldom know that producing both
an advanced screen pdf and printable one from the same source without
adaption is an option. This apart from the fact that there is really
nothing new happening: it's just that we now have devices that run on
batteries longer (we made out first interactive docs 15-20 years ago and
there were simply no (cheap) devices then. But the techniques for
producing those docs (as well as the features) are mostly the same.
Things that are normal for us texies are alien for most publishers, also
because they outsource these things. They are not aware of tex (maybe
only know the name) and of what it can(not) do. A publisher who knows
how to apply tex and friends has definitely an advantage but that
demands a horizon different from stockholders.
In fact, awareness of pdf as option is (imo) mostly surfacing because
html viewers opened their eyes. We can produce highly interactive
documents but I still have to meet the first publishers who really wants
them (given that they see it as option). It is not uncommon for
publishers to waste many man years (hiring extra people) on getting
stuff on the web using the same sources that are used to get the paper:
paper becomes a side effect.
(This is also why I would not be surprised if within a decade those
publishers will disappear and be replaced by smaller ones and/or self
publishing, but that's another matter.)
Concerning DEK's books: given that the layout is kind of fixed (as Don
puts a lot of admirable effort in the whole look and feel) I assume
we're talking of interactive variants of the same layout. In that case
it's a matter of adapting macros (not too hard, would even be fun to do)
to get the interactivity in there. I'm pretty sure that Don knows well
what happens in tex community (including recent developments like
luatex) but that doesn't change the fact that in the end the publisher
rules.
Maybe these e-books have some banding (like printing the user's name
someplace) but that is also ancient trickery (which in my opinion is
also a bad thing: imagine your paper books or music you buy being
branded).
Hans
(I'm still waiting for 500+ dpi e-ink kind of devices as reading from a
too bright lcd screen is no real option for me yet, apart from a bit of
browsing.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE
Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands
tel: 038 477 53 69 | voip: 087 875 68 74 | www.pragma-ade.com
| www.pragma-pod.nl
-----------------------------------------------------------------
___________________________________________________________________________________
If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the
Wiki!
maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context
webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net
archive : http://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/
wiki : http://contextgarden.net
___________________________________________________________________________________
