On 5/22/07, Armin Ronacher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >  >
> >  > * reST markup isn't much simpler than LaTeX.
> >
> > * reST doesn't support nested markup, which is used in the current
> >   documentation.
>
> For a lightweight markup language that is human readable (which rst certainly
> is) the syntax is surprisingly powerful. You can nest any block tag and I'm 
> not
> sure how often you have to nest roles and stuff like that. The goal of the new
> docs is a less complex syntax and currently nothing beats reStructuredText in
> terms of readability and possibilities.

About possibilities: I'm sorry but that is simply not true.  LaTeX
provides the full power of macro expansion, while ReST is a fixed
(almost, roles are an exception) syntax which has its own set of
problems and ambiguities.  It is far from perfect, and definitely does
not have the flexibility that LaTeX provides.  Some of the syntax
cannot be nested (try to combine ** with literals).


> rst is simpler than latex:

That, and the ability to already parse it from Python and more easily
convert to other formats (one of LaTeX's weaknesses), are the only
benefits that I can see to switching away from LaTeX.  I have to admit
I'm afraid we would be moving to a lesser technology, and the driver
for that seems to be people's reluctance to work with the more
powerful, more complex tool.  Not saying it is invalid (it's about
people, in the end), but I still don't see what's the big problem with
LaTeX.
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