A Text Processing Language Should be First a Programming Language
Luigi Semenzato, Edward Wang · 1991
Historically, typesetting languages have been designed for the entry of text. An embedded command language has since become important, indeed essential, but has remained a second-class citizen, sometimes masquerading as text, invariably clumsy and inadequate. We have designed a language that is a full-function programming language with embedded text. This shift in emphasis results in a level of consistency, flexibility, and power not otherwise possible. Introduction A batch-style computer typesetting system accepts text files as input, to produce formatted documents as output. Most such systems are extensible. They allow definitions of new document styles and commands. Some, like T E X, also allow the input syntax to be changed. To do all this, the format of the input must be a complex language. The design of this language affects the robustness, ease of use, and overall quality of the whole system. A document, therefore, is a mix of text and commands, some of which define new comman...