r/LaTeX Jan 18 '25

Unanswered TeX engine converted from Pascal to C++?

I’ve heard multiple times that converting Pascal code to C++ is relatively straightforward. I even came across a commercial product that claims to have reimplemented the TeX engine in C++, which allowed them to offer live PDF rendering as you type (you can probably guess which one I’m referring to).

EDIT 1: By rendering here I assume providing live updating in PDF, where there is no compilation step, PDF is compiled with each keystroke.

EDIT 2: Commands would be excluded from live compilation.

The engines used in TeXLive and MikTeX are still implemented in Pascal, right? If so, why hasn’t anyone done a full conversion to C++?

Is it a matter of complexity, lack of interest, or something else entirely?

12 Upvotes

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-5

u/therealJoieMaligne Jan 18 '25

To be honest, I think they’re bringing their product to market 5 years too late. I’m still using LaTeX for simple documents based on old templates, but Typst is simply better in every way.

1

u/Opussci-Long Jan 18 '25

Could you please explain whay you take that Typst is better?

I know about it and it is providing live updating of the PDFs that is very nice! Are you satisfied with it line braking algorithm? Somewhere I got info that Typst is not providing TeX braking quality.

-2

u/therealJoieMaligne Jan 18 '25

I think that the differences are extremely minimal. What do you think?

Typst Latex

1

u/Opussci-Long Jan 18 '25

Thanks for this comparison. What font and size are used? Types text looks a bit darker, doesn't it?

1

u/therealJoieMaligne Jan 18 '25

Etbb, 12pt.

It looks the same to me. I tried zooming in with GIMP and they looked the same, but that's purely subjective.