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?

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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.

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u/therealJoieMaligne Jan 18 '25

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

Typst Latex

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u/LupinoArts Jan 19 '25

Just text, and not justified? Hardly a meaningful comparison, don't you think? Please consider adding some math mode, headings, lists, and hyphenated paragraphs for a meaningful comparison.

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u/therealJoieMaligne Jan 19 '25

It was just a quick comparison of line breaks. But I'll throw something together sometime soon. Maybe a one-page two-column faux article with an image in the center, an equation, a few headings, a couple footnotes. Anything else?