Add Math Support/Abstract: Difference between revisions

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'''Look at the source, the wiki destroyed the ascii-art formating!'''
<pre>
 
Rationale
Rationale
---------
---------
I often wanted to have a tool that allows complicated layouts but still is easy to use. This is exactly what scribus does. However for scientific papers it lacks one main capability: Formulas. So I want to add these as my summer of code project. Interest in this improvement is expressed by many people in the bugtracker [1][2], by debian users [3] and it's also in the projects roadmap [4].
I often wanted to have a tool that allows complicated layouts but still
is easy to use. This is exactly what scribus does. However for scientific
papers it lacks one main capability: Formulas. So I want to add these
as my summer of code project. Interest in this improvement is expressed
by many people in the bugtracker [1][2], by debian users [3] and it's  
also in the projects roadmap [4].




Overview
Overview
--------
--------
The goal of this project is to add a easy to use math support to scribus. As the task of writing a complete math typesetter is too large for SOC a different approch is used. It is inspried by the Quark XPress(tm) plugin MATHSETTER [5]:
The goal of this project is to add a easy to use math support to scribus.
As the task of writing a complete math typesetter is too large for SOC a  
different approch is used. It is inspried by the Quark XPress(tm) plugin  
MATHSETTER [5]:


- Let the user enter LaTeX source either directly or more userfriendly via an graphical editor
o Let the user enter LaTeX source either directly or more userfriendly
- Apply a LaTeX template on this so the user only has to type the formula and not a whole TeX document.
  via an graphical editor
- Run LaTeX on this source.
o Apply a LaTeX template on this so the user only has to type the formula
- Display LaTeX's output in a frame while still keeping the (LaTeX-)forumla as a property so the whole things stays editable.
  and not a whole TeX document.
o Run LaTeX on this source.
o Display LaTeX's output in a frame while still keeping the  
  (LaTeX-)forumla as a property so the whole things stays editable.


Use cases  
Use cases  
Line 38: Line 48:
Deliverables
Deliverables
------------
------------
Math support, GUI editor, Python bindings
o Math support
o integrating an external GUI editor
o Python bindings
</pre>

Revision as of 23:01, 20 March 2007

Rationale
---------
I often wanted to have a tool that allows complicated layouts but still
is easy to use. This is exactly what scribus does. However for scientific
papers it lacks one main capability: Formulas. So I want to add these
as my summer of code project. Interest in this improvement is expressed
by many people in the bugtracker [1][2], by debian users [3] and it's 
also in the projects roadmap [4].


Overview
--------
The goal of this project is to add a easy to use math support to scribus.
As the task of writing a complete math typesetter is too large for SOC a 
different approch is used. It is inspried by the Quark XPress(tm) plugin 
MATHSETTER [5]:

o Let the user enter LaTeX source either directly or more userfriendly
  via an graphical editor
o Apply a LaTeX template on this so the user only has to type the formula
  and not a whole TeX document.
o Run LaTeX on this source.
o Display LaTeX's output in a frame while still keeping the 
  (LaTeX-)forumla as a property so the whole things stays editable.

Use cases 
---------

o Scientific posters 
  It is very hard (if not even impossible) to create good-looking posters
  with LaTeX but it's easy to add formulas to LaTeX documents. On the other
  hand it's very easy to create good posters with scribus but a complicated
  process is necessary to add just a single formula. The ability to use LaTeX 
  for typesetting the forumla and the post-processing it in scribus (easily
  possible, after all it's just a vector graphic from scribus' point of view)
  would greatly simplify this. 

o Math/Physics teachers 
  At school I've seen a lot of teachers that created their tests with Microsoft
  Word and relying on its forumla editor or even on basic text formatting
  (sub-/superscript) and adding any "complicated" math symbols (vectors,
  integrals, etc.) by hand in the printout. Obviously the full power of
  latex is something they are unwilling to learn (and it is probably not 
  required for them). So I belive they would be happy to have a WYSIWYG
  tool that supports embedded forumlas.

Deliverables
------------
o Math support
o integrating an external GUI editor
o Python bindings