TeXML explained

TeXML
Developer:	Oleg A. Paraschenko
Operating System:	Cross-platform
Genre:	Typesetting
Latest Release Version:	December 2010
Programming Language:	Python
License:	MIT/X Consortium license
Website:	http://www.getfo.org/

TeXML [tɛχːml] is – as a process – a TeX-based alternative to XSL-FO.

TeXML has been developed as an open-source project with the aim to automatically present XML data as PDF with sophisticated layout properties.

By means of an auxiliary structure definition, TeXML overcomes the syntax-based differences between TeX and XML.

Technically, the markup elements of TeX are described by using the XML syntax.

History

TeXML is a further development of a specification originally defined by Douglas Lovell at IBM, where Structure and Transformation have to be distinguished.

• Structure

The XML definition of the TeXML structure can be considered as being completed since 1999 (TeXML.dtd).

It represents the markup link between TeX and XML.

• Transformation

The transformation processes run smoothly since the end of 2010, a productive application of the technology is possible.

The original approach of using a Java application was published by IBM at IBM alphaWorks, but is no longer present. It was presented in a paperat the 1999 annual meeting of the TeX Users Group.^[1]

Application

TeXML is used to generate Technical Documentation from XML data.

After the transformation TeXML → TeX, the entire LaTeX-defined range of TeX macros is available.

By means of using TeX macros, it is possible to publish XML data having configurable layout options.

Specials

• TeXML allows automatic publication of XML data by means of a typesetting engine, which was originally designed for manual typesetting.
• In contrast to publication using the XSL-FO technique layout properties of XML data can be manipulated by using exception rules in the intermediate code.
• Exception rules are learned by the publication process, the layout properties are thus enhanced with each generation cycle.
• High-speed publishing processes, an increase in speed of up to 100 times compared to XSL-FO based processes, especially in the case of large documents.

TeXML structure

The Document Type Definition (DTD) of the TeXML structure consists of the XML elements:

• Root element: TeXML
• Encoding commands: cmd
• Encoding environments: env
• Encoding groups: group
• Encoding math groups: math and dmath
• Encoding control symbols: ctrl
• Encoding special symbols: spec
• PDF literals: pdf

Composition of a TeXML document

An example of an XML document, which has already been transformed into the TeXML structure:

\documentclass[a4paper]\usepackage[latin1]\usepackage[T1]Misinterpretation of special characters as being functional characters is called "Escaping", thus: $, ^, >

TeXML process

The TeXML process transforms XML data which are described in the auxiliary intermediate TeXML structure to TeX:

\documentclass[a4paper]\usepackage[latin1]\usepackage[T1]\beginMisinterpretation of special characters as being functional characters is called "Escaping", thus: \textdollar, \^,\textgreater\end

Supporting processes

Works on the "Data Collection Level" (XML) and on the "Publication Level" (TeX) are supported by different tools, for example:

• Data Collection Level: XML editors

– Eclipse (IDE), open source

– other free XML editors

• Publication Level: synchronization between code and generated PDF by means of pdfSync:

– Windows PC: editor MiKTeX

– Mac OS X: editor TeXShop

Literature

• Frank Mittelbach The LaTeX Companion – Tools and techniques for computer typesetting
• Michel Goossens The XeTeX Companion – TeX meets OpenType and Unicode

External links

• SGML/XML and (La)TeX – Approaches to transform XML to TeX
• TeXML: an XML syntax for TeX – TeXML project (Download)
• How to embed pdfsync into pdftex – Synchronization between Code and PDF
• TeXML: Typesetting XML with TEX – Original concept of the TeXML project
• Resurrecting TEX in the XML world - 2007 TUGboat article by Oleg Parashchenko re-motivates TeXML
• Generate TEX documents using pdfscript - 2010 TUGboat article by Oleg Parashchenko describes Python implementation

1. http://www.tug.org/tug99/bulletin/preprintmap/node1.html