diff options
author | Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> | 2020-01-13 21:30:36 +0000 |
---|---|---|
committer | Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> | 2020-01-13 21:30:36 +0000 |
commit | ce9eb3564e7376e4452732aef5229a8461f52a09 (patch) | |
tree | 421c616b3d0f26ddc6e20e28345c9bd680028708 /Master/texmf-dist/doc/latex/l3kernel/l3news06.tex | |
parent | a61c6cf82707ad0e3aab14106179ce8d199284ce (diff) |
l3 (13jan20)
git-svn-id: svn://tug.org/texlive/trunk@53394 c570f23f-e606-0410-a88d-b1316a301751
Diffstat (limited to 'Master/texmf-dist/doc/latex/l3kernel/l3news06.tex')
-rw-r--r-- | Master/texmf-dist/doc/latex/l3kernel/l3news06.tex | 141 |
1 files changed, 141 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Master/texmf-dist/doc/latex/l3kernel/l3news06.tex b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/latex/l3kernel/l3news06.tex new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..50484e6142d --- /dev/null +++ b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/latex/l3kernel/l3news06.tex @@ -0,0 +1,141 @@ +% Copyright 2011 The LaTeX Project +\documentclass{ltnews} +\PassOptionsToPackage{colorlinks}{hyperref} + +\usepackage{metalogo,ragged2e} + +\AtBeginDocument{ + \renewcommand{\LaTeXNews}{\LaTeX3~News} + \RaggedRight +} + +\usepackage{hologo} + +\publicationmonth{June} +\publicationyear{2011} +\publicationissue{6} + +\begin{document} +\maketitle + +\noindent +A key aim of releasing `stable' \LaTeX3 material to CTAN is to allow users to +benefit from new ideas \emph{now}, and also to raise the profile of usable +\LaTeX3 ideas. This is clearly being successful, with \pkg{xparse} being of +particular utility to end users. This increase in interest has been +particularly notable on the new +\href{http://tex.stackexchange.com/}{TeX.SX Q\&A site}. + +\section{The \LaTeX3 Team expands} + +Raising interest in \LaTeX3 developments has inevitably led to feedback on +cases where the code base has required attention. It has also attracted new +programmers to using \LaTeX3 ideas, some more than others! Bruno Le Floch has +over the past few months made many useful contributions to \LaTeX3, and we are +very pleased that he has recently joined the \LaTeX3 Project. + +Bruno has taken a particular interest in improving the performance and +reliability of the \pkg{expl3} language. This has already resulted in new +implementations for the \texttt{prop} and \texttt{seq} data types. At the same +time, he has identified and fixed several edge-case issues in core \pkg{expl3} +macros. + +\section{The `Big Bang'} + +In parallel to Bruno's improvements, Joseph Wright initiated a series of `Big +Bang' improvements to \LaTeX3. The aim of the Big Bang was to address a number +of long-standing issues with the \LaTeX3 code base. Development has taken place +over many years, with the status of some of the resulting code being less +than clear, even to members of The \LaTeX3 Project! At the same time, different +conventions had been applied to different parts of the code, which made reading +some of the code rather `interesting'. A key part of the Big Bang has been to +address these issues, cleaning up the existing code and ensuring that the +status of each part is clear. + +The arrangement of \LaTeX3 code is now the same in the development +repository and on CTAN, and splits the code into three parts. +\begin{description} + \item[\pkg{l3kernel}] The core of \LaTeX3, code which + is expected to be used in a \LaTeX3 kernel in more or less the + current form. Currently, this part is made up of the \LaTeX3 + programming layer, \pkg{expl3}. + \item[\pkg{l3packages}] \LaTeXe{} packages making use of \LaTeX3 + concepts and with stable interfaces. The \pkg{xparse} and + \pkg{xtemplate} packages are the core of this area. While many of + the \emph{ideas} explored here may eventually appear in a \LaTeX3 + kernel, the interfaces here are tied to \LaTeXe{}. + \item[\pkg{l3experimental}] \LaTeXe{} packages which explore more + experimental \LaTeX3 ideas, and which may see interface changes as + development continues. Over time, we expect code to move from this area + to either \pkg{l3kernel} or \pkg{l3packages}, as appropriate. +\end{description} + +In addition to these release areas, the development code also features a +\pkg{l3trial} section for exploring code ideas. Code in \pkg{l3trial} may be +used to improve or replace other parts of \LaTeX3, or may simply be dropped! + +As well as these improvements to the \emph{code} used in \LaTeX3, much of the +documentation for \pkg{expl3} has been made more precise as part of the Big +Bang. This means that \texttt{source3.pdf} is now rather longer than it was +previously, but also should mean that many of the inaccuracies in earlier +versions have been removed. Of course, we are very pleased to receive +suggestions for further improvement. + +\section{\LaTeX3 on GitHub} + +The core development repository for \LaTeX3 is held in an SVN repository, which +is \href{http://www.latex-project.org/code.html}{publicly viewable \emph{via} +the Project website}. However, this interface misses out on some of the `bells +and whistles' of newer code-hosting sites such as +\href{http://gitbug.com/}{GitHub} and \href{http://bitbucket.org/}{BitBucket}. +We have therefore established a mirror of the master repository on GitHub% +\footnote{\url{http://github.com/latex3/svn-mirror}}. This is kept in +synchronisation with the main SVN repository by Will Robertson (or at least +by his laptop!). + +The GitHub mirror offers several useful features for people who wish to +follow the \LaTeX3 code changes. GitHub offers facilities such as highlighted +differences and notification of changes. It also makes it possible for +non-Team members to submit patches for \LaTeX3 as `pull requests' on +GitHub. + +As well as offering a convenient interface to the \LaTeX3 code, the GitHub +site also includes an issue database\footnote{% +\url{http://github.com/latex3/svn-mirror/issues}}. Given the very +active nature of \LaTeX3 development, and the transitory nature of many +of the issues, this provides a better approach to tracking issues than +the main \LaTeX{} bug database\footnote{\url{http://www.latex-project.org/bugs.html}}. +Developers and users are +therefore asked to report any issues with \LaTeX3 code \emph{via} the GitHub +database, rather than on the main Project homepage. +Discussion on the \href{http://www.latex-project.org/code.html}{\mbox{LaTeX-L} mailing list} +is also encouraged. + +\section{Next steps} + +The `Big Bang' involves making a number of changes to \pkg{expl3} function +names, and is likely to break at least some third-party code. As a result, +the updates will not appear on the \TeX{} Live 2011 DVD release, but will +instead be added to \TeX{} Live once regular updates restart (probably +August). + +Bruno is working on a significant overhaul of the \pkg{l3fp} floating-point +unit for \LaTeX3. He has developed an approach which allows expandable +parsing of floating-point expressions, which will eventually allow syntax +such as +\begin{verbatim} + \fp_parse:n { 3 * 4 ( ln(5) + 1 ) } +\end{verbatim} +This will result in some changes in the interface for floating-point numbers, but +we feel that the long-term benefit is worth a small amount of recoding in other +areas. + +Joseph has completed documentation of the \pkg{xgalley} module, and this is +currently being discussed. Joseph is hoping to move on to implement other +more visible ideas based on the \pkg{xtemplate} concept over the next few +months. + +\end{document} + + + |