Some TeX Developments

Stefan Löffler has recently posted to the TeXworks mailing list that he’s sorted out a patch to integrate Lua into TeXworks. Many people will be aware that Lua is very much the scripting language of the moment in the TeX world, because of the LuaTeX project. So it makes sense to consider it as a method for scripting TeXworks. The idea has always been that TeXworks will have a simple interface but powerful features available to those who want them. So adding scripting is a vital step forward. With a light-weight scripting system available, power users can code their own features into TeXworks while leaving the basics accessible to everyone.

That doesn’t mean that Lua has to be the (only) language available: Jonathan Kew (TeXworks lead developer) has suggested QtScript (which is JavaScript-like) as a possibility. TeXworks is built using Qt, so there is a definite logic here. As Jonathan himself points out, actually having a patch available certainly means that Lua is likely to be integrated!

Over the week-end, the copy of Programming in Lua that I’d ordered arrived at the bookshop. So I’ve been able to make at least a small start on the book, and get some of the ideas into my head. Having looked at the first 40 or so pages, I can see why Lua has been chosen for integration with TeX as LuaTeX. Some TeX concepts are also Lua concepts (such as the scope of variables and the ability to re-define anything), and so the fit between the two languages looks good. How that translates in practice I’ll have to see.

What I have found to date is that you really don’t want to be a beginner if you pick up Programming in Lua. The book starts with a lot of pretty complicated programming ideas, and without some background I’d be in trouble. Luckily I’ve picked up bits and pieces over the years (from Basic, C and Perl, amongst other things), and so I’m not totally lost. But for a book aimed at people starting off with the language, it is tough going.

The arrival of the book happily coincides with the release of LuaTeX 0.36.0, as announced on the LuaTeX mailing list. There are a number of changes aimed at making more changes in the future, but at least I can now begin to understand what some of them mean!