TeXML

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 paper

at the 1999 annual meeting of the TeX Users Group.

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.

• 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.

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

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

<TeXML> <TeXML escape="0"> \documentclass[a4paper]{article} \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc} \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} </TeXML> <env name="document"> Misinterpretation of special characters as being functional characters is called "Escaping", thus: $, ^, > </env> </TeXML>

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

\documentclass[a4paper]{article} \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc} \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} \begin{document} Misinterpretation of special characters as being functional characters is called "Escaping", thus: \textdollar{}, \^{}, \textgreater{} \end{document}

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

• Frank Mittelbach The LaTeX Companion Archived 2004-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, Tools and techniques for computer typesetting
• Michel Goossens The XeTeX Companion, TeX meets OpenType and Unicode