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PostScript

2021-09-25

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When I compose mathematics articles for my capsule, I write a LaTeX document first, then I create the gemtext page by manually editing a copy of the LaTeX source. If the reader notices an errant dollar sign or backslash in the gemtext version of an article, it's because I missed it when editing the source.

Each article also has a link to a PostScript version, compiled from the LaTeX source. When I began posting mathematics articles, I knew I wanted to share a compiled version of each article, but I had to make a decision between compiling to PostScript or PDF.

In such a situation, most people choose PDF, for a variety of reasons. A wider array or programs can read them; they have searchable text and hyperlink support; they generally have smaller filesizes than Postscript; and they can carry files as attachments, or even be polyglots themselves.

My biggest reason for choosing PostScript is due to its file structure. PostScript is a pure page description language, and as such is comprised of plaintext source code. It can be transferred in either binary or ASCII mode, while PDF requires a binary transfer. This feels more in line with Gemini's plaintext spirit to me.

Another reason I like PostScript is its power. Like TeX, PostScript is a Turing-complete programming language; while its primary purpose is to handle page layouts for printers and other tools, it can realistically be used to produce any program. I find this a fascinating feature for a language that was originally built just to render documents.

PostScript is often converted to PDF, and many tools have been built to perform this conversion easily. PDF files are rarely recompiled into PostScript, however, so going the other way can be difficult. Since one conversion is easier than the other, it makes sense to me to provide the source for the easier direction--that way readers who prefer PDF can run a simple conversion to get their preferred format, and readers who prefer PostScript don't have to try to extract their preferred format from PDF.

If I receive requests to provide PDF copies of each article, I will probably start providing it alongside the PostScript. I've also thought about providing links directly to the source LaTeX and letting users compile it into whatever format they please. In the meantime, I feel gemtext provides a clear-enough plaintext resource.

At time of writing, I don't know if anyone actually reads my mathematics articles. I don't think my capsule gets enough traffic from interested parties. If I'm incorrect, and you enjoy reading my mathematical content, I'd love to hear about it. In the meantime, I'm going to keep producing it in the formats I like.

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[Last updated: 2021-10-28]