Summary

Many TeX users need more and better TeX tools that run in a web browser. And a better social network of TeX users. And a way for experts to share their experience and knowledge with beginners. This post shows what can be done now to move us forward.

Beginner's TeX Hour tonight

There's a Beginner's TeX hour tonight (Thursday 4 March) 6:30 to 7:30pm UK time. It's a chance to discuss this post, and to make your own suggestions. The zoom link is on the contacts page.

Why new tools?

A TeX beginner today might have nothing but a task to do, a willingness to learn, and a web browser. Much can be done without owning a PC, let alone installing software on it. The success of Overleaf is proves that.

The web allows sharing and social relations to develop. Human beings are social animals. There's more to social media than Facebook and TikTok. However, most of the older TeX tools require installation before use.

Software can be installed on a browser just by putting some Javascript in a web page. There it runs in a sandboxed environment, and at the same time is connected to the internet. Javascript today, along with HTML5, is a very capable platform.

Isn't it time to develop more and better tools for TeX that run in the web browser, the most popular platform of our time?

What tools?

I'm developing an online platform LatexTutor that allows beginners to do basic LaTeX math exercises, and experts to create and publish such exercise. This will be several weeks work. More on this below.

A LaTeX checker and explainer is something I'd like to see. It would have a text area for input, and an output area for reporting on the input.

The checker could check that all the braces and environments match. It could report on unknown commands. It could identify the math in the input, and display it using MathJax. It could provide some assurance that the input will convert well to XML / HTML.

The foundation for such tools would have two components:

1. A lexer that breaks the input into token.
2. A parser that builds an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST).

Such a foundation might already exist in the open source site LaTeX.js. It shows how powerful Javascript is in the LaTeX context. Please take a look at LaTeX.js.

This morning I created a new social media platform. It only took a few minutes, because really it's just a subset of the GitHub platform. So far it's only features are

1. Anyone with a GitHub account can join.
2. It publishes a list of members.

Here's how it works. You go to the social-tex hub and click on the Fork button at the top right on the page. And here's the list of social-tex members. Please join to show your support.

Introducing LaTeX Tutor

Last year I introduced a LaTeX Typing Tutor. It provides simple exercises for learning LaTeX mathematics, and it provides instant preview with every keystroke. Please take a look at the LaTeX Typing Tutor.

It takes a while for your hands and fingers to learn how to type LaTeX math easily, quickly and accurately. Of course, even slow typing of LaTeX is much better than point and click with a mouse.

A typing tutor needs lots of exercises. The same goes for a math typing tutor. Where will they come from? Here's my idea. Have the LatexTutor find them in the social-tex web.

How it works (technically)?

The LatexTutor app can use the Github Application Programming Interface (API) to get a list of social-tex members. Again using the Github API, it can find and get social-tex files that contain LaTeX math exercises.

Here's the contents of such a file

latextutor:List SingleLineMath
2 + 2 = 4
\frac{1}{3} + \frac{1}{6} = \frac{1}{2}
a^2 + b^2 = c^c
E = mc^2
\int_0^1 x^2 dx = \frac{1}{3}

The human basis for all social media sites is that human beings are social animals, and they want to share. And at the best, they want to help each other, and to be recognised for what they are. And human beings are curious. They want to learn and explore.

To be successful, social-tex and LatexTutor and the new web-based LaTeX tools must engage with these basic human needs. In the early days of the TeX community this was done with digital magnetic tape and floppy discs, paper and print, travel and in-person conferences.

That was the 1970s and 1980s. Half a century ago! Today we have the internet, mobile phones, massive computing power and storage. And virtual meeting software such as Zoom.

Don't forget. Please come the the Beginner's TeX hour tonight (Thursday 4 March) 6:30 to 7:30pm UK time. The zoom link is on the contacts page.

And don't forget. Please go to the social-tex hub and click on the Fork button at the top right on the page. Be a Social TeX user.