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diff --git a/drafts/html-for-docs-2020.html b/drafts/html-for-docs-2020.html index a33bb51..8b5462e 100644 --- a/drafts/html-for-docs-2020.html +++ b/drafts/html-for-docs-2020.html @@ -1,20 +1,72 @@ -<h1>Document Writing: MD? LaTeX? WINWORD.EXE? Nope, just HTML</h1> +<h1>Writing Documents: Markdown? LaTeX? WINWORD.EXE? Nope, just HTML</h1> <p> <img src="https://nextcloud.53hor.net/index.php/s/XaZRfgK3G7ZzWbs/preview" /> </p> -<p>The year is 2020 and I write the majority of my documents in HTML.</p> +<p class="description"> + I've been without MS Word for quite a few years since I switched away from + Windows and honestly I haven't needed it. I took notes and wrote documents in + Markdown for a while. That was alright because the syntax is easy and any text + editor can read a Markdown file. Sometimes I need shareable formatting, so + recently I started using HTML for all documents I intend to share, upload, or + print. +</p> + +<p> + The year is 2021 and I write all my formatted documents in HTML. It sounds + needless but if you think about it it makes a lot of sense. HTML after all was + designed to be the streaming document of choice when the web was introduced to + the world. So it's tailor-made for shareable, digital documents. + <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/html52/" + >Over the years the specification has gotten larger</a + >, and most of the syntax required by a typical user is present. +</p> + +<p> + But why bother? What are the "benefits"? Well, HTML is ubiquitous. And by that + I mean literally <em>everyone</em> can read an HTML document because literally + everyone has a web browser installed. Friends don't have Word? Use Google + Docs? Use Apple Pages? Forget it. I bet you all of those folks have a web + browser that was made after 1999. That means they can all read your document, + either by visiting it on your site or receiving it in an email. +</p> + +<p> + What's easier than reading HTML is writing it. Anyone with a text editor can + do it. Heck, even those folks with Word installed can save their documents as + [reasonable] HTML. And the tags aren't that hard to learn. I don't think that + Markdown is an easier syntax to learn and understand. HTML's tags are only + slightly more verbose and the structure is a pro, not a con. It's certainly + easier than writing a document in LaTeX. I would even argue in some ways it's + easier than working with a WYSIWYG editor. At least the formatting you're + looking for isn't getting shuffled from menu to sub-menu. +</p> -- Literally everyone can read an HTML document because literally everyone has a -web browser installed - Anyone can print out an HTML document - Anyone can edit -an HTML document - Writing a document in HTML is easier than writing one in Word -or Latex +<p> + Sometimes folks want a PDF instead. Okay, fine. For whatever reason PDFs are + the reigning document of the land. That doesn't mean you need Adobe Acrobat or + some custom setup involving + <code>wkhtmltopdf</code>. Or even worse, some strange LaTeX middleware via + <code>pandoc</code>. You don't need any of that! The best PDF reader in the + world, MuPDF, also comes with <code>mutool</code>. + <code>mutool convert [options] file [pages]</code> will convert a variety of + formats to or from a PDF. And the results look terrific going from an HTML to + a PDF. If you want, you can customize the results by writing CSS into + <code>@media print</code> queries. Automate the creation with a script when + you safe the underlying document. Sky's the limit! +</p> <p> - I've been without Word for a few years since I switched away from Windows and - honestly I haven't needed it. I took notes and wrote documents in Markdown for - a while. That was alright because the syntax is easy and any text editor can - read a Markdown file. Recently however, I've started using HTML for writing - documents that I intend to upload, print, or send to other users. Here's why. + But what about presentations or slideshows? Surely, the "minimal" solution is + to use something like Suckless' <code>sent</code> right? Well, you can also do + slideshows in HTML! Just a little CSS and some <code>section</code> and + <code>a</code> tags and you've got a click-able, full-browser slideshow with + images, links, titles, icons, flowcharts, embedded videos, and a printable + slide deck. And the best part is that you can instantly share online by + dropping it into a public web root. You don't have to use Google Slides or + some other third-party slide creator online that none of your friends use. + Heck, Suckless <code>sent</code> is just that: yet another slideshow tool that + does one thing and nobody but you has it installed. Your HTML slides are + <em>just as plain text</em> as a <code>sent</code> deck. </p> |