🚀 go-pugleaf

Thanks, Dan.

As a style designer using LaTeX, I have desired to do the very thing that Dan
pointed out:

> ....a style file designer might conceivably want
> to create temporary files....or perhaps back-up a previously
> created file (by renaming) before writing a new version

In fact, I may even wish to invoke shell scripts of a general nature.
Apart from the fact that TeX is now frozen, these capabilities
certainly are worth discussing. Knuth had suggested that \write16 might
send its output to a stream that the OS would interpret and execute.
There is even an existing TeX (VP/CMS) that has this capability
(tracing, I believe, back to Chris Thompson (?)). Of course,
exercising this capability makes the macro package or, resp. document
instance system-dependent. There is even the possibility of a
TeX-driving virus or trojan horse if this were done.

An interesting parallel is the Mathematica application, which has a
shell escape on Unix systems, and a general message-passing interface
(MathLink) implemented under Unix via named pipes (I believe), and
under Win, NeXT, and Mac via IAC.

I certainly encourage implementors to consider the ramifications of a
capability for TeX to communicate outside itself, the most robust and
functional way to implement such a capability, and some means of
making the system as implementation independent as possible. The future
of computing certainly includes much interapplication communication, and
the future TeX will certainly benfit from participating.

Arthur Ogawa        Internet: ogawa@orion.arc.nasa.gov  Ph: 1/415/691-1126
TeX consultant      AppleLink: ogawa                    FAX:1/415/962-1969
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