#sile — Public Fediverse posts

The re·sil·ient collection of modules for the #SILE #digitalTypesetting system is my solution for streamlining the production of #PDF books “from the front to the back cover” using lightweight markup languages such as #djot

More than a year ago, I fancied the idea of using gradients instead of solid colors in the design of some elements....

@debacle @alerque @typst Grown up in #TeXLaTEX, pretty impressed with #Typst, using my own “mark4down” flow (m4 | pandoc) with either LaTeX or Typst as the actual typesetting engine. All work well, allthough I do think there’s room for improvement - are we yet producing PDF/UA?

I don’t know #SILE. Is this a stealthy pitch?

Just released v4.0 of my _re·sil·ient_ collection of modules for the #SILE digital typesetting system.
Authoring PDF books from front cover to back cover, in lightweight markup language, and more.
#digitalTypesetting #djot #markdown

@raineer For my part I could live without #TeXLaTeX. Not by choice but I could survive via #SILE and #typst. On the other hand being forced to abandon #plaintext and use Word is a bridge too far.

For an upcoming release of my collection of add-on modules for the #SILE typesetting system, I wanted to have some fun and implemented PDF forms (interactive fields)...
Well, It is not the best-written part of the PDF specifications; and as far as I can tell playing with options, support by PDF viewers is at best spotty, when not to say inconsistent...
I wonder if these PDF forms are still used for anything serious, in the modern age of the web?

#pdf #pdfforms #digitalTypesetting #typesetting

@lou_de_sel Si tu as déjà du Markdown en entrée... Il y a quelques alternatives à un rendu PDF par LaTeX:

1/ Pandoc, oui mais + #Typst en moteur (mais je n'ai pas regardé comment personnaliser les styles)

2/ #SILE + resilient.sile (et qui a une configuration des styles en YAML). J'ai produit quelques livres avec ça (je suis l'auteur du module resilient.sile) avec notes de bas de pages, biblios, maths etc, donc queques-uns publiés en impression POD.

From a simple YAML input, my collection of add-on modules for the SILE digital typesetting system now generates hybrid Factur-X / ZugFeRD PDFs!
🚀 Sweet, styled, and automation-ready.

https://omikhleia.github.io/resilient.sile/adventures/invoice/

#SILE #digitalTypesetting #FacturX #FacturX #ZugFeRD #eInvoicing #OpenSource

Did you know the #SILE #digitalTypesetting system supports a fairly decent subset of #BibTeX / #BibLaTeX and Citation Style Language for bibliographies? True, it's a work in progress, but with some fixes just proposed upstream, it gets better at the task.

Did you know the #SILE #digitalTypesetting supports a very decent subset of the (La)TeX math syntax, besides MathML ? True, there are still bugs and limitations. With some fixes proposed upstream, it gets better at the task.

@debacle As for DocBook support in #SILE, it's IMHO fairly limited and not really usable. There are open tickets on SILE's GitHub repository regarding it. But I don't think it's really used by anyone.... It could be revived with enough interest. There are other possible workflows however (using Pandoc etc.), so it's hard to say whether the effort is worth it.

#Genève #Sile Une pétition avec plus de 6500 paraphes s’indigne de la scolarisation d’enfants au sein du Centre fédéral d’asile du Grand-Saconnex. Le DIP propose un modèle hybride, critiqué.
✍️ Un article de Maude Jaquet à lire sur notre site 🔽
https://lecourrier.ch/2025/06/03/lecole-au-centre-federal-dasile-cest-toujours-non/

@tajpulo Out of curiosity, I'd be interested to know what makes #SILE math support "rudimentary", while supporting all MathML tags except one, and lots of TeX-like constructs (as of 0.15.12).

"Are we digital typesetting yet?"

I am going to ask this question myself in a talk [1] tomorrow at Grazer Linuxtage #GLT25. I am going to provide a Getting-started-with for @speedata publisher, #SILE, and @typst [2]. The goal is to provide a helpful comparison [3].

The livestream and video recording are going to be on https://media.ccc.de/

#digitalTypesetting

[1] https://pretalx.linuxtage.at/glt25/talk/PDXSBD/
[2] https://lukas-prokop.at/talks/glt25-awdty/slides.pdf
[3] https://arewedigitaltypesettingyet.com/

Since It comes "for free" with some other low-level updates, why not have "sketchy" tables in a hand-drawn style? Not that I intend to use that possibility a lot, but heh, who knows!

#SILE #digitalTypesetting

Some fancy QR codes made with the #SILE typesetting system and the latest version of my QR code module. Cool stuff for e.g. posters.
#qrcode #digitalTypesetting

Today's feeling? Pure joy! #SILE 0.15.10 is available, and it simply wouldn’t have happened without @alerque’s dedication—hats off! 🎩

I know #TeXLaTeX are time-tested champions, and #Typst is making waves. But have you given SILE a chance?
✨ Very decent TeX-like math support
🤖 One of the smartest automated italic correction heuristics
📚 Improved Bib(La)TeX + CSL citation support
🔍 A revamped indexer package

Now’s the perfect time to explore SILE!

#digitalTypesetting

@pedka @alerque #SILE is fully programmable in #lLua. It ships with the Penlight library which would be one possible way to read a CSV out-of-the-box (pl.data.read), though of course other existing Lua libraries could be used as well. What you then do with the data is all yours in your Lua logic -- For instance, I am using CSV for including pie/donut charts in PDF documents.
https://github.com/Omikhleia/piecharts.sile

@pedka Have you tried The #SILE Typesetter?

https://sile-typesetter.org/

It can process input in *several* formats including XML or a TeX inspired but much more regularly structured and predictable SIL variant.

You can check out some samples in SIL in some of the comparisons that include comparable #TeXLaTeX and #Typst samples here:

https://polytype.dev/

Today, I extracted my #Lua port of the Rough.js library into a standalone module and published it on #luarocks

It is a small graphics library that lets you draw lines, polygons and curves in a sketchy, hand-drawn-like, style.

I formerly used it in some of my 3rd-party packages for the #SILE typesetting system, but now having it as its own independent module might be interesting for other Lua developers, outside the SILE ecosystem.

https://github.com/Omikhleia/rough-lua

@bins That exact layout is going to be a nightmare in any engine. #speedata will probably come closest, but #texlatex is going to be *hard*, and neither #typst nor #sile will handle both balanced columns and floating images across columns at the same time.

@nonlinear Not sure I get the whole question, but for me (as casual writer or book composer) authoring in a simple "pivot format" such as Markdown/Djot and managing the work under #git (to track my changes, etc.) are key points. At the moment I am using #SILE to get a PDF for print. But having a pivot format is also a key too towards having HTML, ePub or whatever if I eventually want them, without having to recompose too much (and yes #pandoc is then in the mix)

In 2025, many digital typesetting systems still have problems with automated italic correction: https://polytype.dev/italic-correction/

#sile #xelatex #typst #digitalTypesetting

... not to mention WYSIWYG office suites, but that would a whole other topic. I don't know any passing that test, is there?

It's so small a thing done today that I even hesitated mentioning here: code syntax highlighting in the #SILE #digitalTypesetting system, based on Scintillua.

https://github.com/Omikhleia/highlighter.sile

#TeXLaTeX or SILE in #markdown :
- Inline $\varinjlim_{n \in N}$
- Display $$\varinjlim_{n \in N}$$

#SILE in SIL language :
- Inline \math{\varinjlim_{n \in N}}
- Display \math[mode=display]{\varinjlim_{n \in N}}

#SILE in #Djot :
- Inline $`\varinjlim_{n \in N}`
- Display $$`\varinjlim_{n \in N}`

#Typst
- Not that straightforward? https://forum.typst.app/t/how-to-create-the-colimit-symbol-varinjlim/2366

#MathML without dirty hacks nor CSS
- Gimme a hint!

So for Grazer Linuxtage (#glt25) I consider submitting a talk. I came up with two talk ideas so far. Which talk would you be interested in?

*Current state of digital typesetting*
a comparsion and explanation of typesetting engines like #TeX/#LuaLaTeX, #typst, #SILE, #boxesandglue, and frontends like #Quarto

*New features in CSS3*
This talk assumes you are familiar with #CSS, but you need an update for the latest #CSS3 features with a focus on typography and line-based typesetting

The correlations between #typesetting engines to their #terminal text editors are irrefutable:

* #TeXLaTeX is #emacs.
* #SILE is #neovim.
* #Typst is #helix.
* #WeasyPrint is #nano.
* #Speedata is #microeditor

Now back to your regularly scheduled indentation.

Excited to share my free PDF booklet: "SILE and the Hydra of Maths: Showcase & Critical Assessment 2024".
It chronicles my journey enhancing math support in #SILE, exploring challenges & insights across:
#MathML, #TexLatex #MathJax, #Unicode, #UnicodeMath, #Typst, #Lout, #AsciiMath, #OpenType and more.
What a journey!
Dive in here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kGHIHUU9dsAsMBrGYotPUO0XyDLwD-CF

@fl0und3r It looks like you could be interested in my "re·sil·ient" collection of modules for #SILE #typesetting system. You can use Djot/Markdown for content (ticking the lightweight markup requirement), with a few useful extensions. It has a master document system (not exactly what you mention, though on "sections") and a styling paradigm (as a style file which details I also adjust separately from the content of my books).
https://www.calameo.com/read/0073493380301d2d84340
https://www.calameo.com/read/007349338f6a46a6b6fb5

Today's thoughts?
Sometimes I smile seeing posts such as: "Do you use #TeXLaTex, #context, #typst, or #patoline as #digitalTypesetting solution?").

What about just #markdown or #djot to #pdf with _one_ software? It's called the #sile typesetter with just _one_ extra collection installed:
https://github.com/Omikhleia/resilient.sile

(Heh! Don't tell me it counts as 2 if you need Pandoc, LaTeX, _lots_ of CTAN modules to achieve the same, not even that. Book covers,, ISBN, styling... all in just _one_ collection.

"Le Dragon de Brume" is glad to announce the Summer 2024 edition of its PDF booklet "A bibliography of Tolkien studies in French & English".

https://sites.google.com/site/dragonbrumeux/bibliography

As for our previous volumes, all source files are available in #djot and (a subset of) #biblatex – using the (currently in-development) bibliography and citation modules for the #sile typesetting system.

#Tolkien #TolkienStudies #tolkiendil

"Le Dragon de Brume" is glad to announce "On cartography, maps & locations in Middle-earth" -- a collection of essays on JRR Tolkien's world, translated from French into English.

Beside a regular print edition, in an "open access" spirit, the PDF is also made available.

https://sites.google.com/site/dragonbrumeux/on-cartography-maps-locations-in-middle-earth

All source files are provided too in #djot format mostly; for the curious-minded, the book was composed with the #sile typesetter.

#sile #digitalTypesetting #TolkienStudies #tolkien #tolkiendil

I've recently launched an idea at https://polytype.dev — a sort of Rosetta Stone for #typesetting engines.

The goal is to build up a sample gallery that showcases both differences and similarities between the input and output of #SILE, #TeXLaTeX, #Typst, #speedata, #weasyprint, #pagedjs, #groff, #satysfi, #patoline, and potentially others.

The source code is at https://github.com/alerque/polytype and contributions are very welcome! The UI in particular could use the touch of a front-end developer!

"Le Dragon de Brume" is glad to announce the publication of "On some stars, flowers & places in Middle-earth" -- a small collection of essays on JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth.

Beside a regular print edition, the PDF is also made available and the sources are even provided.

https://sites.google.com/site/dragonbrumeux/on-some-stars-flowers-places-in-middle-earth

#tolkiendil #tolkien #TolkienStudies #essays #SILE #digitalTypesetting #djot