robrwo hates software: LaTeX hate

• From: Robert Rothenberg
  Date: 22:38 on 15 Apr 2007
  Subject: LaTeX hate
  
  
  
  So I write a paper with the following:
  
    \begin{table}\label{table:foo}
     \caption{Foo data}
      ...
    \end{table}
  
  and a little later...
  
    \begin{table}\label{table:bar}
     \caption{Bar data}
      ...
    \end{table}
  
    We examined foo (see Table \ref{table:foo}),
    then we examined bar (see Table \ref{table:bar})...
  
  but what does the generated text say?
  
    We examined foo (see Table 1),
    then we examined bar (see Table 1)...
  
  What?!?
  
  It turns out that in LaTeX, the table counter is incremented by the caption
  command, not the start of a table environment!  I had to change it to
  
    \begin{table}
     \caption{Bar data}\label{table:bar}
  
  so that the text would reference the correct table!
  
  
  
  
  

• From: Hakim Cassimally
  Date: 08:19 on 16 Apr 2007
  Subject: Re: LaTeX hate
  
  On 15/04/07, Robert Rothenberg <robrwo@xxxxx.xxx> wrote:
  <snip very valid specific LaTeX hate>
  
  A more general thing - why is the LaTeX parser so braindead?
  
  The biggest error I keep on making is mismatching my \begin and \end tags.
  OK, LaTeX isn't HTML, so fair enough that it doesn't just plough on regardless
  and hope for the best.  But given that the tags are named, it should be easy
  enough to tell me *which* pair I screwed up... and give me a line number.
  
  Yes, I'd like to have a big structure-is-more-important-than-presentation
  smug smile on my face about how much better and easier to maintain
  latex-beamer is than Powerpoint/OOo Impress, but with the parser not
  being able to match pairs or be in the slightest helpful with error reporting,
  I end up spending  most of my time *debugging* the bloody document.
  (I do enough of that  with code, thanks).
  
  hate,
  osfameron
  
  
  

• From: Peter da Silva
  Date: 11:36 on 16 Apr 2007
  Subject: Re: LaTeX hate
  
  On Apr 16, 2007, at 2:19 AM, Hakim Cassimally wrote:
  > A more general thing - why is the LaTeX parser so braindead?
  
  Because it's just a bleeding macro library, and so adds all manner of 
  hate to the hatefulness that is TeX.
  
  
  
  

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