PrintCSS Meets TeX

Building a PrintCSS Renderer

MarkupUK 2023

• introduced xml2tex
• schema-agnostic configuration
• used for docx2tex and xerif

Creating Layouts for xerif

• TeX: steep learning curve and abstract concepts (tokens, expansion control, and macro definitions)
• TeX programmers are a rare species
• need to learn CoCoTeX as well

Would PrintCSS serve as an alternative?

• moderatly easy to learn
• limited features, partly ambiguous specifications
• dependent on Prince and AH for professional use

Render PrintCSS with TeX?

• CSS: easy layout setup
• TeX: powerful rendering engine

Render PrintCSS with TeX?

• declarative vs procedural
• TeX has no HTML or CSS parser
• different concepts

PrintCSS prototype

I. Parsing PrintCSS

• EBNF schema $\stackrel{\text{REx parser generator}}{\to }$ parser XSLT
• Output: CSS XML and XHTML/CSSa

II. XSLT Transformations

1. insert placeholder elements in XHTML
2. generate xml2tex config from CSS XML and XHTML
3. apply xml2tex on XHTML

Outlook

• integrate in xerif
• add xerif features as vendor-specific extensions
• explore CSS modules such as grid, flexbox

Questions?