TeX \ LaTeX ????

[Normand Beaudoin <normand-beaudoin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi!

I am used to use Nisus and FrameMaker on a MacIntosh platform
to write scientific documents with tons of equations, tables,
pictures, cross-references... etc... etc... Everything was fine, 
but sometime, someone offer you a “better” situation!!!!

Now I will have to use TeX and/or LaTex to do the same kind of
documents, still on a MacIntosh platform.

I have dug the archives and found a lot of informations that
appear to me rather disparate, so I am still slightly in the dark!!!  
I read about OzTeX, TeXture, Scientific Workplace, Publicon... and
even about Lyx and KlyX (on Linux).  If someone could answer my
questions, I would greatly greatly  appreciate!

General question:

What is the best “system” or software or set of softwares to do
TeX and/or LateX on a Mac (G4dp)? (Space in RAM and on hard
disk is not really a limitation; 640 Meg/60 Gig) ?
(The price could be a problem if the system I choose make me
counterproductive but if I can work with it as much easily as I did
with Nisus and FrameMaker then that price could suddenly become
affordable)
Well I know, it would have been easier if I’ve asked you: “What is
the meaning of life?”

Specific questions.

In Tex and/or LaTeX, the fonts and equations appear very very
nice but the cross-reference system does not seems (at least to
me) evident. It seems (for example) that we have to give a
specific and fixed name to each equations to be able to reference
to it. With few equations it could be easy but for dozens or even
hundreds equations it could become difficult to find specific
names for each. Then we could use fixed numbers for these
specific names but at this time these numbers will confuse with
the automatic numbering of the system. Maybe I missed
something!!! Did I ???

In all the examples I found in TeX and/or LaTeX I never saw a nice
table. They always appear rather “cheap”. Well I would’nt want to
offend those of you that love TeX but is it possible, with TeX or
LaTeX to have complete control on every elements of tables as
easily as it is in FrameMaker (ruling, shading, removing or adding
cells... etc...)?

Oh! Sorry, I have been  somewhat long!

Thank you very much and more!!

Normand Beaudoin Ph.D.


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