How will the LaTeX3 format look?

Question

Can someone give me an idea (if it is at all possible) about how the document structure will be in the LaTeX3 format. Will it still start with a \documentclass and use \begin{document} ... \end{document}, will we still load a list (hopefully shorter) of packages in the preamble, etc.? And will the awkward syntax of expl3 only affect programmers? So can I continue writing

\begin{equation} 
    \alpha^2 + \beta^2 = \int_a^b e^x\, dx
\end{equation}

like I have always done? Or will all of these nice and short commands be replaced by odd expl3 commands with awkwardly long names?

@PaulGessler Well yes and no: expl3 is the code layer and is not meant to replace document syntax. On the other hand, the latter is to be decided. — Joseph Wright, Mar 13 '15 at 19:05
So basically, development of the overall LaTeX3 format (=heart of LaTeX3) is hardly even in its initial stages? After 20 years? — Gaussler, Mar 13 '15 at 19:15
@Gaussler The document level syntax is only a small part of the work: indeed, using a layer approach the entire point is to avoid the issue that LaTeX2e has in the sense interface and implementation are tied together. — Joseph Wright, Mar 13 '15 at 19:24
@JosephWright, that is good to hear. Speaking of this, what is the current status of the entire LaTeX3 project? Are we getting closer to a release? I have read the news on the LaTeX website, but it is difficult to find the answer to that question. — Gaussler, Mar 13 '15 at 19:32
@Gaussler Apart from the official answer (“to be decided”), I think that the best we can wish is that the LaTeX3 format keeps what's good, and changes what's not that good. Is there anything wrong with your input? I don't think so, so I hope it stays the same. At the same time, I hope that things get better in other areas; for instance, I think the split environment is unnecessary, and should be used by default, so you could use & and \\ inside that equation (just an example). — Manuel, Mar 13 '15 at 20:36
Fully agreed. And I think it would be more convenient to be able to select actively which equations to enumerate. So I would like to use equation* and apply some \yesnumber command if I want an equation number; this is better than the current situation where you must use equation and write \nonumber after all the other lines. — Gaussler, Mar 13 '15 at 20:58

score 16 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 13 '15 at 19:23

In 2010, Joseph Wright wrote in What new bits have already been implemented in Latex3? Will my current documents (with many packages) still compile with Latex3?

What is not yet formalised is how LaTeX3 will look for the end user. I think, however, that we can be confident that the current basic model
\documentclass{<something>}
\begin{document}
Some text \emph{with italics}. 
\end{document}
will survive (the project will fail if it does not).

But the best answer to your question probably is What can *I* do to help the LaTeX3 Project by Frank Mittelbach. (Read the whole answer, and the section "Document Interface Layer" in particular).

How will the LaTeX3 format look?

1 Answers1