[texhax] TUG at BachoTeX 2017: call for papers, registrations open

[Jerzy Ludwichowski]

Dear TeXies,

please find below the call for papers for TUG at BachoTeX 2017. To
register, please visit http://www.gust.org.pl/bachotex/2017-en.

See you at the conference venue!

--Jerzy Ludwichowski
(for the Organizing Committee)


Premises, predilections, predictions
====================================
The title, or rather lead for the conference might sound mysterious but
it seems to us that it presents the core of the motives around TeX and
typography we'd like to be talked about during the conference using the
opportunity which presents itself with the meeting of the world's most
competent people in those areas.

Re premises
-----------
TeX is not only software and certainly not the
outdated text typesetting program from 1982. TeX is a phenomenon: in
computer science (concepts, implementations, distributions) and socially
(TeX system's user groups and their undertakings). It being one of the
oldest software systems functioning until now without fundamental
conceptual changes should be treated as an indisputable success of the
computer based typography model created by Prof. Donald E. Knuth.

So we have a big typographic system, we have users all over the world
uniting themselves into organizations acting for the benefit of TeX. We
also have attempts to modify and further the system (eTeX, pdfTeX,
luaTeX, XeTeX and others), which on one hand open perspectives but on
the other — threaten with the “Babel tower syndrome”.

So much was achieved, what more — follows.

Re predilections
----------------
Undoubtedly TeXies value programmability, portability, backward
compatibility, good documentation, splendid typographic and logical
quality of documents, to mention only some of the most valued qualities
of the TeX et al system.

Those signatures are however not the most valued in the contemporary
world geared toward rapid, easy but also ad hoc results. Contemporary
users of software look for intuitive interfaces, immediate effects and
visual editing features.

Are those two approaches really excluding each other? The concepts at
the foundations of TeX are being introduced to modern systems. Visual
features may also be introduced into TeX. Such mutual inter-fusing is
being observed since long, but does it lead to where it should?

This is something worthy of a discussion, as the processes are rather
spontaneous, without set set rules and goals, whereas it is important
not to lose the current virtues.

Re predictions
--------------
As Niels Bohr used to say “It's difficult to make predictions,
especially about the future”.

However, questions pertaining to the future of TeX emerge on its own.
Will TeXs die out? Are they going to occupy some narrow niche? Or
perhaps will they mutate and spawn a new species, living on some cloud?
Or perhaps only some “TeX genes” will prevail (like mitochondria in
cells) in new programs not necessarily devoted to creating classic
documents (i.e., pages filled with characters)?

What future awaits the TeX system and their users? It depends on us to
a considerable degree. The better we know what we want, the higher the
chances we stand to achieve it. That is why we'd nevertheless like to
try to glean into the future, using the collected wisdom of the
respectable and influential professionals gathered at the conference.

Summary
-------
We hope to obtain at least partial answers to the following QrwA
(Questions rather without(?) Answers):

Premises — the starting point, what we have, what do we use, what has
been achieved?

Predilections — how do we act now, how do we want to act, what is
important to us and what do we miss?

Predictions — what is the future of TeX, what we'd like to achieve and
can we influence it?


Papers/presentations
++++++++++++++++++++
Of course we also look forward to the normal mix of TeX, MetaPost,
ConTeXt, LaTeX, and friends related presentations. Please do not forget
about fonts!

We do upkeep the new BachoTeX trend in which we try to bring together
programmers and designers of typographic systems, typographers and other
users of such systems.

Please note the “Call for TeX Pearls” further down.

The normal channel of offering papers is the emailing of proposals to
the Program Committee, but before rushing off to the mailer, please
consult the info for authors.

Workshops and tutorials
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Proposals are welcome for TeX-related tutorials or introductions. If
you have suggestions for tutorials or workshops by others than yourself
or about specific topics, please let us know.

Poster sessions
+++++++++++++++
Participants will be given the opportunity to present their TeX and
typographic results in the form of posters for which we provide
exhibition space.

TeX Pearls
++++++++++
We continue the tradition of the “Pearls of TeX Programming”.
Metafont/MetaPost do also fall into that category. Details and
previously collected pearls can be found at
http://www.gust.org.pl/projects/pearls/.


Deadlines and addresses
+++++++++++++++++++++++
The deadline for “regular” abstracts and other proposals is March
26th 2017. The deadline for final papers to appear in the conference
materials is April 10th.

Contributions should be send by email to the Program Committee:
prog-2017 at gust dot org dot pl. The PC is chaired by Bogusław
Jackowski (b underscore jackowski at gust dot org dot pl).