[rfc-i] Pagination requirements

[Julian Reschke]

On 2012-05-24 20:19, Joe Touch wrote:
> ...
> I'm claiming that variable fonts does NOT require reflow.
> ...

Yes. I hear you. They do not require reflow, but they are much better 
when reflow can happen.

> Variable fonts + reflow still destroys lists, tables, etc. UNLESS there
> is other support for spacing - e.g., tabs or indent changes.

Yes. That's why I think that sticking with text/plain isn't going to work.

> Variable fonts + such tabs/indents works fine, and does NOT *require*
> reflow. It doesn't reflow, but it still gives non-scrambled output.

Do you have a concrete format in mind that you want to propose?

I'm asking because HTML has solved all these issues, and I haven't seen 
a serious alternate proposal that does this as well.

> Yes - TXT is not HTML, and TXT requires fixed fonts to make the indents
> work on things like tables and lists, in addition to art. This is more
> important for tables and code than lists per se - lists are just
> shifted. In the Word template, tables and code use the same style - that

But they are shifted inconsistently when part of the indentation uses 
characters which are not the same width.

> of figures - for exactly that reason, i.e., so Word won't reflow the
> text at edit-time.

Treating tables as something preformatted is not only a disservice to 
people with other display sizes, but also to those who have to rely on 
assistive technologies.

Best regards, Julian