How would LyX perform?

[Virgil Arrington Jr.]

On 12/27/2021 9:15 AM, Jose Ramom Flores das Seixas via lyx-users wrote:
> Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
>
> I just read into it a bit and see no reason to look into it further:
>
>   * It only compares performance in short texts *only short texts*.
>     However, TeX's strengths are in large papers. For example, one
>     could have set the task of making changes in a dissertation: Move
>     sections, make systematic formatting changes, create indexes....If
>     one had measured the expertise in using a program not only in
>     hours, but also the sensible use of the possibilities, other
>     groupings might have resulted - even experienced Word users rarely
>     use style sheets consistently, for example.
>   * *Style importance.* Character styles for highlighting (as they are
>     common e.g. in InDesign and as macros in TeX) do not exist at
>     all... But it is very easy to construct tasks that favor one
>     system or another. With TeX it depends also still on the editor
>     and how humans know to use it.
>   * The paper is already from 2014. *old paper!  Lualatex. *Since
>     then, most LaTeX users have probably gotten used to LuaTeX with
>     Unicode and OpenType, so that many coding problems no longer apply
>     (although they may not have played a major role here).
>   * It would have been interesting to include LibreOffice and ConTeXt
>     as well. Maybe also layout programs like InDesign, Affinity
>     Publisher, Scribus.... (Is LibreOffice still more stable than Word
>     for extensive work?).
>
> Hraban
>
>
I'm no expert in empirical research methodology, but I've learned enough 
to know that one needs to minimize variables. It seems to me that, in 
this study, the variables included not only the different systems -- 
Word and LaTeX -- but also different *users* using the different 
programs. I have to believe that at least some of the differences in the 
results have to do with differences in user typing proficiency. Some 
typists make more spelling and grammatical mistakes than others 
regardless of what software they use. To validly test the *software*, I 
would think that one would need to have same user use both systems. 
That, of course, would be problematic as it would difficult to find a 
single use with equal proficiency with both Word and LaTeX.

When testing LaTeX, a lot depends on the editing front-end one uses. I 
have to believe that a person using LyX would be more efficient than one 
using TeXWorks, if for no other reason that LyX shields the user from so 
much LaTeX source code. But, unless I missed it, I didn't see any 
mention in the study of any of the LaTeX users editing with LyX.

As to formatting "errors," I wonder what qualified as an error. It 
appears to me that the test was to duplicate the visual formatting of 
the original documents. If the original document has a 14 point heading, 
is it an error if LaTeX produces a 14.3 point heading? Is it an error if 
the resulting document has 1.5 pica paragraph indents instead of 2.0 
pica indents? Were formatting "errors" found in the tables if LaTeX 
automatically adjusted a table width rather than making it match the 
width of the original document? My obvious point is that, if formatting 
"errors" are determined on such a visual-matching level, then it could 
take quite a bit of time to tweak a LaTeX preamble to achieve the 
desired results. This isn't a knock on LaTeX; it is simply a recognition 
that one doesn't generally choose LaTeX for the purpose of precisely 
reproducing the visual formatting of another existing document. Rather, 
when I choose LaTeX, it is usually because I don't *care* about the 
level of formatting details apparently tested by this study. I leave 
that up to the document class; that's the beauty of LaTeX.

If I were given the task of duplicating the visual formatting of an 
existing document, I would always choose a WYSIWYG program over LaTeX, 
not because it's better, but because it would be more useful for a 
visually oriented task. The Word users who could see the formatting as 
they worked would inherently have an advantage over the LaTeX users who 
would be working somewhat blindly until they compiled their documents.

In short, I have serious questions about the validity of this test.

Virgil
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