EuroTeX 2001

TeX and Meta:
the Good, the Bad and the Ugly Bits

That's the theme of the 12th European TeX conference, which will be held in Kerkrade in the Netherlands, from September 24 to 27.

So, what are "Good, Bad and Ugly Bits"? Traditionally we tend to focus on Good Bits because they are so rewarding. It feels good to see a beautifully typeset document that you were able to produce using all the power that TeX and Metafont/MetaPost provide. We try to forget how many Ugly Bits we had to overcome, and are proud that we found more or less elegant ways to program around them. Nevertheless, some of these difficulties should be regarded as Bad Bits that would not exist in an ideal world.

What can we do?

  • First of all, keep up the Good Bits and extend them if possible.
  • Analyze the Ugly Bits, learn from them, and find easy and generic ways to get around them.
  • Find the Bad Bits and eradicate them!

Let's make progress! Of course we need a lot of discussion to distinguish between Good, Bad and Ugly, and about ways to deal with them. We invite you all to demonstrate either of these bits. Feel free to present your application (Good, not Bad or Ugly) at the conference!

Please contact the Program Committee if you have any questions about giving a presentation at the conference.
For any other questions regaring the conference you can contact the Organizing Committee.

Meanwhile, here's a challenge for you: make a visual expression of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, using TeX and Meta. The winner of the challenge will be awarded! See the Good / Bad / Ugly page for details and current submissions.