[alex_d]

"Dude, a GUI application that does scripting is using command lines internally. And dude, a C++ compiler is converting everything to assembly. So you see, the fact that c++ has to be converted to assembly is an indication of the inferiority of c++ as a way of telling computers what to do. You just don't get it, man."

yeah, whatever


As for Word: yeah, it doesn't usually get used for anything beside choosing fonts and setting margins. (And i'd say it does a far better job of it than tex.) However, the 2007 interface should go a long way for people to start using all sorts of other elements and features (especially the essential ones like columns, tables, and equations).

Try not to have pre-conceptions that GUIs are anything in particular (or that they can't be reimagined to overcome their shortcomings). They're just a philosophy that you have to be constantly informing the user of what the possibilities are and trying your best to present them elegantly and intuitively. Any other philosophy, such as "the application should never tell you what its features are and the only place to find about them is in a manual" is just... ridiculous. You don't actually believe in it, do you kovidgoyal?


P.S. the difference between Word and a publishing program is that in a publishing program you create a box every time you want to put in some text. The box can go anywhere and overlap with anything. Thus you get complete and simple control over layout. (You also have have a bunch of other features for controlling font kerning, orientation, images, etc. Incidentally, Word now does kerning too which is great.) Reflowing from box to box is possible, but the boxes themselves don't move automatically. I think a lot of people use Word when they should be using a publishing program, but for lack of complete reflow the box paradigm is not suitable for documents whose content is being or will be significantly changed.