Tell me more ×
TeX - LaTeX Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for users of TeX, LaTeX, ConTeXt, and related typesetting systems. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

Does anybody know something about the future of Arabic typesetting with LaTeX or LuaLaTeX? Do they develop tools and mechanisms for scientific typesetting of Arabic text? In other words: is it still worth the effort to work with packages like ledmac, ledpar or ledarab (or whatever) to typeset Arabic texts? Or - because theses packages are still maintained - will they be adjusted to the new developments. (AFAIK the basic file structures of ledmac are from 2005...)

What about the general implementation of Arabic into LaTeX and LuaLaTeX? If Khaled Hosny hadn't helped me, I'd still be unable to typeset Arabic text.

I've been wondering about questions like these, since I've found this document (cf. chapter XIII) months ago but never any documentation nor news about progress or status or usability.

share|improve this question
2  
You seem to be conflating two independent issues. ledmac and ledpar are packages specifically for preparing critical editions of texts with e.g. parallel texts, footnote apparatus etc. These aren't required nor used for normal Arabic typesetting, which simply requires Unicode source, good RTL support and the appropriate fonts. At present XeLaTeX with the polyglossia package (which loads fontspec (for fonts) and bidi (for RTL)) does this very well. – Alan Munn Mar 3 '12 at 16:07
2  
Since you're aware of this question: Typesetting Arabic with LuaLaTeX it's also not clear whether this question really matches to format of the site, as it's unlikely to have a very specific answer. – Alan Munn Mar 3 '12 at 16:12
A specific answer one could give would be where to get information on the "Oriental TeX Project" or about any plans of further development. Of course, typesetting Arabic text works and there may even be a documentation for XeLaTeX with polyglossia. For LuaLaTeX, there is nothing comparable, I could find. I feel a little bit left alone with the question whether or not I backed the wrong horse when I decided to write a scientific monograph (which is going to include an Arabic edition and translation) with LaTeX. – ClintEastwood Mar 3 '12 at 16:50
Regarding ledpar: of course they are not required, but they aren't suited for Arabic text either. It would be good to know if alternatives are in development. I am sorry if I misunderstood the format of this site but it was worth a try. – ClintEastwood Mar 3 '12 at 16:50
1  
Anybody? Yes. Have you asked Idris Hamid? – Martin Schröder Mar 3 '12 at 18:31
show 2 more comments

1 Answer

up vote 10 down vote accepted

There have been a couple of articles in TUGboat specifically on the Oriental TeX project, by Idris Hamid:

An article by Azzeddine Lazrek, RyDArab — Typesetting Arabic mathematical expressions is about a different project, but may also be of interest.

Other articles on related topics, including Arabic and LuaTeX, appear rather frequently in TUGboat and can be searched for in the category index.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.