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TeX and Typst: Layout Models (2024)


An exploration of the layout models of TeX and Typst.

I want to use this post to explore these differences, to identify the benefits and limitations of both models, and to present my thinking on the future of Typst’s layout engine. As we’ve seen, TeX’s model falls short on everything that requires knowledge of exact vertical positions: Flexible page sizes, chained containers, richly colliding floats, breakable tables, grid-based typesetting, and more. At the same time, regions introduce new problems: By passing down exact positions to sublayouters, it becomes harder to optimize the layout by moving things around.

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Layout Models

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