Re: [Groff] *roff for desktop publishing - is it feasible?

[Gerard Lally]

On Sun, 23 Oct 2016, at 21:21, Robert Thorsby wrote:
> On 24/10/16 05:52:41, Gerard Lally wrote:
> > Is it possible to lay out a page, as in the attached sample file,  
> > using *roff? I'm about to commit myself to learning troff and friends  
> > more thoroughly. Before I start I'd like to have a broad idea of its  
> > limitations.
> > 
> > I don't need a how-to, detailed or otherwise, showing the steps you'd  
> > take to produce this page in *roff. Just an idea whether or not the  
> > wizards among you on this list would consider tackling such a project  
> > with your favourite document formatter.
> 
> The short answer is Yes.  Groff could reproduce this layout.  Any of  
> the frequent contributors to this list (which doesn't include me) could  
> knock this out.
> 
> The long answer is No.  There are probably "easier" applications to  
> use, especially as most other applications can handle images that are  
> in other than postscript format.
> 
> Would I consider tackling the illustrated page?  No way, my sense of  
> responsible typography forbids it.

Well the sample is meaningless; I searched for a "desktop publishing"
image and chose that one at random as a reasonably complex example of
what I had in mind. Good typography is one of the reasons I am hoping to
standardize on *roff. It's going to be a lifetime commitment for me. I
can see its value with regard to normal document formatting, but I was
curious to know whether it could be pushed to handle more complex DTP,
brochure and business card layouts.