Changes

:(You can argue that LaTeX now includes the expl3 layer (developed as “LaTeX 3”) that introduces several modern concepts into LaTeX. But even with the much bigger user base of LaTeX vs. ConTeXt, there are about the same small number of developers who understand the inner workings of either system, maybe because the expl3 constructs look alien to experienced LaTeX (2) programmers as well as users of other scripting languages.) :* Best quality math typesetting! (Yes, traditional TeX and LaTeX are lacking in some regards. ConTeXt contains bugfixes for all known math fonts. Nearly everything is configurable.):* Nested footnotes, several indexes, sophisticated numbering schemas, document-spanning references – no problem.:* Direct typesetting of XML sources is quite easy, you “just” must define typesetting rules for every tag.:* Grid typesetting is easily activated (but somewhat hard to control).:* Multi-column layouts up to magazine layouts (column spans, columns of different width) are possible, but somewhat difficult to control, esp. WRT image placement.:* Color definitions in RGB, CMYK, HSV, L*a*b, “HTML RGB”, spot colors, multi channel colors, transparency, ICC profiles – yes.:* Complex tables with spans, lines and background colors are more easy to do with ConTeXt’s [[TABLE|“natural tables”]] than with any LaTeX package. (But the code is more verbose, and there are no auto-width columns.):* Image placement as [[Floating Objects]] is easy and mighty.:* Arabic support is good enough for critical editions of historical Islamic texts or typesetting the Qur’an, thanks to the Oriental TeX project. Support for Indic languages and CJK is also good (vertical is limited, sorry).:* [[Layers]] and [[Overlays]] are fun.:* Automation features (like <tt>latexmk</tt> or <tt>arara</t> for LaTeX) and many helper scripts are integrated.:* Debugging features (`\show…` commands, [[Trackers]], directives, code checking) included; no useless TeX command line stops any more.:* The whole distribution is really slim and contains the LuaMetaTeX source code (no external dependencies, easily compilable on a wide range of architectures). This affects also [https://islandoftex.gitlab.io/community/projects/docker/ docker containers].:* LuaMetaTeX is ''fast''. (Hint: If you use [https://pandoc.org Pandoc] to generate PDF from Markdown, it usually uses LaTeX. Try the ConTeXt backend, it’s much faster.)

:*[http://archive.contextgarden.net/thread/20050926.213139.45057948.en.html DOC/RTF to ConTeXt via XML]

:*Try [https://pandoc.org/ Pandoc].

:There is a section on the wiki dedicated to typesetting [[XML]].

:No; the spacing above and below the equation will be wrong, and maybe other aspects too. Instead use {{cmd|startformula}} and … {{cmd|stopformula}} or the short form {{cmd|dm}} (just as one rather generally prefers to use {{cmd|<tt>\begin{equation}}} and {{cmd|… \end{equation}}} </tt> in LaTeX).

:You don’t need any special package (like <tt>beamer </tt> in LaTeX) to make a presentation. In contrast to LaTeX, changing the document size, changing colors, adding hyperlinks, ... is extremely simple in ConTeXt. See [[Presentations]] for more specific topics.