Utilities to validate the syntax of Latex fragments.
Uses tectonic to run compilation.
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Install tectonic, as per instructions here: https://tectonic-typesetting.github.io/en-US/install.html
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Build and run the server
> npm install
> npm run build
> node dist/main.js run-server
The server listens on localhost:8080 for POSTs to REST endpoint /latex/fragment The expected format of the POST body is: {latex: 'some latex fragment'}
Some example curl commands:
> curl -d 'latex=Understanding $\boldsymbol{\delta}$-Function' http://localhost:8080/latex/fragment
> {"status": "ok"}
Fail if \boldsymbol is misspelled:
> curl -d 'latex=Understanding $\bldsym{\delta}$-Function' http://localhost:8080/latex/fragment
> {"status":"error","message":"Undefined control sequence"}
To get tectonic to compile a fragment, it is wrapped in a document that includes
all of necessary setup. Part of that setup is a list of \usepackage{}
directives, which make various functions available. For example, to use the
macro \boldsymbol{..}, the command \usepackage{amsmath} must be present. The
challenge is knowing ahead of time what packages will be required for an
arbitrary latex fragment.
The output of Tex's compiler can make it difficult to understand the root cause of an issue. Some work might be needed to make the reported errors clearer.
- cleanup output artifacts from tectonic (pdf file is generated)
- document installation
- improve error messages, esp for longer fragments
- split fragments into smallest chunks, one per line, to improve line error reporting
- compile a better list of positive and negative examples of markup
- check for zombie processes on error
- store error-contained submitted examples locally, for evaluation and improving system accuracy
- write installer/run script in ./bin/run
- figure out how to dynamically alter the tex wrapper document with required \usepackage directives