microtex

To build the demo, ensure you have a C++ compiler supporting the C++ 17 standard and CMake installed.

Platform-specific dependencies:

• Windows: CygWin or MinGW is recommended; Gdiplus is required.
• Linux: GTKMM and GSVMM are required for GTK builds.
• Qt: Qt development packages must be installed. To build in Qt mode, add -DQT=ON to the CMake command.

Build steps:

cd your/project/dir
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j32

After building, run the LaTeX executable in the build directory to launch the demo.

Microtex supports a headless mode (no GUI) on Linux that converts LaTeX code into SVG images.

Batch Mode

Use this mode to process multiple LaTeX snippets from a file. Snippets in the file should be separated by a line containing only the % character.

./LaTeX -headless \
    -samples=res/SAMPLES.tex \
    -outputdir=samples \
    -prefix=sample_ \
    -textsize=14 \
    -foreground=black \
    -background=white \
    -padding=0 \
    -maxwidth=720

Single Mode

Use this mode to convert a single string of LaTeX code into an SVG.

./LaTeX -headless \
    "-input=\sqrt[3]{(x-y)^3}=x-y" \
    -output=an_example.svg

Note: If both -outputdir and -input are specified, the -input option takes precedence.

Use DecorBox subclasses to apply geometric transformations to an existing box.

• ScaleBox: Scales a box by a factor sx (horizontal) and sy (vertical), or a single uniform factor.
• RotateBox: Rotates a box by a specified angle. You can specify the rotation origin using the Rotation enum.

Rotation Origins

Use the Rotation enum to define the pivot point:

• bl, bc, br: Bottom Left, Center, Right
• tl, tc, tr: Top Left, Center, Right
• Bl, Bc, Br: Baseline Left, Center, Right
• cl, cc, cr: Center Left, Center, Right
• cc: Center Center

// Scale a box by 2x
auto scaled = std::make_shared<tex::ScaleBox>(base_box, 2.0f);

// Rotate a box 45 degrees around its center
auto rotated = std::make_shared<tex::RotateBox>(base_box, 45.0f, tex::Rotation::cc);

Microtex provides grouping classes to compose complex layouts from individual boxes.

• HBox: Arranges child boxes in a horizontal row. It supports adding boxes at specific positions and defining _breakPositions for line breaking.
• VBox: Arranges child boxes vertically, one above the other. It supports adding boxes with specific interline spacing.

Both classes allow adding boxes via add(const sptr<Box>& box) or add(int pos, const sptr<Box>& box) for positional insertion.

// Example of horizontal and vertical composition
auto hbox = std::make_shared<tex::HBox>();
hbox->add(some_box);

auto vbox = std::make_shared<tex::VBox>();
vbox->add(hbox);

Microtex provides two ways to handle scripts (subscripts and superscripts):

1. ScriptsAtom: Represents a base atom with a subscript and a superscript attached. It allows setting the alignment (left or right).
2. CumulativeScriptsAtom: Used for building up multiple scripts. You can use addSuperscript(atom) and addSubscript(atom) to stack scripts onto a base atom.

// Using ScriptsAtom
auto scripts = std::make_shared<tex::ScriptsAtom>(base, sub, sup, true); // true for left alignment

// Using CumulativeScriptsAtom for stacking
auto cumulative = std::make_shared<tex::CumulativeScriptsAtom>(base, sub, sup);
cumulative->addSuperscript(extraSup);

In microtex, a RowAtom represents a horizontal sequence of atoms separated by glue. Because TeX algorithms may change an atom's type (e.g., changing a bin atom to an ordinary atom) or replace a character atom with a ligature during the box creation process, the system uses a Dummy object to manage these transient changes.

When a RowAtom is being processed via createBox, it uses a Dummy to wrap the atom that precedes its first child. This ensures that any modifications to the atom's state (like its AtomType or whether it is a textSymbol) are localized and can be reset, preventing permanent side effects on the original Formula structure.

Row is an interface implemented by RowAtom that allows nested composed atoms to communicate with their predecessors via setPreviousAtom to correctly calculate glue and spacing.

Decorate boxes with colors or frames:

• ColorBox: Applies a foreground (fg) and background (bg) color to a box.
• FramedBox: Wraps a box in a square frame. You can configure _thickness, _space (padding), _line (border color), and _bg (background color).
• OvalBox: A specialized FramedBox that renders an oval frame instead of a square one.
• ShadowBox: A specialized FramedBox that adds a shadow effect based on a shadowRule value.

// Create a framed box with a blue border and yellow background
auto framed = std::make_shared<tex::FramedBox>(base_box, 1.0f, 2.0f, color_blue, color_yellow);

// Create an oval box
auto oval = std::make_shared<tex::OvalBox>(framed_box_ptr);

You can customize the build using CMake flags to reduce library size or assist in debugging:

• HAVE_LOG: (Default: ON) If defined, the program outputs runtime logs (e.g., symbol parse results, box trees). Set to OFF for release builds.
• GRAPHICS_DEBUG: (Default: ON) If defined, enables egin{debug} and egin{undebug} commands in LaTeX to draw box bounds and depth information.
• MEM_CHECK: (Default: OFF) If defined, implements an empty graphics interface. This is used for memory leak detection with valgrind.

Example Valgrind setup:

cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DGRAPHICS_DEBUG=ON -DMEM_CHECK=ON -DHAVE_LOG=OFF ..
make -j32
valgrind --leak-check=full -v ./LaTeX

In microtex, a Box is an abstract graphical representation of a formula or element that can be painted. It uses three primary dimensions for layout calculations: _width, _height, and _depth.

Key characteristics:

• Fixed Dimensions: Most boxes have fixed character sizes and positions, though special Glue boxes may stretch or shrink.
• Metrics: Layout is driven by the box's width, height, depth, and a _shift value (the meaning of which depends on the specific box type, such as up, down, left, or right).
• Rendering: Subclasses must implement the draw(Graphics2D& g2, float x, float y) method to define how the box is painted.
• Font Tracking: The lastFontId() method is used to determine the last font used within the box, which is critical for subsequent layout steps.

MicroTeX can render various scripts and character sets within math or text modes:

• Cyrillic and Greek: Supports alphabets like Russian, Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian.
• Font Styles: Supports \mathbf (bold), \mathit (italic), \mathsf (sans-serif), and \mathtt (monospaced).
• Colors: Text can be colored using \textcolor{color_name}{text} or \fcolorbox{border_color}{background_color}{text}.
• ASCII/Unicode: Handles standard ASCII and extended character ranges.

\begin{array}{lr}
  \mbox{\textcolor{Blue}{Russian}}&\mbox{\textcolor{Melon}{Greek}}\\
  \mbox{привет мир}&\mbox{γειά κόσμο}
\end{array}