Even reverse feeding has its limits. I suspect that no amount
of algorithm driven formatting will ever produce the same result
as a skilled human. IOW, there are limits to how good a pure
SGML/XML driven formatting system can be. Thusly we need processing
instructions and format oriented markup.
I recently grappled with a large piece of legislation on paper
which proved easy enough to model but I gave up trying to re-produce
the "look" of the paper version. Individual sections exhibited
clear signs of aesthetic tweaking. Infuriating because the darn
thing looks so much nicer than mine yet I cannot determine why:-(
To see this aesthetic effect in its extremes I heartily recommend
"Le Ton beau de Marot" by Douglas Hofstadter. For example, according
to the introduction, the section layout of chapter 2 was
heavily influenced by the avoidence of descender characters in
the first word!
Sean Mc Grath
http://www.digitome.com
"there are two types of people in the world. Those who
think the world consists of two types of people, and
those who don't"