{\page \name=Latte
       \description={The simple, powerful markup language that's
                     better than HTML for writing web pages.}
       \keywords={web, HTML, markup, macro, language}

 Latte, the Language for Transforming Text, is a simple and powerful
 language for including markup in text documents.  Documents written
 in Latte can be converted to high-quality HTML, making it a better
 language for writing World Wide Web documents.

 {\table \align=center \width=80% \border=1
  {\tr
   {\td {\center {\font \size=+2 {\b NEW!} Blatte, the Better Language
                  for Transforming Text}}

    Development on Latte has ceased in favor of {\a
    \href=http://www.blatte.org/ Blatte}, a very similar language with
    a completely new, smaller, faster, simpler implementation and much
    more power.

    Read {\a
    \href=http://www.zanshin.com/pipermail/latte/2001-March/000091.html
    the Blatte announcement} that was made on the Latte mailing list
    on 28 March 2001.}}}

 {\table \align=center \width=80% \border=1
  {\tr
   {\td {\center {\font \size=+2 Current version is Latte 2.1.}}

    Latte 2.1 contains a change incompatible with Latte 1.1 and
    earlier.  If you've used earlier versions of Latte, you may need
    to make {\a \href=upgrade.html two simple adjustments} in your
    Latte files.}}}

 {\h3 Why Latte?}

 HTML, the language of the web, has numerous serious shortcomings.
 Its own creator has said that it was never meant to be seen by
 humans, let alone written by them.  HTML was meant to be {\em
 generated}, with the actual editing taking place in WYSIWYG editors
 or with higher-level languages.  Latte is one such language.

 Latte's syntax is simpler and more editor-friendly than HTML.  You
 don't need to balance opening and closing tags, you don't need {\tt
 <p>} tags, and you don't need special codes to write characters such
 as <, >, &, and ".  But best of all, Latte lets you define powerful,
 reusable functions to encapsulate repeated text, layout constructs,
 and style information.

 {\table \align=right \width=25% \bgcolor=#e0e0ff \border=1
  {\tr
   {\td {\i Most pages on this site were created with Latte.  At the
            end of each page is a link to its actual Latte source.
            You can compare the Latte version with the HTML version!
            (Use your browser's "view page source" function.)}}}}

 {\h3 Latte resources}

 The {\a \href=examples.html Latte examples page} gives an idea of
 what Latte looks like.

 The {\a \href=latte.html Latte user manual} describes everything
 about how to use Latte.

 The Latte API manual (not yet completed) describes the programming
 interface to the Latte library, for C++ programmers who wish to write
 Latte-based translators and other tools.

 There is a {\a \href=correspond.html Latte mailing list} for
 announcements, bug reports, advocacy, code-sharing, questions,
 suggestions, and other Latte-related discussion.  You can also send
 mail directly to the Latte developers.

 The {\a \href=faq.html Latte FAQ} (answers to frequently asked
 questions) can help you if you're having a problem with Latte, or if
 you'd like to ask a question on the mailing list but suspect it's
 already been answered numerous times.

 The {\a \href=NEWS.html Latte NEWS file} describes changes from
 previous versions of Latte.

 The {\a \href=download.html download page} contains links for
 downloading Latte in source or executable form.  If you download the
 Latte source, the {\a \href=buildnotes.html build notes page} can
 help you anticipate problems that may arise.

 {\hr}

 {\a \href=http://www.zanshin.com/
  {\img \width=128 \height=32 \align=left \border=0 \src=zanshin-logo.gif}}
 Latte is {\i open source software} from
 {\a \href=http://www.zanshin.com/ Zanshin, Inc.}, released under the
 terms of the
 {\a \href=http://www.zanshin.com/ZPL.html Zanshin Public License}.
 {\br \clear=all}

}