Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around the use of TikZ in the Physics Forums environment, specifically addressing issues related to rendering TikZ diagrams and the limitations of MathJax compared to LaTeX. Participants explore the challenges of using TikZ within the forum's formatting constraints.
Discussion Character
- Technical explanation
- Debate/contested
- Meta-discussion
Main Points Raised
- One participant expresses difficulty in getting a specific TikZ command to work, asking for assistance.
- Another participant notes that Physics Forums uses MathJax instead of LaTeX, which limits the availability of certain libraries and functionalities.
- There is a mention of a previous site, MHB, which may have supported TikZ rendering, leading to questions about its features compared to PF.
- Some participants share their personal workflows, indicating they use external tools like LaTeX editors or Overleaf to create TikZ diagrams and then share images instead of using direct TikZ code in the forum.
- One participant suggests using Overleaf for compiling TikZ diagrams into PDFs, while another mentions using LyX for similar purposes.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants generally agree on the limitations of TikZ usage in Physics Forums due to the reliance on MathJax, but there is no consensus on the specifics of the previous MHB site's capabilities or the best practices for using TikZ in the current forum.
Contextual Notes
Participants reference the differences in rendering capabilities between MathJax and LaTeX, and the potential need for external tools to effectively use TikZ. There is uncertainty regarding the exact features available on the MHB site prior to its merger.