Re: Using texinfo for works that are not software-related

[Gavin Smith]

On Tue, Aug 29, 2023 at 08:22:19PM +0000, Oleander wrote:
> Hello everyone!
> 
> Does texinfo suit other works that are not software-related like sys
> admin documentation, lectures, long essays, fictional/non fictional
> books? From what I've read in the manual so far, it is possible to
> produce some of them but would you recommend it? Chapter 1 states:
> 
> > Texinfo was devised specifically for the purpose of writing software
> > documentation and manuals. If you want to write a good manual for
> > your program, Texinfo has many features which we hope will make your
> > job easier. However, Texinfo is not intended to be a general-purpose
> > formatting program.
> 

There's no reason why Texinfo couldn't be used for books and essays as
these will be mostly plain text with hardly any need for special marking
of text.

Texinfo can be converted to LaTeX so more fine tweaking of the PDF output
is possible, if needed.

> If not, what markup do you prefer for works that are not
> software-related, without missing most of the good things texinfo
> provides?
> 
> Thank you

It's a mystery to me.  I don't really have any recommendations, I'm afraid.
I'm sure there are documentation systems I'm unaware of that people use
for specific purposes.  For example, to my knowledge, nobody ever used
Texinfo to write a motor vehicle maintenance manual or instructions for
using a washing machine.  I'd say use what you are used to and what works
best for your purposes.