For decades, the world has been trapped in a ‘What You See Is All You Get’ (WYSIAYG) nightmare. Microsoft Word, with its cluttered ribbons and floating image anchors, assumes that the only way to create a document is to fight with a visual canvas.

As a Textsmith, I have a different philosophy: Structure first, formatting second.

Enter Typst: The Modern Challenger

Typst is a markup-based typesetting system that is fast, powerful, and, most importantly, plain text. Unlike LaTeX, which can feel like writing code from 1985, Typst feels like a natural evolution of Markdown.

For a blind user or a terminal enthusiast, Typst is a revolution. Because it is plaintext, I can use my specialized Vim plugin to insert headings, lists, and complex mathematical formulas without ever needing a sighted person to tell me if the cursor is ‘hovering’ over a menu.

Why It Beats the ‘Word’

  1. Deterministic Layout: In Word, moving one image can destroy the layout of twenty pages. In Typst, the code defines the layout. It is consistent every time.
  2. Vim Integration: I can use awk to generate tables or sed to bulk-update citations. You can’t pipe a .docx file through a Unix pipeline easily.
  3. Speed: Typst compiles nearly instantly. Every time I save in Vim, the PDF is ready.

The Power of the Plugin

By building a custom Vim plugin for Typst, I’ve turned my editor into a high-speed document forge. I don’t need a ribbon; I have keybindings. I don’t need a mouse; I have logic.

Forged in the terminal. Refined under the anvil.