GoKawiilspeedata open-sources boxesandglue, a Go-based typesetting library
A developer building speedata Publisher has detailed a new Go library called boxes and glue, designed to replicate the typesetting functions LuaTeX currently handles for the Publisher. Unlike LuaTeX, which is one monolithic program, boxes and glue splits each stage of page layout—page composition, paragraph line-breaking, hyphenation, text shaping, glyph handling and PDF output—into separate, independently usable Go modules. Both speedata Publisher and boxesandglue are open source and hosted on GitHub.
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Breaking a typesetting engine into modular components could make it easier for developers to test, swap out, or extend individual stages—such as hyphenation or PDF writing—without touching the whole system, which the author suggests is harder to do with LuaTeX's monolithic design. Writing the library in Go, including a ported version of HarfBuzz for text shaping, may also make the tooling more accessible to developers outside the TeX ecosystem. This positions boxes and glue as a potential long-term foundation for speedata's typesetting work, though it remains an early-stage project built by a single author.
- boxesandglue is a new open-source Go library replicating LuaTeX's typesetting functions in modular form.
- It splits typesetting into separate packages for pages, paragraphs, hyphenation, text shaping, glyphs, and PDF output.
- Both speedata Publisher and boxesandglue are available on GitHub, with boxesandglue intended as a future foundation for the project.
The TeXbook by Donald Knuth — If you're fascinated by the algorithms behind typesetting discussed in this article, Knuth's original explanation of TeX's line-breaking and box-and-glue model is the definitive source. It's the foundational text that inspired engines like LuaTeX and the tools described here, giving deep insight into paragraph justification, hyphenation, and page layout decisions.
See The TeXbook by Donald Knuth on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: news.speedata.de — Patrick Gundlach, 2026-10-18
Published there as: “A page looks innocent: the algorithms behind a typeset page”
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