LuaLaTeX Footnote Maze

September 1, 2025

LuaLaTeX Footnote Maze #

Introduction #

The prospect of typesetting my book in LaTeX filled me with dread. Sure, I could have used Microsoft Word or hired a professional. But I wanted exacting typography control that only do-it-yourself LaTeX offers. The problem? Despite decades of programming in C++ and Perl, LaTeX has always been my nemesis.

Unlike normal programming languages, LaTeX feels undebuggable. Graduate school had taught me to fear its cryptic error messages and painfully slow feedback loops. I never grasped its architecture—a strange blend of markup and macro expansion that operates by its own esoteric rules. Even as an experienced programmer, LaTeX remained an intimidating black box.