Dear Robin, could you explain what LaTeX Watch does over an above
latexmk? If the main idea is as you describe it in your initial post
to the mailing list:

> The idea is that you can 'watch' a LaTeX document, so that whenever
> you save a change the display is updated as quickly as possible to
> reflect the change.

then this can already be achieved with latexmk with the -pvc switch.

Dear Mark,

In a general sense, there is a difference of emphasis. The primary function of latexmk is to be as thorough as possible, compiling the document as many times as necessary to resolve cross-references. Conversely, the primary function of Watch is to be as *fast* as possible, so for example it compiles the document only once.

On a more technical level, Watch compiles a custom format file for the watched document, so that packages etc. do not have to be reloaded on each subsequent recompile. This makes it faster at reflecting changes.

It also has various Mac- and TextMate-specific features. For example, if the preview document is closed, or if you quit TextMate, then the watch script will stop running.

Of course there is some overlap with latexmk. I'm sure that each could learn some useful tricks from the other. (Some future version of Watch will probably do some automatic recompilation when references need to be resolved, though it will do it *after* displaying the updated file.)

Robin