Support Tectonic engine and execute user-customizable command sequence

README.md

@@ -81,14 +81,16 @@ and see the block like this in the output
 
 ## Customization
 
-The extension defaults to running `xelatex` on the server.
+The extension defaults to running the `xelatex` engine on the server.
 This command may be customized (e.g., to use `pdflatex` instead) by customizing
 your `jupyter_notebook_config.py` file:
 
 ```python
 c.LatexConfig.latex_command = 'pdflatex'
 ```
 
+The above configuration will compile a LaTeX document using the common predefined flags and options such as `-interaction` `-halt-on-error`, `-file-line-error`, `-synctex`. For more control over the command sequence, check the Manual Command Arguments configuration.
+
 The extension defaults to running `bibtex` for generating a bibliography
 if a `.bib` file is found. You can also configure the bibliography command
 by setting
@@ -97,13 +99,59 @@ by setting
 c.LatexConfig.bib_command = '<custom_bib_command>'
 ```
 
+New: `BibTeX` compilation is skipped if the following conditions are present:
+
+- `c.LatexConfig.disable_bibtex` is explicitly set to `True` in the `jupyter_notebook_config.py` file
+- There are no .bib files found in the folder
+
 To render references (`\ref{...}`), such as equation or chapter numbers, you would
 need to compile in multiple passes by setting
 
 ```python
 c.LatexConfig.run_times = 2
 ```
 
+New: `Manual Command Arguments`
+For more advanced customizations, a complete command sequence can be specified using the `manual_cmd_args` configuration in the `jupyter_notebook_config.py` file. This allows to define the exact command and use options the extension will finally execute:
+
+```python
+c.LatexConfig.manual_cmd_args = [
+    'lualatex',  # Specify the LaTeX engine (e.g., lualatex, pdflatex)
+    '-interaction=nonstopmode',  # Continue compilation without stopping for errors
+    '-halt-on-error',  # Stop compilation at the first error
+    '-file-line-error',  # Print file and line number for errors
+    '-shell-escape',  # Enable shell escape
+    '-synctex=1',  # Enable SyncTeX for editor synchronization
+    '{filename}.tex'  # Placeholder for the input file name
+]
+```
+
+The `{filename}` placeholder will be replaced by the name of the LaTeX file during compilation.
+
+Additional tags and options can also be added to edit configuration values.
+
+New: `Tectonic Engine Support`
+The extension now also supports the Tectonic engine for compiling LaTeX files. To use Tectonic as the default LaTeX engine cutomize the `jupyter_notebook_config.py file`:
+
+```python
+c.LatexConfig.latex_command = 'tectonic'
+```
+
+The default command sequence for `Tectonic` generates the output file in `pdf` format and uses the available `SyncTeX` flag.
+
+For [advanced control](https://tectonic-typesetting.github.io/book/latest/v2cli/compile.html) over [Tectonic](https://github.com/tectonic-typesetting/tectonic), specify options in the manual_cmd_args setting:
+
+```python
+c.LatexConfig.manual_cmd_args = [
+    'tectonic',
+    '--outfmt=pdf',  # Output format as PDF
+    '--synctex=1',  # Enable SyncTeX for editor synchronization
+    '--outdir',  # The directory in which to place output files
+    '--keep-logs',  # Keep the log files generated during processing
+    '{filename}.tex'  # Input .tex file
+]
+```
+
 ### Security and customizing shell escapes
 
 LaTeX files have the ability to run arbitrary code by triggering external

jupyterlab_latex/build.py

@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ def initialize(self, root_dir):
         self.root_dir = root_dir
 
 
-    def build_tex_cmd_sequence(self, tex_base_name, run_bibtex=False):
+    def build_tex_cmd_sequence(self, tex_base_name):
         """Builds tuples that will be used to call LaTeX shell commands.
 
         Parameters
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ def build_tex_cmd_sequence(self, tex_base_name, run_bibtex=False):
 
         """
         c = LatexConfig(config=self.config)
+
+        engine_name = c.latex_command
 
         escape_flag = ''
         if c.shell_escape == 'allow':
@@ -94,35 +96,57 @@ def build_tex_cmd_sequence(self, tex_base_name, run_bibtex=False):
 
         # Get the synctex query parameter, defaulting to
         # 1 if it is not set or is invalid.
-        synctex = self.get_query_argument('synctex', default='1')
-        synctex = '1' if synctex != '0' else synctex
-
-        full_latex_sequence = (
-            c.latex_command,
-            escape_flag,
-            "-interaction=nonstopmode",
-            "-halt-on-error",
-            "-file-line-error",
-            f"-synctex={synctex}",
-            f"{tex_base_name}",
+        synctex = self.get_query_argument('synctex', default=True)
+
+        if c.manual_cmd_args:
+            # Replace placeholders with actual values
+            self.log.info("Using the manual command argument and buidling latex sequence.")
+            full_latex_sequence = [
+                # replace placeholders using format()
+                arg.format(filename=tex_base_name)
+                for arg in c.manual_cmd_args  
+            ] 
+        elif engine_name == 'tectonic':
+            self.log.info("Using Tectonic for LaTeX compilation.")
+            full_latex_sequence = (
+                engine_name,
+                f"{tex_base_name}.tex",  # input .tex file
+                "--outfmt=pdf",  # specify output format (pdf in this case)
+                f"--synctex={'1' if synctex else '0'}" # to support SyncTeX (synchronization with the editor)
             )
-
-        full_bibtex_sequence = (
-            c.bib_command,
-            f"{tex_base_name}",
+        else:
+            self.log.info("Using TeX Live (or compatible distribution) for LaTeX compilation.")
+            full_latex_sequence = (
+                engine_name,
+                escape_flag,
+                "-interaction=nonstopmode",
+                "-halt-on-error",
+                "-file-line-error",
+                f"-synctex={'1' if synctex else '0'}",
+                f"{tex_base_name}",
             )
-
+        
         command_sequence = [full_latex_sequence]
 
-        if run_bibtex:
+        # Skip bibtex compilation if the following conditions are present
+        #   - c.LatexConfig.disable_bibtex is explicitly set to True
+        #   - tectonic engine is used
+        #   - there are no .bib files found in the folder
+        if c.disable_bibtex or engine_name == 'tectonic' or not self.bib_condition():
+            # Repeat LaTeX command run_times times
+            command_sequence = command_sequence * c.run_times
+        else:
+            full_bibtex_sequence = (
+                c.bib_command,
+                f"{tex_base_name}",
+            )
+
             command_sequence += [
                 full_bibtex_sequence,
                 full_latex_sequence,
                 full_latex_sequence,
-                ]
-        else:
-            command_sequence = command_sequence * c.run_times
-
+            ]
+
         return command_sequence
 
     def bib_condition(self):

jupyterlab_latex/config.py

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """ JupyterLab LaTex : live LaTeX editing for JupyterLab """
 
-from traitlets import Unicode, CaselessStrEnum, Integer, Bool
+from traitlets import Unicode, CaselessStrEnum, Integer, Bool, List as TraitletsList
 from traitlets.config import Configurable
 
 class LatexConfig(Configurable):
@@ -10,10 +10,13 @@ class LatexConfig(Configurable):
     """
     latex_command = Unicode('xelatex', config=True,
         help='The LaTeX command to use when compiling ".tex" files.')
+    disable_bibtex = Bool(default_value=False, config=True,
+        help='Whether to disable the BibTeX command sequence.')
     bib_command = Unicode('bibtex', config=True,
-        help='The BibTeX command to use when compiling ".tex" files.')
-    synctex_command = Unicode('synctex', config=True,
-        help='The synctex command to use when syncronizing between .tex and .pdf files.')
+        help='The BibTeX command to use when compiling ".tex" files.' +\
+             'Only used if disable_bibtex is not set to True')
+    synctex_command = Bool('synctex', config=True,
+        help='Whether to use the synctex command when syncronizing between .tex and .pdf files.')
     shell_escape = CaselessStrEnum(['restricted', 'allow', 'disallow'],
         default_value='restricted', config=True,
         help='Whether to allow shell escapes '+\
@@ -25,3 +28,7 @@ class LatexConfig(Configurable):
         help='How many times to compile the ".tex" files.')
     cleanup = Bool(default_value=True, config=True,
         help='Whether to clean up ".out/.aux" files or not.')
+    # Add a new configuration option to hold user-defined commands
+    manual_cmd_args = TraitletsList(Unicode(), default_value=[], config=True,
+        help='A list of user-defined command-line arguments with placeholders for ' +
+             'filename ({filename})')