[OS X TeX] R, paradigm to bring into the LaTeX world?

[Ross Moore]

Hi Themis, Claus, and others,

On 24/10/2006, at 1:42 AM, Themis Matsoukas wrote:

>
> On Oct 23, 2006, at 10:21 AM, Claus Gerhardt wrote:
>
>> I didn't know that \atop is a command of amsmath, but googling  
>> reveiled it immediately,

Well, actually it is *not* an  amsmath  command,
nor even one recommended for use with LaTeX.
When I Google'd for it, this is what I found at:

        http://www.ams.org/tex/amsmath-faq.html

\over and friends are primitive TeX commands whose unusual syntax is  
out of place in a LaTeX document. Using them at surface level in a  
document also makes it very difficult to achieve certain kinds of  
typesetting improvements that would otherwise be possible.


So yes, it is useable (at least when TeX is the underlying  
translation engine),
but is not encouraged for documents claiming to be written in LaTeX.

So, like newspapers, don't believe everything you find via Google.

>> though I assume that you knew it from the start. Hitting then  the  
>> icon of the amsmath pdf documentation which is stored handily in  
>> the side bar of my Finder windows, I got the description in  
>> another five seconds; total search time 10 seconds.
>>
>> This example reveils that your request is neither reasonable nor  
>> necessary.

In a world where there is plenty of only partially correct information
just lying around, having a definitive resource that is at your  
finger-tips
and fully trustworthy is not an unreasonable request, IMHO.

>>
>> Claus
>>
>
> I google it too, that's how I found it. But what if fate had me  
> thrown in a deserted island with no internet connection, just my  
> laptop and and an unlimited supply of solar power? I've resolved  
> that if I ever find myself in such likely situation, I'll write a  
> book with everything I know, for the benefit of future generations.  
> I'd hate to have that plan fail because I forgot the syntax of  
> \atop... :-)

Take a copy of Knuth's  The TeXbook  with you on that trip.
You'll have plenty of time to read it.   :-)

Also, you won't need access to missing packages, as then you will have
learnt what's needed to be able to write them for yourself.    :-)


>
> Themis


Cheers,

	Ross


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ross Moore                                         ross at maths.mq.edu.au
Mathematics Department                             office: E7A-419
Macquarie University                               tel: +61 +2 9850 8955
Sydney, Australia  2109                            fax: +61 +2 9850 8114
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