X-VM-v5-Data: ([nil nil nil nil nil nil nil t nil]
	[nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil])
Date:         Thu, 22 Feb 90 18:01:00 GMT
Reply-To: LaTeX-L Mailing list <LATEX-L@DHDURZ1.bitnet>
Sender: LaTeX-L Mailing list <LATEX-L@DHDURZ1.bitnet>
From: "Chris Rowley - Open University UK (R01/Maths)" <CA_ROWLEY@VAX.ACS.OPEN.AC.UK>
Subject:      Re: \begin...\end interface
To: Rainer Schoepf <BK4@DHDURZ1.uucp>
Status: R
X-Status: 
X-Keywords:                  
X-UID: 17

>
> I don't think the proposal meant that \begin{tt},
> \begin{math}, etc should cease to exist; of course they must
> continue to be available, and for the good reasons Don noted.
OK, so someone will have to make all possible such environments
available: ie for all possible font-changing commands that anyone
might ever define, and that is just for starters!
Sounds more difficult than changing the style files!
NOTE: this method of using
\begin{foo} ... \end {foo} interchangeably with  {\foo    ... }
is clearly documented on Page 18 (even though this is in the section
on emphasized text, those who use it know that it works for
\bf,  \Huge etc, etc.

> However, I've gone through the manual index, and can find no
> statement on pages dealing with \end that says \begin{foo}
> generates a macro \beginfoo(sic);
I am still looking, but there are certainly 2 indirect references to it
on Page 173.
Also, it is so "well-known" to lots of people by now: changing it
could be dangerous.

> In summary, I don't feel that such a change would invalidate
> the required goal of upward compatibility with LaTeX as
> described in Leslie's book.
This may be arguable, but it would certainly lose compatibility with
Latex as she is very commonly used.

chris