Message-Id: <199312151535.AA04972@mail.cs.tu-berlin.de>
Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <LATEX-L@DHDURZ1.BITNET>
Date:         Wed, 15 Dec 93 15:26:34 LCL
From: Mike Piff <M.Piff@sheffield.ac.uk>
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <LATEX-L@DHDURZ1.BITNET>
To: Multiple Recipients of <LATEX-L@DHDURZ1.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: \newsymbol
Status: R


David Carlisle writes:
%>
%>\begin{decl}
%>|\DeclareMathSymbol| \m{symbol} \m{type} \m{sym font name} \m{position}
%>\end{decl}
%>
%>Defines cmd \m{symbol} to be a math symbol of type \m{type} (values
%>0-7 or symbolic see below) in font position \m{position} of symbol
%>font \m{sym font name} which must have been declared previously.
%>\m{position} can be decimal, octal, or hexadecimal with the usual
%>notation |'| or |"| for octal and hex. \m{symbol} can be either a single
%>character, eg `|>|', or a macro name, eg |\sum|.  Allows overwriting of
%>\m{symbol} if \m{symbol} is either a single character or was
%>previously defined to be a math symbol.  Symbolic values for \m{type}
%>are the corresponding |\mathord|, |\mathbin|,\ldots{} commands.
%>
%>Checks that \m{symbol} can be used and \m{sym font name} is a declared
%>symbol font.
%>
%>\begin{verbatim}
%>Example:     \DeclareMathSymbol{\alpha}{0}{letters}{"0B}
%>             \DeclareMathSymbol{\lessdot}{\mathbin}{AMSb}{"0c}
%>             \DeclareMathSymbol{\foo}{\mathalpha}{AMSb}{"0c}
%>\end{verbatim}
%>
%>David
%>

Yes, I had spotted this, and I do agree that \newsymbol was a bad idea in AMS-
LaTeX, but essential for compatibility with AMSTeX.

However...what are we meant to do, *if* we adopt NFSS2, with all those
documents which---legitimately---used \newsymbol explicitly?  Has the AMS
shot itself in the foot with this one?

\def\newsymbol#1#2#3#4#5{%
    \DeclareMathSymbol{#1}{#3}{\ifcase#2\or AMSa\or AMSb\fi}{"#4#5}%
}


Mike

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