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References: <971006184117.8c92@vms.rhbnc.ac.uk>
Message-ID:  <199710070701.JAA12026@isidor.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de>
Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
In-Reply-To:  <971006184117.8c92@vms.rhbnc.ac.uk>
Date:         Tue, 7 Oct 1997 09:01:57 +0200
From: Bernd Raichle <raichle@INFORMATIK.UNI-STUTTGART.DE>
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L
              <LATEX-L@RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
Subject:      Re: LaTeX journal and publisher macros
Status: R

On Mon, 6 October 1997 18:41:17 +0100,
Philip Taylor (RHBNC) <CHAA006@VMS.RHBNC.AC.UK> writes:
[...]
 > %   \mathcode`\"=8000
 > %   \begingroup
 > %   \catcode`\"=\active
 > %   \gdef"{^{\prime\prime}}
 > %   \endgroup
 >
 > >> will make trouble even if each article is enclosed in its own group and
 > >> there are many ways for this kind of trouble to come up.
 >
 > Isn't this the sort of construct that LaTeX implicitly proscribes?
 > If there were a clean LaTeX method (there probably is!) for achieving
 > the effect without the need for \global hacks, then all would be well.

In a lot of these cases \global hacks aren't necessary!

If you are using some group matching hacks using explicit braces and
implicit braces/begingroup/endgroup tokens which are nested as in the
following code

\mathcode`\"=8000
\begingroup
  \catcode`\"=\active
  \toks0={\endgroup
    \def "{^\prime\prime}%
}
\the\toks0\relax

you are able to control which assignments/definitions will be active
at the end of the code without using global assignments.

I have used this technique for `german.sty' since years, thus you can
load this macro file inside a group and if this group is closed _all_
changes are gone (except of all register allocations which are always
done globally).  Additionally I have tried to spread this technique,
but have missed the best way: to publish it in TUGboat :-(

-bernd
____________________________________________________________________
Bernd Raichle                                 "Le langage est source
DANTE e.V., Koordinator `german.sty'           de malentendus"
email: german@dante.de                         (A. de Saint-Exupery)