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Date:         Tue, 14 Oct 1997 12:05:57 +0200
From: Hans Aberg <haberg@MATEMATIK.SU.SE>
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
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To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L
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Subject:      LaTeX Syntax
Status: R

  I think Mittelbach explained here that Lamport constructed LaTeX around a
Pascal look-a-like syntax. I think that the LaTeX project (if not already
done) should decide if this syntax should be official or not with respect
to inputted code: If so, there should be tools, helping the user to ensure
that the input syntax is correct.

  Let me illustrate the problem: I use to write
    \newcommand\foo{...}
but the LaTeX syntax is (I think)
    \newcommand{\foo}{...}
A spellchecker I use would expect the latter, and stop spellchecking
entirely if it encounters the former. Now, if the syntax is official, this
is correct behavior, but if it is unofficial (that is, something just used
internally by the LaTeX design team), it is incorrect.

  In other words, the problem shows up in the interface between LaTeX and
other programs.

  One such tool for recognizing the LaTeX syntax could be showing the
source code in a text editor with styled text. But one would also expect
some syntax checker being available.

  Hans Aberg
                  * Email: Hans Aberg <mailto:haberg@member.ams.org>
                  * AMS member listing: <http://www.ams.org/cml/>