X-VM-v5-Data: ([nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil nil] ["1112" "Thu" "22" "October" "1998" "14:51:50" "+0200" "Chris Rowley" "C.A.Rowley@OPEN.AC.UK" nil "34" "Re: Users dropping into TeX" "^Date:" nil nil "10" nil "Users dropping into TeX" nil nil nil] nil) X-POP3-Rcpt: schoepf@polly.zdv.Uni-Mainz.DE Received: from listserv.gmd.de (listserv.gmd.de [192.88.97.1]) by mail.Uni-Mainz.DE (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id OAA26186; Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:52:34 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from lsv1.listserv.gmd.de (192.88.97.2) by listserv.gmd.de (LSMTP for OpenVMS v1.1a) with SMTP id <12.10A212B1@listserv.gmd.de>; Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:52:33 +0200 Received: from RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE by RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8b) with spool id 403617 for LATEX-L@RELAY.URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE; Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:52:28 +0200 Received: from ixgate02.dfnrelay.d400.de (ixgate02.dfnrelay.d400.de [193.174.248.2]) by relay.urz.uni-heidelberg.de (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id OAA29030 for ; Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:52:22 +0200 (MET DST) X400-Received: by mta d400relay in /PRMD=dfnrelay/ADMD=d400/C=de/; Relayed; Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:52:01 +0200 X400-Received: by mta venus in /PRMD=uk.ac/ADMD= /C=gb/; Relayed; Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:51:43 +0200 X400-Received: by mta fell.open.ac.uk in /PRMD=UK.AC/ADMD= /C=GB/; Relayed; Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:51:33 +0200 X400-Received: by mta UK.AC.MHS-RELAY.SUN in /PRMD=uk.ac/ADMD= /C=gb/; Relayed; Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:51:50 +0200 X400-Originator: C.A.Rowley@open.ac.uk X400-Recipients: non-disclosure:; X400-MTS-Identifier: [/PRMD=UK.AC/ADMD= /C=GB/;<13871.9933.597248.116184@fell.o] X400-Content-Type: P2-1988 (22) Content-Identifier: Re: Users dro... Alternate-Recipient: Allowed References: <009CE0B8.3AA44DD4.13@triumf.ca> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: VM 6.44 under Emacs 19.34.1 Message-ID: <13871.9933.597248.116184@fell.open.ac.uk> Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project In-Reply-To: Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:51:50 +0200 From: Chris Rowley Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L Subject: Re: Users dropping into TeX Status: R X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 2700 Hans Aberg wrote -- > The apparent reason this gives "improved syntax checking" is due to a bug > in LaTeX!: > > When nesting environments, there are more than environment to keep track > of for the error checking, which LaTeX does not do. This is an area where we have some ideas but it is necessary to think clearly about what is needed. Here are some desirable features of such a specification: -- provide a straightforward means of extending the available document-level environments (and commands), with clearly defined rules for what is allowed; -- distinguish (to both humans and software) clearly between such extensions (where the detailed syntax is very flexible) and an inner-level which has a rigorously defined syntax that is extensible only in more complex ways within (something like) package files; -- hence fix such "bugs". If anyone is intersted in putting substantial work into implementing such ideas, please contact Them. This would involve some major programming using the LaTeX3 PL (and of course developing it) and implementing in it any low-level structures needed. chris