MIME-Version: 1.0
References: <CACKZBPVQGpgvPSw8RFt4PdxPno2UYDAghwEfYt=x_BvbdJXipw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Message-ID:  <CACKZBPWKzbGPEDbN6ZbX+LFSH6M8Covr_TU7M4sb6V-Qu0ZTfg@mail.gmail.com>
Date:         Sun, 4 Aug 2013 21:35:18 +0200
Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@LISTSERV.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <LATEX-L@LISTSERV.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
From: Michiel Helvensteijn <mhelvens+latex@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: The unravel package
To: LATEX-L@LISTSERV.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE
In-Reply-To:  <CACKZBPVQGpgvPSw8RFt4PdxPno2UYDAghwEfYt=x_BvbdJXipw@mail.gmail.com>
Precedence: list
Envelope-To: <rainer.schoepf@GMX.NET>
Status: R

On Sun, Aug 4, 2013 at 5:32 PM, Michiel Helvensteijn
<mhelvens+latex@gmail.com> wrote:

> I wanted to give my kudos to Bruno for the unravel package. It might
> be the most massively useful single package for TeX programmers I've
> seen.

This being true, I am suddenly forced to wonder if it wouldn't have
saved a great deal of work to implement it in the TeXLive / MiKTeX
source-code directly (with the help of their respective developers).
To be frank, doing that rather than continuing with this package would
*still* save a great deal of work, even if you have to do it for
TeXLive and MiKTeX separately.

I realize it can't be fun to hear this after the effort you've gone
through. But there are obvious advantages:

(1) No need to simulate the TeX parser; it's already there for you.
All you have to do is install some hooks (if they're not already
there).

(2) So also: no need to worry about discrepancy between your parser and theirs.

(3) You have full access to the state of the TeX parser at all times
(e.g. content of the mouth/stomach, the list of defined command
sequences, catcodes, mathcodes, etc.), without being subject to its
limitations yourself.

(4) It would run... thousands of times faster.

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

-- 
www.mhelvens.net