Re: List of builtin TeX commands

["John R. Culleton" <john@wexfordpress.com>]

On Saturday 25 March 2006 07:35, Hans Hagen wrote:
> Nikolai Weibull wrote:
> > Hi!
> >
> > Is there a list of builtin TeX commands anywhere on the net?  I need
> > it for a syntax definition of  the plain TeX format.
> >
> > With builtin TeX commands I mean stuff like \def, \global, and such.
> >
> > A list of commands defined in plain.tex would be great as well, but at
> > least that's easier to compile by myself, as I can just look in the
> > actual file.
> >
> > The tex source is a bit harder to overview...
>
> if you look into the scit eproperties files that ship with context, you
> will fond such lists (although the pdftex list is incomplete)
>
> we can always extend ctxtools (which can generate syntax files for some
> editors) to provide these lists as well
>
> Hans

I suggest:

_The TeXBook_ (you have the source probably.)
_TeX for the Impatient_ (free on internet.)
_TeX by Topic_ (free on the internet.)

All these books have useful indexes. _TeX for the Impatient_ has
a separate list of commands with page references. _TeX by Topic_
has a glossary of just the primitives. 

TeX primitives (as opposed to plain tex additions) are
distinguished in the first two books by asterisks.  

The remaining need is the list of pdftex additions, and these are
listed on page 15ff of _the PDFTeX User Manual_. 

However having one or more of these books available may obviate the need
to compile your own syntax definition list. 

-- 
John Culleton
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