\bTABLE and \eTABLE

\bTABLE and \eTABLE

[Berend de Boer]

Hello All,

Up to now every context `environment' used \start.. \stop...
\bTABLE..\eTABLE breaks with that tradition. My suggestion therefore is
to rename \bTABLE and \eTABLE to \startautotable and \stopautotable.

What do people think? Above all, what does Hans think?

Groetjes,

Berend. (-:

Re: \bTABLE and \eTABLE

[Ed L Cashin]

Berend de Boer <berend@pobox.com> writes:

> Hello All,
> 
> Up to now every context `environment' used \start.. \stop...
> \bTABLE..\eTABLE breaks with that tradition. My suggestion therefore is
> to rename \bTABLE and \eTABLE to \startautotable and \stopautotable.
> 
> What do people think? Above all, what does Hans think?

Well, it reminds me of a thought I had when I first saw the bTABLE /
eTABLE commands: 

I thought that we users were supposed to try to use mixed-case names
for the commands that we make up so as to avoid clashes with context
commands.  So I was surprised to see a new mixed-case context command.

I'm torn, though.  Tables are so handy that I bet I would be grateful
for the brevity of the new table syntax.  I like the short commands.
They are not only easier to type; they also make the table more easy
to read in the source, since they don't get in the way.

-- 
--Ed Cashin                     PGP public key:
  ecashin@coe.uga.edu           http://www.coe.uga.edu/~ecashin/pgp/

Re: \bTABLE and \eTABLE

[Hans Hagen]

At 09:16 AM 9/22/00 -0400, Ed L Cashin wrote:
>Berend de Boer <berend@pobox.com> writes:
>
>> Hello All,
>> 
>> Up to now every context `environment' used \start.. \stop...
>> \bTABLE..\eTABLE breaks with that tradition. My suggestion therefore is
>> to rename \bTABLE and \eTABLE to \startautotable and \stopautotable.
>> 
>> What do people think? Above all, what does Hans think?
>
>Well, it reminds me of a thought I had when I first saw the bTABLE /
>eTABLE commands: 
>
>I thought that we users were supposed to try to use mixed-case names
>for the commands that we make up so as to avoid clashes with context
>commands.  So I was surprised to see a new mixed-case context command.
>
>I'm torn, though.  Tables are so handy that I bet I would be grateful
>for the brevity of the new table syntax.  I like the short commands.
>They are not only easier to type; they also make the table more easy
>to read in the source, since they don't get in the way.

Low level, all three table packages use UPPERCASE naming to ensure that no
conflicts arise. 

\long\def\startautotable#1\stopautotable{\bTABLE#1\eTABLE}

how about the other \bTR \eTR ?  I have to look into that, but berend as
well as you have a point. 

Hans
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Re: \bTABLE and \eTABLE

[Berend de Boer]

Hans Hagen wrote:

> how about the other \bTR \eTR ?  I have to look into that, but berend as
> well as you have a point.

Well, I was used to them inside \starttable and here brevity really pays
off, but perhaps they should be lower case? One doesn't need uppercase
in an editor with syntax high-lighting, and lowercase is easier to type.
And in that case, if they are only active inside tables, they can become
\tr \str \td \std (s for slash or stop).

Groetjes,

Berend. (-: