display math overcrowded with $$..$$

display math overcrowded with $$..$$

[Sanjoy Mahajan]

The following file produces a overcrowded displayed formula (the
integral sign almost touches the line of text below it):

\starttext
$$\ln(1+x)=\int_1^{1+x}{dt\over t}$$ is very useful.
The logarithm is the area of regions A and B.
\stoptext

But if I use \startformula..\stopformula instead of $$..$$, then the
spacing is fine.  I make the pdf file with 'texexec --pdf try.tex' and
see the problem on my laptop (Debian testing/unstable i386, teTeX
3.0-14 + cm-super font package):

               texexec : TeXExec 5.2.4 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2005
               texutil : TeXUtil 9.0.0 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1992-2004
                   tex : pdfeTeX, 3.141592-1.21a-2.2 (Web2C 7.5.4)
               context : ver: 2005.01.31
               cont-en : ver: 2005.01.31  fmt: 2006.2.18  mes: english

I thought a conTeXt upgrade might fix it, but I haven't (yet!) won the
battle with teTeX and map and encoding files.  However, the live ConTeXt
(2006.02.15) on the Wiki displays, no pun intended, the same spacing
problem.

Should I not use $$..$$ for display math?  I'm learning context as I
convert my plain tex + eplain files.  The Wiki page on Math
<http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Math> says that context inherits its math
from plain TeX, which implies that $$ should work.  However, no examples
on the page use $$, so maybe I shouldn't be so presumptuous.

Although I'd like $$..$$ and \startformula..\stopformula to be
equivalent, I can write a script to convert plain TeX $$..$$
constructions to \{start,stop}formula

-Sanjoy

`Never underestimate the evil of which men of power are capable.'
         --Bertrand Russell, _War Crimes in Vietnam_, chapter 1.

Re: display math overcrowded with $$..$$

[Taco Hoekwater]

Sanjoy Mahajan wrote:
> 
> Should I not use $$..$$ for display math?  

The official answer to that is: no.

But if all you ever use is plain displays, you can manually
restore the four above&below skips to plain-compatible values.
(let as an exercise to the reader for extra discouragement)

Cheers, Taco