Re: TeX ligatures in XeTeX/LuaTeX: ``who needs them''?

[Aditya Mahajan <adityam@umich.edu>]

On Sat, 8 Dec 2007, Mojca Miklavec wrote:

> just wondering: how many ConTeXt-ers depend on ligatures such as:
>   '' (double quote) and '' (two single quotes) -> right double quote
>  `` -> left double quote

In some old documents. In newer documents I use \quote and \quotation. 
Then there are documents that need to move back and forth between latex 
and context but for them I can easily define appropriate macros in latex.

>  ,, -> DOUBLE LOW-9 QUOTATION MARK
>
> or even more weird ones:
>  !` -> inverted exclam
>  ?` -> inverted question
>  << -> LEFT POINTING GUILLEMET (never heard of that ligature)
>  >> -> RIGHT POINTING GUILLEMET

I have never used them.

> Some ligatures are handy indeed:
>  -- -> endash
>  --- -> emdash

I use them all the time. Even though the utf encoded values can work here, 
my editor (vim) using fixed width fonts, so it is easy to miss the 
difference between hypehn, endash, and emdash (in the markup). So, I would 
prefer them to be present.

>  ' -> right single quote (I'm, isn't etc.)

I can automate the conversion of ' to the corresponding utf character 
inside vim, so this is not really essential. However, IMO this should not 
change.

Aditya
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