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## Re: texinfo.tex change.

 From: Robert J. Chassell Subject: Re: texinfo.tex change. Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 13:43:48 +0000 (UTC)

   Why do we need to use @LaTeX{} in calc.texi?  What's so important

It turns out that the maintainers of Calc mode added LaTeX to the
types of user visible output for which it can automatically write
mathematical expressions.

Thus, in addition to the existing normal', big', C language',
TeX', and other modes, Calc can display a mathematical expression in
LaTeX format.

This is very convenient for those who write in LaTeX since the
expression can be used directly in that format.

Thus, in Emacs Calc, the same expression comes in different output
formats selected by d N', d B', etc:

The Golden Ratio', 1.618 ... ,  in Emacs Lisp:   (/ (1+ (sqrt 5)) 2)

Emacs Calc mode

Normal'    (1 + sqrt(5)) / 2

___
Big'       1 + V 5
--------
2

TeX'       {1 + \sqrt{5} \over 2}

LaTeX'     \frac{1 + \sqrt{5}}{2}

plus Fortran, Pascal, Eqn, and others

I did not know that LaTeX mode had been added.  But as I said, it is
very convenient for those who write papers using LaTeX, as many do,
even though sad experience shows LaTeX to be a worse deep
representation than Texinfo.  (LaTeX is fine for a single format
output, as in 19th century typesetting; it is poor for multiple format
outputs, as in 20th or 21st century computer use.)

Nowadays, @LaTeX{} occurs 35 times in calc.texi.

--
Robert J. Chassell
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