[texhax] How do you tell TeX to forget?

[Randy Schilling]

      I'm trying to define a count register in terms of a macro.  This is
discussed to a limited extent 
  
      near the middle of  p. 379 of the TeXbook..  The command  \n=\csn
works just fine if \csn is very 

     simple, \edef\csn{\the\n} or \edef\csn{1234}, but fails if the number
1234 here is the result

     of a process, the result of a macro.  \csn is defined by
\edef\csn{\macro}; it might be necessary

     to use \noexpand or a token register as described on p.216 of the
TeXbook to get the result of the  

     \macro in \csn.  Anyway,  \n=\csn fails with a 'missing number' error
showing some of the code in

     \macro.  I don't know how to tell TeX  to forget about  the process,
\macro, leading to the result 1234.


    I've ran head on into this problem, in one disguise or another, many
times since taking on TeX.
    
    So, I would be very grateful for any help anyone can give me.   In any
case, thanks very much
    
    for looking into it.

	Randy