[texhax] Cases for italic correction

[Michael Barr]

The following illustrated another use for italic correction:

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}
$d^3=d\/^3=d{}^3$

\end{document}

I am sorry, but you have really have to see the output to appreciate the 
difference.  It illustrates a real defect in tex.  The mit version of d 
leans well outside the "bounding box" in a way that almost other letter 
does (I think f might be another) and when you add a superscript, it 
crashes into that ascender.  I wrote a book that had several hundred d^n, 
where n was either a number or a letter.  These were face operators, for 
which the d was the only letter ever used.  I used a macro called \dee 
that added a little extra space, but an italic correction would have 
worked fine.  I didn't realize until I tested it just now that a pair of 
braces would also have worked.

Michael Barr


-- 
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in
moral philosophy--the search for a superior moral justification
for selfishness.  --J.K. Galbraith