[OS X TeX] Automatic labeling for references

[Alain Schremmer]

On Apr 5, 2008, at 1:02 PM, Peter Pagin wrote:

> I thought a little more about it.
>
> Why not define a new counter, \newcounter{labb},
> and a new command, like \newcommand[1]{\lab}{\label{#1}\stepcounter 
> {labb}}

1) Without writing anything in the document, I am getting the error  
message

Missing \endcsname inserted.
<to be read again>
        \@ne
l.82 			\newcommand[1]
			{\lab}{\label{#1}\stepcounter{labb}}

Companion2ed p905 says

	Missing \endcsname inserted
		This error can arise from using commands as part of the name of a  
counter or environment

So, the error seems to occur as LaTeX is reading the \newcommand but  
I have no idea what the above means.

> Then in the document run \lab{newlabel}\thelabb. Typeset and check  
> the output result of \thelabb. Replace "newlabel" with that result,  
> and delete "\thelabb". One has to make sure to get the value from  
> the end of the document, even the label is put into the middle. So  
> it is sort of quarter-automatic. But if 391 \lab commands have been  
> given, the next gets the label content "392".
> Maybe of no interest.

I have a feeling that this is what I want but I won't know for sure  
until I can fix the \newcommand,

Hopeful regards
--schremmer