[PSTricks] what about being able to write \psset{textcolor=white}?

[Denis Girou]

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>>>>> "Christophe.Broult" == Christophe Broult <christophe.broult at info.unicaen.fr> writes:

    Christophe.Broult> I like to use \newpsstyle so I use the same parameters for different
    Christophe.Broult> objects. So far I am able to write

    Christophe.Broult> \newpsstyle{mystyle}{fillcolor=red,linecolor=black}

    Christophe.Broult> but it seems that there is no PSTricks key to set the text color. 
    Christophe.Broult> Using the following lines 

    Christophe.Broult> \makeatletter
    Christophe.Broult> \def\psset at textcolor#1{\color{#1}}%\pst at getcolor{#1}\pslinecolor}
    Christophe.Broult> \makeatother

    Christophe.Broult> I can write 

    Christophe.Broult> \newpsstyle{mystyle}{fillcolor=red,linecolor=black,textcolor=white}

    Christophe.Broult> and get the expected behavior.

    Christophe.Broult> Is there another way to obtain the same result? If not, I think this
    Christophe.Broult> is something useful that should be added to standard PSTricks.

  Even if I clearly think that this is a very minor point, your proposition is
coherent and meaningful.

  Nevertheless, concerning what could be the best way to implement it is not
so clear for me. One essential point is, as everybody (?) know, that PSTricks
is a "generic" package and surely not a LaTeX one (there are only LaTeX
wrappers which allow LaTeX users to see it as a LaTeX package). It was wanted
and designed like that by Timothy and obviously nobody can change such basic
choice. And more, you know that some users dislike or even hate LaTeX, and in
any case would never use something other than "plain" (I know that this is the 
case of at least some -very few but some- people on this mailing list).

  Even if I am personally a LaTeX user only, I respect other choices (in any
case, we will not start here again the debate plain/LaTeX which has nothing to 
do with this mailing list!). I don't ignore that the `color' package has been
interfaced to be able to used under "plain", but what I don't know is if
"plain" users used it or not for colors. It could clearly appear as a good
solution, but as what I know is that rather often "plain" users are allergic
to LaTeX, I'm not convainced that this is really the case. My guess is that
most use more probably the PSTricks interface (or another one). So they would
not be happy if we force them to use the \color macro...

  What would be nicer is obviously to have a PSTricks version independant of
the color interface, which can use externally several, with `color' as
default, and to found after a way to implement your suggestion.

  But in any case the major point for present time is not this one. It is
just that "added [something] to standard PSTricks" is absolutely not in the
actuality. All of our effort for PSTricks 97, from Sebastian and me, was to
offer a consolidated, coherent and updated version. We knew of course that it
was very far to be perfect, but we thought that it was notably better than the
preceding situation and could be "reasonably" satisfaying for the majority of
users. We obviously can dream to a nicer and rather idyllic solution: an
updated and repackaged (.dtx+.ins -which work also with "plain"!) version,
fully documented, `keyval' based, with an independent interface for colors and
with various improvements ("PSTricks 2000" ?! -we can dream...). But what is
sure is that nothing of that is on my planning for 98 or 99 and that I have not
received the proposition from somebody else to do it. So, there will be no
change at all in 98 and 99 in "standard PSTricks" (just, as since PST 97, bug
corrections -but I hope that now rather few will be discovered!- and additions 
in the contrib directory -them can be huge!)

D.G.

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