<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">I think the debate is about the semantics of the verb "to define" and of the expression "in terms" in Don's text.<div><br></div><div>If by "defined" he meant "defined through the \def or the \let command" and if by "in terms" he meant that</div><div>"strictly only that" then Ukirch might have bern right.</div><div><br></div><div>But IMHO this is not what Don meant.</div><div><br></div><div>What he meant is that in the expansion of commands you can use many things including primitive and non-primitive</div><div>commands, but if you continue expanding you will end up with having no non-primitive commands.</div><div><br></div><div>If he meant otherwise he would use neither "in terms" nor "ultimately". This statement is not part of a formal grammar,</div><div>it is just a comment about the special status of primitive commands.</div><div><div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div>Le 10 déc. 2022 à 16:18, ud.usenetcorrespondence@web.de a écrit :</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div><blockquote type="cite" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><blockquote type="cite"><blockquote type="cite">***All other control sequences are<br>| defined, ultimately, in terms of the primitive ones.***</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></div></blockquote><br></div><div>Yannis</div><br><div>
<div><div><meta charset="UTF-8"><div><div dir="auto"><table style="background-color: rgb(241, 241, 241); border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221);"><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.imt-atlantique.fr/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.mines-telecom.fr/signature-mail/logos/logo-imta.png" title="Site web IMT Atlantique" alt="IMT Atlantique" style="padding: 4px 0px 4px 4px;"></a></td><td><div style="float: left; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5; font-family: sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); padding: 8px 15px;"><strong>Yannis HARALAMBOUS</strong><br>Professor<br>Computer Science Department<br>UMR CNRS 6285 Lab-STICC<br><a href="https://www.imt-atlantique.fr/en/person/yannis-haralambous" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://img.mines-telecom.fr/signature-mail/social/web.png" title="Site web IMT Atlantique" alt="Site web IMT Atlantique" style="padding: 3px 10px 4px 0px;"></a><a href="https://twitter.com/y_haralambous" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://img.mines-telecom.fr/signature-mail/social/twitter.png" title="Twitter IMT Atlantique" alt="Twitter IMT Atlantique" style="padding: 3px 10px 4px 0px;"></a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yannis-haralambous-5529073?trk=hp-identity-name" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://img.mines-telecom.fr/signature-mail/social/linkedin.png" title="LinkedIn IMT Atlantique" alt="LinkedIn IMT Atlantique" style="padding: 3px 10px 4px 0px;"></a></div><div style="float: left; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5; font-family: sans-serif; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); padding: 8px 15px;">Technopôle Brest-Iroise CS 83818<br>29238 Brest Cedex 3, France<br>Une École de<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.imt.fr/" target="_blank">l'IMT</a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><div style="float: left; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5; font-family: sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); padding: 8px 15px;"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br><font face="HelveticaNeue-Italic"><i>The way to make a name in linguistics is to make a name in linguistics.</i></font></div><div dir="auto"><font size="2"><font face="HelveticaNeue"><span style="font-style: normal;">(John M. Lawler</span></font>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><font face="HelveticaNeue-Italic"><i>English Language Forum</i></font>)</font></div></div></div></div>
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