[texhax] Description: difference between \{\} and \lbrace \rbrace

[Barbara Beeton]

hi, paul,

    Is there a visual difference between \{\} and \lbrace \rbrace?

they are equated in plain.tex, so they are meant
to be identical.

    Personally I find the second of the two more descriptive and it helps to
    distinguish between braces for scoping and braces in the final output.

    \documentclass [a4paper, 12pt] {article}

    \usepackage {amssymb}

    \begin {document}

    $\lbrace 1, 2, 3 \rbrace$ \\
    $\{ 1, 2, 3 \}$

    \end {document}

since you aren't able to see the output, yes,
the \lbrace \rbrace would be more meaningful.

the l and r indicate the shape only; if sized
braces are needed, you still have to apply
\left and \right.
							-- bb