[texhax] Some puzzling TeX (\@sptoken)

Uwe Lueck uwe.lueck at web.de
Wed Jun 1 20:28:00 CEST 2011


The essential "thesis" of my earlier posting (below) was:

    an explicit definition of <optional spaces> does not provide
    an explicit definition of <one optional space>

<optional spaces> just is one non-terminal symbol in the definition
of TeX's token syntax, and <one optional space> is just another.
The terms inside the angles are like names of variables or functions
in a programming language. It is good policy to choose names
indicating the meaning, but in complex circumstances you cannot 
expect that the name exhibits the meaning (LaTeX3 seems to try, though).
Formally, instead of using names you could just number the non-terminal
symbols (and indeed numbering their rules is so helpful in Appelt's appendix),
and anyway, the meaning depends entirely on the definitions.
In this sense, you cannot derive the set of instances of
<one optional space> from the production rules invoked by
<optional spaces>. -- That's what I wanted to say.

Cheers,

    Uwe.


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: "Uwe Lueck" <uwe.lueck at web.de>
Gesendet: 01.06.2011 16:10:42
An: "Philip TAYLOR (Webmaster, Ret'd)" <P.Taylor at Rhul.Ac.Uk>
Betreff: Re: [texhax] Some puzzling TeX (\@sptoken)

>Von: "Philip TAYLOR (Webmaster, Ret'd)" <P.Taylor at Rhul.Ac.Uk> wrote 01.06.2011 13:23:42:
>> Uwe Lueck wrote:
>>>
>>> "The quantity<space token>, which was used in the syntax of<optional
>>> spaces> above, stands for an explicit or implicit space. In other words,
>>> it denotes either a character token of category 10, or a control sequence
>>> or active character whose current meaning has been made equal to such a
>>> token by \let or \futurelet."
>>>
>>> What seems *not to be said explicitly*, indeed!! (see
>>> announcement above), is that <one optional space>
>>> may be an implicit space token. (Of course it is said
>>> *implicitly*.)
>>
>> So you would argue that although there is an explicit definition
>> of the sort of spaces that may form <optional spaces>, this does
>> not provide an explicit definition of the sort of spaces that may
>> form <one optional space>. I am not sure I agree.
>
>Indeed, when I distinguish "explicit" statements from "implicit"
>statements here, there must be something that is implicit
>rather than explicit. By "explicit" I mean that a machine
>(such as TeX) can derive that \@sptoken is an instance of
><one optional space>, straightforwardly implemented along
>the derivation rules given in the TeXbook. When you think you
>understand what <one optional space> means, and you even
>think this derives from the definition of <optional spaces>,
>I call this "implicit". I do deny that you can formally
>derive a replacement rule for <one optional space>
>from the rules for <optional spaces>. Of course
><one optional space> is "most probably" a sequence
>of <optional spaces> with at most one member,
>but that is pragmatic, natural language, not formal
>derivation, not the result of something explicitly said.
>
>I was saying that I could not find a formal definition of
><one optional space> in the TeXbook, not even with a
>text editor.
>
>But the reason for this failure was that I did not notice
>in time that `\is' in texbook.tex produces the long arrow
>in the derivation rules, and actually this definition is at the
>bottom of my TeXbook p. 269 -- it's a separate definition,
>not a "consequence" of something earlier!
>
>Sorry Grand Wizzard, sorry all!
>
>Before I found that, I looked up the appendix of
>Wolfgang Appelt's `TEX für Fortgeschrittene'.
>This appendix *numbers* the rules, and the replacement
>terms in all the rules have a superscript pointing to the rule
>that defines the term. I may have needed to see
>
> <one optional space> --> <space token> | <empty>
>
>(Appelt's (48)) to enable an unconscious function of my brain
>and eyesto suddenly discover the same line in the TeX book
>when I wasn't actually trying to.
>
>Now it has been explicitly said that <one optional space>
>may be an implicit space token, because it is said
>explicitly that a <space token> may be an implicit
>space token.
>
>At least it is now formally derivable from explicit statements,
>rather than explicitly said, as it is problematic to say
>that mere consequences of explicit statements
>have been explicitly stated, these consequences are
>infinitely many ... cf. the so-called "logical omniscience problem"
>in epistemic logic. (Oh, there "implicit" could be used
>for logical consequences of explicit statements,
>as opposed to an idea of "implicit" using pragmatics.)
>
>Other words for the distinction: If I had found in The TeXbook
>that <one optional space> is either <empty> or a "real"
>(explicit) space token, I would not have considered it a
>contradiction to the other formal rules.
>
>Cf.
>
> http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/implicit
>
>BTW, the definition of "implicit characters" on TeXbook p. 269
>is not very explicit (somewhat at odds with my celebrations above),
>it tries to indicate the meaning of "implicit characters" by
>the metaphor `masquerade' and examples only, and by a
>too general reference to \let and \futurelet.
>I think an explicit definition could be: An implicit character token
>is a non-character token or an active character token that
>after \meaning behaves like a non-active-character token.
>
>Cheers,
>
> Uwe.
>
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