TeX - ! Extra alignment tab has been changed to \cr

[Doug McKenna]

Carlos - 

I agree with other posters that you need to be much clearer on what exactly you think the "bug" or "error" is. Keep it short and succinct. 

Is it that (A) you find a TeX error message less well worded than you would like for given erroneous input? Or is it (B) a desire for the given input to become legal input, so that an error message is never issued? Or is it (C) a desire for a new error message at some higher level of interpretation (within LaTeX or some table package)? 

In case (A), it is very unlikely TeX's error message will ever be changed, even though it's formally changeable. Indeed, anyone in the future who is confused by the error message need only search the internet for the phrase and will quickly find discussions in various places (including this list's current discussion) explaining what's going on. Which is in and of itself an argument for not changing the error message's wording. 

In case (B), you are asking for a relaxation of TeX's constraints on alignment input syntax/conditions (I think), and that's a steep hill to climb. More like an overhanging cliff (Alex Honnold notwithstanding). And not necessarily a good thing. When a computer program desires input in a certain way, and complains when input is not that certain way, it is not a bug/error. It may be that the program could be better designed given its users' needs, but there is no violation of any "contract" between program/documentation and the user that constitutes what is usually called an error or bug. 

And in case (C) you need to suggest the problem to the maintainers of LaTeX or whatever higher level package or macro library is appropriate. It may be something that could be addressed with little pain, or it might be quite difficult and not worth the effort unless a whole lot of users are also confused and making similar requests. 

But again, in all these cases, it requires a clear understanding of what the problem is and what is causing it. 

Hope that helps. 

Doug McKenna 
Mathemaesthetics, Inc. 

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