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Conference vaxuum::document_ft

Title:	DOCUMENT T1.0
Notice:	New notesfile (DOCUMENT.NOTE) now available (see note 897)
Moderator:	CLOSET::ADLER

Created:	Mon Feb 09 1987
Last Modified:	Thu Oct 31 1991
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	897
Total number of notes:	4397

205.0. "defining tag for ^ over lambda" by PICA::HIDER (Paul Hider) Mon Apr 06 1987 17:56

  I'm trying to define a tag that will let me put a "^" over lambda.
  I'm not sure how one is supposed to define tags, don't tell me I'm not! :-(

  I've seen tags defined with ^T's, ^B's and ^E's (the control characters)
  but that didn't do much for me.

  What I have here works for the first case, but in the second I get an
  error "more than 1 arguments supplied to tag <SUBSCRIPT>".

  Many thanks for any help..
                                ..Paul

<define>(HAT\|\hat{$1}&)

<math>(display)
<hat>(<math_char>(lambda))
<endmath>

<math>(display)
x<superscript>(<hat>(<math_char>(lambda)))
<endmath>

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
205.1	<hat> in next release	CLOSET::ANKLAM		`Tue Apr 07 1987 08:39`	2

205.2	Shouldn't that be <CIRCUMFLEX> ?	COOKIE::WITHERS	Le plus ca change...	`Thu Apr 09 1987 12:08`	1

205.3	why can't it be hat?	CLOSET::ANKLAM		`Thu Apr 09 1987 15:24`	8
	I tended to use the terms that were familiar to existing TeX math users on the assumption that TeX's math was developed with familiarity of common terms. "hat" is what Knuth called it. Is this too cute? patti
205.4	A tip of the <hat> to <circumflex>!	CLOSET::KAIKOW		`Thu Apr 09 1987 16:17`	5
	I forgot what the official name of the character is in ISO 646, it used to be "circumflex accent" (may have changed in the latest revision to the ISO standards), however, it is silly to use anything other than <CIRCUMFLEX>, i.e. remove the <hat>.
205.5	hat vote here	COOKIE::JOHNSTON		`Thu Apr 09 1987 17:54`	3
	I vote for "hat"; anything to save keystrokes! Rose
205.6	Another vote for <CIRCUMFLEX>	CRAYON::GENT	Party gone out of bounds -- B52's	`Fri Apr 10 1987 07:55`	4
	I vote for <CIRCUMFLEX>. Although I don't like entering long tag names, circumflex is the standard term (in my dictionary at least). --Andrew
205.7	Did you really want to ask?	3D::BOYACK	pithy...pithy...pithy	`Fri Apr 10 1987 08:27`	6
	As a two-finger fury I hate typing, but it seems right to go with <circumflex>. On the other hand, we don't spell out <list_element> and <paragraph>... (and so on -- this is a marvelous oppurtunity to open a rathole) Joe
205.8	fwiw:	TLE::SAVAGE	Neil, @Spit Brook	`Fri Apr 10 1987 09:11`	7
	In statistics, "hat" is a colloquial term for a circumflex-like character that goes on top of a letter representing a variable, for example "y-hat" means a "y" with the circumflex on top. BTW: despite my wishing to avoid typing extra characters, I side with the <CIRCUMFLEX> tag folks. Perhaps in could be shortened to <FLEX>, or perhaps <CFLEX>?
205.9	ok, ok	CLOSET::ANKLAM		`Fri Apr 10 1987 09:14`	8
	ok, I'll cave in. however, we've frozen the code for the FT update, so it'll be <hat> until Version 1, when I'll call it <circumflex>. thanks for the feedback! patti
205.10	Since I was asked...	VIDEO::LASKO	Tim Lasko - TBU Architecture	`Fri Apr 10 1987 12:45`	6
	For the record, ISO 646 referes to this character (^) as CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT, UPWARD ARROW HEAD. However, no subsequent ISO coding standard, nor ANSI X3.4-1986 (ASCII) retains the latter description. I would strongly recommend calling it "circumflex" rather than "hat". Several technical standards refer to the � construction as a-circumflex rather than a-hat.
205.11	Why not user defined sysonyms file	IMAGIN::SAUNDERS	Dan Saunders @CX03 ; 522-5683	`Fri Apr 10 1987 20:32`	3
	Why not just have a file like Datatrieve does to allow user defined SYNONYMS. Dan
205.12	Do mathematicians say "hat" or "circumflex"?	TOPDOC::HIDER	Paul Hider	`Fri Apr 10 1987 20:56`	5
	Don't forget it is a math tag, lets not go calling it circumflex if it is commonly referred to in mathematical circles as a hat. ..Paul
205.13	ho hum	3D::BOYACK	pithy...pithy...pithy	`Mon Apr 13 1987 07:44`	1
	...while we're at it, how about calling * splat...
205.14		PDVAX::P_DAVIS	Peter Davis, X-NYer	`Mon Apr 13 1987 10:21`	8
	I vote for "circumflex", but I think there should be a capability for defining tag synonyms. The fact that "hat" is more common in mathematical circles doesn't make it correct. The character is also used as an accent in French, and probably other languages as well. The "!" character is frequently called a "shriek" in England, but I don't think that term should become standard. On the other hand, if there were an <EXCLAMATION_MARK> tag, I can readily imagine people wanting to define a shorter synonym.
205.15		CLOSET::KAIKOW		`Thu Apr 16 1987 10:46`	10
	1. Many mathematicians would call it the "involution operator"! 2. Although it may be invoked with a <math> tag, it is also a plain ASCII character (position 5/14). 3. It's use in s programming languages is not as a "hat" rather as a separate character ( a similar distinction may be made between LOW LINE as a separate character and UNDERLINE for position 5/15 of ASCII).