Do we want to add shortcuts for common $\rm\LaTeX$ commands? Examples:
\ra
,\la
,\Ra
etc. for\rightarrow
,\leftarrow
,\Rightarrow
etc.\N
or\|N
for\mathbb N
etc.\tr
for\operatorname{tr}
and other commend math operators
Having shortcuts available has at least three benefits:
- Writing formulas becomes more efficient.
- The source code becomes clearer and easier to read (stuff like \operatorname{tr} is pretty long).
- Depending on your local $\rm\LaTeX$-setup using MathJax is nearly the same as writing formulas with $\rm\LaTeX$. (I assume many mathematicans have set up a
commands.tex
file defining shortcuts which is often imported.)
Is this technically possible? If one adds some \newcommand
s or \DeclareMathOperator
s in their text, the shortcuts can be used later on. So one possible implementation would be to just add all these commands to a text (while not making them visible in the editor of course). However I am not sure whether this would slow down $\rm\LaTeX$ compilation a lot.
Another idea would be to alter MathJax.
At one point we need to decide which shortcuts we want, but for now I am just asking
- Do we want such shortcuts?
- Is it technically possible?
\NN
(and other double letters) for the blackboard bold,\fN
for frakur letters,\cN
for calligraphic,\sN
for script,\bN
for boldface. Why is this inferior or superior to\|N
or\N
for blackboard bold? $\endgroup$\Z
for the integers, but I wouldn't mind at all if I had to type\ZZ
or some other variation instead. Right now it seems like I have to use the worst possible option\mathbb{Z}
or\Bbb{Z}
, which is much longer than any shortcut anyone would propose. $\endgroup$\mathbb{R}
and see the result just fine. You cannot write\R
and see the same result. (Not to mention, if you ever use babel with Hebrew loaded, you cannot use\R
. ) So while it's longer, it's also standard. And while I have my list of macros, as the OP suggests, it is my standard, and not your standard. And while you don't mind following my standard, I mind following others, and people who don't know $\rm\LaTeX$ will end up confused. $\endgroup$\Bbb{Z}
by typing\Bbb Z
. E.g.\Bbb Z^d
$\Bbb Z^d$ also\frac12
$\frac12$ $\endgroup$