Re: [Groff] Re: pic extension

[Hartmut Henkel]

Perhaps one should caution the pic user about 2 points with this new
feature:

1. If consequently used, this is VERY expensive in terms of TeX
resources: Every new picture with new figname name occupies a new TeX
box. And there are only < 255 of them. If a user works from a library of
pictures, which he has tagged by default by individual fignames, a
medium-sized book can easily overflow TeX. Once used, the boxes are
gone, if not re-used by a picture with the same box name. Similar \box
assignments on such an easy user basis are IMHO normally not done in
TeX/LaTeX macro packages.

---> Use this feature sparsingly, and only if really needed. Don't tag
any picture by figname from now on.

2. figname = <any existing TeX macro or primitive> produces an error, as
it clashes with the macros by the \csname\endcsname mechanism. E. g.
figname = box gives an error.

---> Avoid any TeX/LaTeX macro name, e. g. make a mix of Large and small
letters and numbers, and you may be set...

And BTW having two or more figures side-by-side is easily possible
without the figname feature. Just write e. g.

\centerline{%
.PS
...
.PE
\box\graph
.PS
...
.PE
\box\graph
}

and you got it. Working from this proven standard functionality, one is
still flexible enough to copy the box into another one to keep it for
later use...

I fear that the figname feature might introduce more trouble than it
might be worth, but all this frankly IMHO only.

Greetings Hartmut


On Mon, 21 Apr 2003, Werner LEMBERG wrote:

> > I have made an extension to pic that might be useful to other
> > people.  In standard pic, in TeX mode, the figure generated is
> > always named "graph".  This makes it impossible to define two or
> > more figures and then realize them together, e.g. side-by-side.  I
> > therefore added a keyword to pic that allows the user to specify the
> > name of the figure.  This allows side-by-side figures.  For example:
> >
> > .PS
> > figname=figone;
> > ...
> > .PE
> > .PS
> > figname=figtwo;
> > ...
> > .PE
> > \centerline{\box\figone\hss\box\figtwo}
>
> Based on your patch I've implemented that feature now, thanks.  Please
> try the CVS.