[texhax] Finding blank argument to macro
Lars Madsen
daleif at imf.au.dk
Tue Jun 29 10:25:32 CEST 2010
Michael Barr wrote:
> Here is a fragment of a macro I use to find if an argument is empty:
>
> \setbox0\hbox{$#9$}%
> \ifdim \wd0=0pt%
> %%%%%%%% omitted what you do if arg empty
> \else
> %%%%%%%% omitted what you do if not
> \fi
>
> It is based on commands supplied in the TeX engine and, therefore,
> completely valid in (nearly) every version of TeX, including LaTeX.
> (The reason for the (nearly) is that AMSTeX insists on killing certain
> primitive commands, but standard LaTeX doesn't.) Incidentally, \box0 is
> a "scratch" box anyone can use, but don't expect to come back to it and
> find whatever you put in it unchanged.
>
> Just a bit of a sermon. There is no conflict between using LaTeX and
> using TeX. There is some (very little actually) between PLAIN TeX and
> LaTeX and I have never understood the purists who insist on "pure
> LaTeX", whatever that might mean.
>
> Michael Barr
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try the etoolbox it has some very good tests for empty arguments and
many other nice features
--
/daleif
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