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Re: A Sum-like notation for iteration

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg102322] Re: A Sum-like notation for iteration
  • From: cca at gregosetroianos.mat.br
  • Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 05:45:25 -0400 (EDT)

Peter, 

>>I for one would be *horrified* to see such constructs included by 
>>default in the system.

You misunderstood my post. I did not suggest this 2D notation as a default. 
I said that MakeExpression should accept (parse) it. (The parsing of boxes 
is done by MakeExpression.) 

I do not see any "horror" in this notation. To me (and to many) it appears 
utterly natural. I have seen more horrible things than this. For example, 
Einstein summation convention, Frege's notations and ... the result (which 
is not "recognized universally") 

RowBox[{UnderoverscriptBox["\[Sum]", RowBox[{"x", "=", "1"}],
   RowBox[{"{", RowBox[{"a", ",", "b"}], "}"}]], "f"}] 

returned by 

MakeBoxes[Sum[f, {x, {a, b}}], TraditionalForm] 

in Mathematica 6. 

It seems you would be dismayed with the very interesting work done by Bruno 
Buchberger on his "logicographic symbols" (implemented in Mathematica for 
his Theorema Project and -- "reinventing the wheel" -- without using the 
Notation package). 

Carlos Cesar de Araujo
Gregos & Troianos Educacional
www.gregosetroianos.mat.br
Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
(31) 3283-1122


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