User defined aliases
- To: mathgroup at yoda.ncsa.uiuc.edu
- Subject: User defined aliases
- From: Markus Lautenbacher <Markus.Lautenbacher at ds0.cip.physik.tu-muenchen.de>
- Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 22:56:30 +0100
Hi mathgroup readers, perhaps some of you can give me a little advice on the following problem: I have defined a function `OperatorProduct' which I want to transform via pattern matching in something else on the right hand side of several transformation rules, e.g. OperatorProduct[a_,b_] := f[a,b] (What is actually on the right hand side doesn't matter for the problem I describe here.) Now, `OperatorProduct' is a quite descriptive but also long name and I wanted to have something shorter. Since `Alias[]' tells you that `*' is just an alias for `Times' I tried `<>::=OperatorProduct' (I used `<>' is still unused) in order to allow for typing just `a <> b' instead of `OperatorProduct[a,b]'. However, Mathematica refused to accept this alias. Trying several versions like `<>::=~OperatorProduct~" and likewise forms didn't work either. Somehow Mathematica seems to resolve `<>' to the mathematical `less' and `greater' relations instead of a new combined symbol `<>'. What worked was `op::=OperatorProduct' with a usage like e.g. `a ~op~ b' but that is not excatly what I wanted. Does anybody know whether aliases like `*' are hard wired in Mathematica or is there a simple way to get my `<>' to work. The important point is that I want to define a new kind of valid _input_ format for the user defined function `OperatorProduct'. If it just were for formatting the output of `OperatorProduct' the `Infix' function (p. 278 MathBook) would of course do the job. Thanks in advance, MARKUS +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ # MARKUS E. LAUTENBACHER, # # office: Technical University Munich, Physics Department # # Theoretical Physics T31, WD-8046 Garching, FRG # # phone: 0049/89/3209-2398 # # INTERNET: lauten at ds0.cip.physik.tu-muenchen.de # # private: Gohrenstr. 4/319, WD-8000 Muenchen 19, FRG # #-------------------------------------------------------------------------# # SIR ERNEST RUTHERFORD: `Science is physics, and the rest is # # stamp collecting' # # Surely Rutherford (1871-1937) knew nothing about computers! ;-) # +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+