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BJ
1.nr PS 9
2.nr VS 11
3....ND "Revised April, 1977"
4.EQ
5delim $$
6gsize 9
7.EN
8....TR 17
9.TL
10A System for Typesetting Mathematics
11.AU
12Brian W. Kernighan and Lorinda L. Cherry
13.AI
14.MH
15.AB
16.PP
17This paper describes the design and implementation
18of a system for typesetting mathematics.
19The language has been designed to be easy to learn
20and to use
21by people
22(for example, secretaries and mathematical typists)
23who know neither mathematics nor typesetting.
24Experience indicates that the language can
25be learned in an hour or so,
26for it has few rules and fewer exceptions.
27For typical expressions,
28the size and font changes, positioning, line drawing,
29and the like necessary to print according to mathematical conventions
30are all done automatically.
31For example,
32the input
33.sp 4p
34.ce
35sum from i=0 to infinity x sub i = pi over 2
36.sp 4p
37produces
38.EQ
39sum from i=0 to infinity x sub i = pi over 2
40.EN
41.PP
42The syntax of the language is specified by a small
43context-free grammar;
44a compiler-compiler is used to make a compiler
45that translates this language into typesetting commands.
46Output may be produced on either a phototypesetter
47or on a terminal with forward and reverse half-line motions.
48The system interfaces directly with text formatting programs,
49so mixtures of text and mathematics may be handled simply.
50.LP
51.LP
52.PP
53This paper is a revision of a paper originally published in
54CACM, March, 1975.
55.AE