* Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations
@ 2014-06-26 9:55 Thibaut Verron
2014-06-26 10:38 ` Nicolas Goaziou
0 siblings, 1 reply; 7+ messages in thread
From: Thibaut Verron @ 2014-06-26 9:55 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: emacs-orgmode
Hello,
I'm forwarding this question asked on stackexchange:
http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/186605/with-orgtbl-how-to-ensure-
that-braces-and-dollars-are-not-escaped
After some investigation, it seems that the behavior is hidden deep in the
export routines, and I was wisely suggested to ask the question on this list
instead.
I have given some tex-related details in the linked question, including some
motivations and an example, the tl;dr is that in some conditions, the
orgtbl-to-latex exporter will perform arbitrary escape of some characters in
the cells, or other kind of transformations:
$\text{test}$
is exported verbatim (OK).
But
\pbox{test}
becomes
\pbox\{test\}
{test}
becomes
\{test\}
{$test$}
becomes
\{\$test\$\}
And the exporter seems to be trying to be smart, because it will still
ensure that the result is correct:
{$\infty$}
becomes
\{\$$\infty$\$\}
The weirdest of all might be this one:
\pbox{Foo: \\${bar= (2^{3},1)}$, ${baz= (8^{4})}$}
becomes
\pbox\{Foo: \\${bar= (2^{3},1)}$, \$\{baz= (8$^{\text{4}}$)\}\$\}
(Note how the two mathematical expressions recieve different treatment, and
the decision to insert "\text" around the exponent!)
The option `:no-export`, as expected, has no effect, since it only controls
whether `#_^&%` are escaped or not.
Is this a known feature, or a bug? And is there a known workaround?
Thanks,
Thibaut Verron
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 7+ messages in thread* Re: Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations 2014-06-26 9:55 Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations Thibaut Verron @ 2014-06-26 10:38 ` Nicolas Goaziou 2014-06-26 11:57 ` Thibaut Verron 0 siblings, 1 reply; 7+ messages in thread From: Nicolas Goaziou @ 2014-06-26 10:38 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Thibaut Verron; +Cc: emacs-orgmode Hello, Thibaut Verron <thibaut.verron@gmail.com> writes: > I'm forwarding this question asked on stackexchange: > http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/186605/with-orgtbl-how-to-ensure- > that-braces-and-dollars-are-not-escaped > > After some investigation, it seems that the behavior is hidden deep in the > export routines, and I was wisely suggested to ask the question on this list > instead. > > I have given some tex-related details in the linked question, including some > motivations and an example, the tl;dr is that in some conditions, the > orgtbl-to-latex exporter will perform arbitrary escape of some characters in > the cells, or other kind of transformations: > > $\text{test}$ > is exported verbatim (OK). > > But > \pbox{test} > becomes > \pbox\{test\} You should upgrade to Org 8. > {test} > becomes > \{test\} This is intended. > {$test$} > becomes > \{\$test\$\} This is to be expected as matching single dollar math snippets is fragile. I suggest to use \(...\) instead: {\(test\)} > And the exporter seems to be trying to be smart, because it will still > ensure that the result is correct: > > {$\infty$} > becomes > \{\$$\infty$\$\} Ditto. Use \(...\). Or, better, {\infty} as \infty is an Org entity which will properly translated into LaTeX code. > The weirdest of all might be this one: > \pbox{Foo: \\${bar= (2^{3},1)}$, ${baz= (8^{4})}$} > becomes > \pbox\{Foo: \\${bar= (2^{3},1)}$, \$\{baz= (8$^{\text{4}}$)\}\$\} You cannot write raw LaTeX macros with complicated arguments (e.g., containing braces) in an Org buffer. In this case, you have to tell the exporter it is LaTeX code and don't expect it to find it out: @@latex:\pbox{Foo: \\${bar= (2^{3},1)}$, ${baz= (8^{4})}$}@@ This will be ignored in any exporter but latex (and beamer). > The option `:no-export`, as expected, has no effect, since it only controls > whether `#_^&%` are escaped or not. This option doesn't exist anymore in Org 8. > Is this a known feature, or a bug? And is there a known workaround? Actually, this is consistent if you understand the limitations of Org. As a rule of thumb, avoid using $..$ constructs and macros with convoluted arguments (but "\hfill{}" and "\vspace{1cm}" are fine) when writing raw LaTeX in an Org buffer. For anything more complicated, use @@latex:...@@ or #+BEGIN_LATEX...#+END_LATEX (inline and non-inline version). Again, all this assumes you are using Org 8. HTH, Regards, -- Nicolas Goaziou ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 7+ messages in thread
* Re: Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations 2014-06-26 10:38 ` Nicolas Goaziou @ 2014-06-26 11:57 ` Thibaut Verron 2014-06-26 12:22 ` Thibaut Verron 0 siblings, 1 reply; 7+ messages in thread From: Thibaut Verron @ 2014-06-26 11:57 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Thibaut Verron, emacs-orgmode [-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 3943 bytes --] 2014-06-26 12:38 GMT+02:00 Nicolas Goaziou <mail@nicolasgoaziou.fr>: > Hello, > > Thibaut Verron <thibaut.verron@gmail.com> writes: > > > I'm forwarding this question asked on stackexchange: > > http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/186605/with-orgtbl-how-to-ensure- > > that-braces-and-dollars-are-not-escaped > > > > After some investigation, it seems that the behavior is hidden deep in > the > > export routines, and I was wisely suggested to ask the question on this > list > > instead. > > > > I have given some tex-related details in the linked question, including > some > > motivations and an example, the tl;dr is that in some conditions, the > > orgtbl-to-latex exporter will perform arbitrary escape of some > characters in > > the cells, or other kind of transformations: > > > > $\text{test}$ > > is exported verbatim (OK). > > > > But > > \pbox{test} > > becomes > > \pbox\{test\} > > You should upgrade to Org 8. > > > {test} > > becomes > > \{test\} > > This is intended. > > > {$test$} > > becomes > > \{\$test\$\} > > This is to be expected as matching single dollar math snippets is > fragile. I suggest to use \(...\) instead: {\(test\)} > > > And the exporter seems to be trying to be smart, because it will still > > ensure that the result is correct: > > > > {$\infty$} > > becomes > > \{\$$\infty$\$\} > > Ditto. Use \(...\). Or, better, {\infty} as \infty is an Org entity > which will properly translated into LaTeX code. > > > The weirdest of all might be this one: > > \pbox{Foo: \\${bar= (2^{3},1)}$, ${baz= (8^{4})}$} > > becomes > > \pbox\{Foo: \\${bar= (2^{3},1)}$, \$\{baz= (8$^{\text{4}}$)\}\$\} > > You cannot write raw LaTeX macros with complicated arguments (e.g., > containing braces) in an Org buffer. In this case, you have to tell the > exporter it is LaTeX code and don't expect it to find it out: > > @@latex:\pbox{Foo: \\${bar= (2^{3},1)}$, ${baz= (8^{4})}$}@@ > > This will be ignored in any exporter but latex (and beamer). > > > The option `:no-export`, as expected, has no effect, since it only > controls > > whether `#_^&%` are escaped or not. > > This option doesn't exist anymore in Org 8. > > > Is this a known feature, or a bug? And is there a known workaround? > > Actually, this is consistent if you understand the limitations of Org. > As a rule of thumb, avoid using $..$ constructs and macros with > convoluted arguments (but "\hfill{}" and "\vspace{1cm}" are fine) when > writing raw LaTeX in an Org buffer. > > For anything more complicated, use @@latex:...@@ > or #+BEGIN_LATEX...#+END_LATEX (inline and non-inline version). > > Again, all this assumes you are using Org 8. > > HTH, > > > Regards, > > -- > Nicolas Goaziou > Thank you for your answer, I forgot to repeat the information about my environment I gave on stackexchange. In particular, this is Org 8.2.6. Also, this is not an org buffer, but a latex buffer with the orgtbl minor mode. Indeed I should have mentioned it in the body of the question, it's easily missed in the title. However, I understand that the underlying mechanism is the same as the one used to export an org buffer to latex, and that it probably suffers from the same limitations. Now, are these "limitations of Org" really preventing it from exporting a string verbatim? That would seem like the most logical default in this situation, wouldn't it? (Disclaimer: I don't "understand the limitations of Org", so these last questions may be ridiculous to someone who does) Thanks, Thibaut Verron PS. Indeed \(..\) does work for the dollars, thank you for the tip. I should have pointed out that \bgroup ... \egroup works as a replacement for outermost pairs of braces too. However, I do not have any solution for the \pbox{...} thing. And I would prefer a more robust solution which would not require me to change the way I write the tables, because otherwise, I'd still risk facing new unexportable constructs at random times. [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 5390 bytes --] ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 7+ messages in thread
* Re: Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations 2014-06-26 11:57 ` Thibaut Verron @ 2014-06-26 12:22 ` Thibaut Verron 2014-06-26 13:17 ` Nicolas Goaziou 0 siblings, 1 reply; 7+ messages in thread From: Thibaut Verron @ 2014-06-26 12:22 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Thibaut Verron, emacs-orgmode [-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 833 bytes --] > > Now, are these "limitations of Org" really preventing it from exporting a > string verbatim? That would seem like the most logical default in this > situation, wouldn't it? (Disclaimer: I don't "understand the limitations of > Org", so these last questions may be ridiculous to someone who does) > > > Apparently not, the following quick attempt seems to be doing the job fine enough: (defun tv/orgtbl-to-latex-verbatim (table params) (flet ((org-export-string-as (string backend &optional b e) string)) (orgtbl-to-latex table params))) However, it is extra dirty, and ignoring so many parameters in a function is probably not safe. :-) Is there really no similar mechanism built-in org? Should I polish this function and submit a patch? Or am I running into a wall? Thanks, Thibaut Verron [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 1938 bytes --] ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 7+ messages in thread
* Re: Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations 2014-06-26 12:22 ` Thibaut Verron @ 2014-06-26 13:17 ` Nicolas Goaziou 2014-06-26 13:53 ` Thibaut Verron 0 siblings, 1 reply; 7+ messages in thread From: Nicolas Goaziou @ 2014-06-26 13:17 UTC (permalink / raw) To: thibaut.verron; +Cc: emacs-orgmode Thibaut Verron <thibaut.verron@gmail.com> writes: >> Now, are these "limitations of Org" really preventing it from exporting a >> string verbatim? That would seem like the most logical default in this >> situation, wouldn't it? I disagree in the general case. The most logical default for Org is to treat contents as plain text and ensure that the export conforms to what appears in the buffer. As a bonus, it can leave LaTeX code as-is when it recognizes some, which depends on Org's understanding of LaTeX syntax (hence the limitations I'm talking about). Now, in the context of a LaTeX buffer using orgtbl minor mode, it could make sense in some situations to treat cell contents verbatim. I don't think it should be the default, but there could be an option for that. Anyway, there's a solution, see below. > Apparently not, the following quick attempt seems to be doing the job fine > enough: > > (defun tv/orgtbl-to-latex-verbatim (table params) > (flet ((org-export-string-as > (string backend &optional b e) > string)) > (orgtbl-to-latex table params))) > > However, it is extra dirty, and ignoring so many parameters in a function > is probably not safe. :-) I think defining your own translator function is the way to go. For example, the following (untested) could work: (defun my-orgtbl-to-latex-verbatim (table params) (let* ((alignment (mapconcat (lambda (x) (if x "r" "l")) org-table-last-alignment "")) (params2 (list :tstart (concat "\\begin{tabular}{" alignment "}") :tend "\\end{tabular}" :lstart "" :lend " \\\\" :sep " & " :efmt "%s\\,(%s)" :hline "\\hline"))) (orgtbl-to-generic table (org-combine-plists params2 params)))) Regards, -- Nicolas Goaziou ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 7+ messages in thread
* Re: Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations 2014-06-26 13:17 ` Nicolas Goaziou @ 2014-06-26 13:53 ` Thibaut Verron 2014-06-26 19:07 ` Nicolas Goaziou 0 siblings, 1 reply; 7+ messages in thread From: Thibaut Verron @ 2014-06-26 13:53 UTC (permalink / raw) To: Thibaut Verron, emacs-orgmode [-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2737 bytes --] 2014-06-26 15:17 GMT+02:00 Nicolas Goaziou <mail@nicolasgoaziou.fr>: > Thibaut Verron <thibaut.verron@gmail.com> writes: > > >> Now, are these "limitations of Org" really preventing it from exporting > a > >> string verbatim? That would seem like the most logical default in this > >> situation, wouldn't it? > > I disagree in the general case. The most logical default for Org is to > treat contents as plain text and ensure that the export conforms to what > appears in the buffer. As a bonus, it can leave LaTeX code as-is when it > recognizes some, which depends on Org's understanding of LaTeX syntax > (hence the limitations I'm talking about). > Of course, I did not mean it for org-mode buffers! ;) > > Now, in the context of a LaTeX buffer using orgtbl minor mode, it could > make sense in some situations to treat cell contents verbatim. I don't > think it should be the default, but there could be an option for that. > Anyway, there's a solution, see below. > > > Apparently not, the following quick attempt seems to be doing the job > fine > > enough: > > > > (defun tv/orgtbl-to-latex-verbatim (table params) > > (flet ((org-export-string-as > > (string backend &optional b e) > > string)) > > (orgtbl-to-latex table params))) > > > > However, it is extra dirty, and ignoring so many parameters in a function > > is probably not safe. :-) > > I think defining your own translator function is the way to go. For > example, the following (untested) could work: > > (defun my-orgtbl-to-latex-verbatim (table params) > (let* ((alignment (mapconcat (lambda (x) (if x "r" "l")) > org-table-last-alignment "")) > (params2 > (list > :tstart (concat "\\begin{tabular}{" alignment "}") > :tend "\\end{tabular}" > :lstart "" :lend " \\\\" :sep " & " > :efmt "%s\\,(%s)" :hline "\\hline"))) > (orgtbl-to-generic table (org-combine-plists params2 params)))) > > Indeed it does work. But, unless I am mistaken, this is exactly the definition given here: http://orgmode.org/manual/Translator-functions.html#Translator-functions and so I was not wrong, this used to work as I expected. I suspect that this change (regression?) will cause problems to a lot of other users when they will upgrade their org to the current version. Would changing the last lines of `orgtbl-to-latex` to something like this work as a long-term solution? (require 'ox-latex) (let* ((*orgtbl-verbatim* (plist-get params :verbatim)) (backend (if *orgtbl-verbatim* nil 'latex))) (orgtbl-to-generic table (org-combine-plists params2 params) backend)))) Thanks for your time, Thibaut verron [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 4471 bytes --] ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 7+ messages in thread
* Re: Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations 2014-06-26 13:53 ` Thibaut Verron @ 2014-06-26 19:07 ` Nicolas Goaziou 0 siblings, 0 replies; 7+ messages in thread From: Nicolas Goaziou @ 2014-06-26 19:07 UTC (permalink / raw) To: thibaut.verron; +Cc: emacs-orgmode Thibaut Verron <thibaut.verron@gmail.com> writes: > Would changing the last lines of `orgtbl-to-latex` to something like this > work as a long-term solution? > > (require 'ox-latex) > (let* ((*orgtbl-verbatim* (plist-get params :verbatim)) > (backend (if *orgtbl-verbatim* nil 'latex))) > (orgtbl-to-generic table (org-combine-plists params2 params) > backend)))) The check should happen in `orgtbl-to-generic', which is responsible for translating cell contents. Or, better, backend could become a parameter, e.g., :contents, and not an optional argument anymore. Then one could override it with specific params. Also, docstrings and documentation should be updated accordingly. Regards, -- Nicolas Goaziou ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 7+ messages in thread
end of thread, other threads:[~2014-06-26 19:06 UTC | newest] Thread overview: 7+ messages (download: mbox.gz / follow: Atom feed) -- links below jump to the message on this page -- 2014-06-26 9:55 Orgtbl-mode in latex: escaped braces and dollars, and other arbitrary transformations Thibaut Verron 2014-06-26 10:38 ` Nicolas Goaziou 2014-06-26 11:57 ` Thibaut Verron 2014-06-26 12:22 ` Thibaut Verron 2014-06-26 13:17 ` Nicolas Goaziou 2014-06-26 13:53 ` Thibaut Verron 2014-06-26 19:07 ` Nicolas Goaziou
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