[Chapter 16] 16.2 Eqn
Author: Daniel Gilly & the Staff of O'Reilly & Associates
Date: 1998-08-06T22:01:40Z

#

| Chapter 16 Preprocessors |

## 16.2 Eqn

Eqn is a preprocessor designed to facilitate the typesetting of mathematical equations. Use neqn with nroff. Eqn has the following command-line syntax:

> `/usr/ucb/eqn` [`options`] [`files`]

Options
  -d`xy`

    Use `x` and `y` as start and stop delimiters; same as specifying the eqn directive `delim` `xy`.

  -f`n`

    Change to font `n`; same as the `gfont` directive.

  -p`n`

    Reduce size of superscripts and subscripts by `n` points. If `-p` is not specified, the default reduction is 3 points.

  -s`n`

    Reduce the point size by `n` points; same as the `gsize` directive.

  -T`dev`

    Format output to device `dev`. The default value comes from the TYPESETTER environment variable. Not available with neqn.

### 16.2.1 Eqn Macros

.EQ

  Start typesetting mathematics.

.EN

  End typesetting mathematics.

Use the `checkeq` command to check for unmatched macro pairs.

### 16.2.2 Mathematical Characters

The character sequences below are recognized and translated as shown:

Character | Translation | Character | Translation
--- | --- | --- | ---
>= |  | approx |
<= |  | nothing |
== |  | cdot | .
!= |  | times | ×
+- | ± | del |
-> |  | grad |
<- |  | ... | ...
<< |  | ,..., | ,...,
>> |  | sum |
inf |  | int |
partial |  | prod |
half | ½ | union |
prime |  | inter |

### 16.2.3 Mathematical Text

Digits, parentheses, brackets, punctuation marks, and the following mathematical words are printed out in Roman font:

>     sin     cos     tan     arc
>     sinh    cosh    tanh
>     and     if      for     det
>     max     min     lim
>     log     ln      exp
>     Re      Im

### 16.2.4 Greek Characters

Greek letters can be printed in uppercase or lowercase. To obtain Greek letters, simply spell them out. Some uppercase Greek letters are not supported because they can be specified by an Arabic equivalent (e.g, A for alpha, B for beta).

Character | Translation | Character | Translation
--- | --- | --- | ---
alpha |  | tau |
beta |  | upsilon |
gamma |  | phi |
delta |  | chi |
epsilon |  | psi |
zeta |  | omega |
eta |  | GAMMA |
theta |  | DELTA |
iota |  | THETA |
kappa |  | LAMBDA |
lambda |  | XI |
mu |  | PI |
nu |  | SIGMA |
xi |  | UPSILON |
omicron |  | PHI |
pi |  | PSI |
rho |  | OMEGA |
sigma |  |  |

### 16.2.5 Diacritical Marks

Several keywords are available to mark the tops of characters. Eqn centers a mark at the correct height. `bar` and `under` will span the necessary length.

Character | Translation
--- | ---
x dot |
x dotdot |
x hat |
x tilde |
x vec |
x dyad |
x bar |
x under |

### 16.2.6 Keywords Recognized by Eqn

In addition to character names and diacritical marks, eqn recognizes the following keywords:

above

  Separate the pieces of a pile or matrix column.

back `n`

  Move backwards horizontally `n` 1/100's of an m.

bold

  Change to bold font.

ccol

  Center align a column of a matrix.

cpile

  Make a centered pile (same as pile).

define

  Create a name for a frequently used string.

delim `xy`

  Define two characters to mark the left and right ends of an eqn equation to be printed in line. Use `delim off` to turn of delimiters.

down `n`

  Move down `n` 1/100's of an m.

fat

  Widen the current font by overstriking it.

font `x`

  Change to font `x`, where `x` is the one-character name or the number of a font.

from

  Used in summations, integrals, and similar constructions to signify the lower limit.

fwd `n`

  Move forward horizontally `n` 1/100's of an em.

gfont `x`

  Set a global font `x` for all equations.

gsize `n`

  Set a global size for all equations.

italic

  Change to italic font.

lcol

  Left justify a column of a matrix.

left

  Create big brackets, big braces, big bars, etc.

lineup

  Line up marks in equations on different lines.

lpile

  Left justify the elements of a pile.

mark

  Remember the horizontal position in an equation. Used with lineup.

matrix

  Create a matrix.

ndefine

  Create a definition which takes effect only when neqn is running.

over

  Make a fraction.

pile

  Make a vertical pile with elements centered above one another.

rcol

  Right adjust a column of a matrix.

right

  Create big brackets, big braces, big bars, etc.

roman

  Change to roman font.

rpile

  Right justify the elements of a pile.

size `n`

  Change the size of the font to `n`.

sqrt

  Draw a square root sign.

sub

  Start a subscript.

sup

  Start a superscript.

tdefine

  Make a definition which will apply only for eqn.

to

  Used in summations, integrals, and similar constructions to signify the upper limit.

up `n`

  Move up `n` 1/100's of an em.

~

  Force extra space into the output.

^

  Force a space one half the size of the space forced by ~ .

{ }

  Force eqn to treat an element as a unit.

'...'

  A string within quotes is not subject to alterations by eqn.

### 16.2.7 Precedence

If you don't use braces, eqn will do operations in the order shown in this list, reading from left to right.

dyad | vec | under | bar
tilde | hat | dot | dotdot
fwd | back | down | up
fat | roman | italic | bold
size | sub | sup | sqrt
over | from | to |

These operations group to the left:

>     over   sqrt   left   right

All others group to the right.

### 16.2.8 Eqn Examples

Input:

>     .EQ
>     delim %%
>     .EN
>     %sum from i=0 to inf c sup i~=~lim from {m -> inf}
>     sum from i=0 to m c sup i%
>     .EQ
>     delim off
>     .EN

Result:

Input:

>     .EQ
>     delim %%
>     .EN
>     %x ~=~ left [ { -b ~+-~ sqrt {b sup 2 - ~4ac} }
>     over 2a right ]%
>     .EQ
>     delim off
>     .EN

Result:

16.1 Tbl |  | 16.3 Pic