On 2023-01-05 04:35, Hans Hagen via ntg-context wrote:
On 1/5/2023 4:21 AM, Rik Kabel via ntg-context wrote:

    [ snipped by rik]

Here is a more lmtx-ish variant:

\starttexdefinition tolerant protected BD #=#*#=
   \removeunwantedspaces
   \space % insert a space
   (
   \ifparameter#2\or
       #1|–|#2
   \orelse\ifparameter#1\or
       #1–
   \else
       {\red I NEED A DATE OR DATES!}
   \fi
   )
   \autoinsertedspace
\stoptexdefinition

Hans

Thank you for that. This works for me with \optionalspace, but fails in some cases with \autoinsertedspace.

I have now re-read lowlevel-macros.pdf and have a better understanding of what I read when first I approached it; I still have a way to go.

/Tolerant/ removes the need for /dodoubleempty/ and friends and the two-step /macro/ and /doMacro/ dance. There was a small advantage to the two-step, however. I had two separate macros, BD and BDNP (no parens), as shown.

The old code in full was:

   %-------------------- Birth and death dates -----------------------%
   % Ferdinand de Saussure\BD{1857}{1913}
   % Noam Chomsky \BD{1928}
   %
   % Perhaps this could be tied to an acronym-like database so that the
   %   dates are printed only once per person.
   % \removeunwantedspaces allows this to directly follow, or follow
   %   after whitespace, the associated name: Name\BD{1}{2} or
   %   Name \BD{1}{2}.
   % Using the compound indication (|–|) allows hyphenation after the
   %   endash. Omitting it and using a bare endash inhibits hyphenation
   %   ‘twixt the endash and the paren.
   % By default, add parens around the dates. If none are needed due to
   %   the context, use \BDNP.
   %
   \newif\ifBDParen
   \starttexdefinition unexpanded BD
      \BDParentrue
      \dodoublegroupempty
      \doBD
   \stoptexdefinition
   \starttexdefinition unexpanded BDNP
      \BDParenfalse
      \dodoublegroupempty
      \doBD
   \stoptexdefinition
   \starttexdefinition doBD #1#2
       \removeunwantedspaces\
       \ifBDParen(\fi
       \ifsecondargument
           #1|–|#2
       \else\iffirstargument
           #1–
       \else
           {\red I NEED A DATE OR DATES!}
       \fi\fi
       \ifBDParen)\fi
       \autoinsertedspace
   \stoptexdefinition

Both call the same doBD, but they set a flag (newif) to control insertion or not of the parens. While there is no performance benefit compared to having two fully separate macros, there is a maintenance benefit in having only one place, doBD, to make changes should they be required.

Can you suggest a way to do this under the new one-step scheme, or am I over-thinking this?

Finally, is there any reason to go back to previously written and properly functioning macros and convert them to the LMTX-only syntax? It does imply committing to LMTX-only (or

--
Rik

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