cpp and \\ not compatible ?

centguy · 07-11-2012, 03:17 AM

How to ask cpp not to interpret the latex \\ command ?

%cat a.tex
\\
\hline

Now
% cpp -P -C -traditional a.tex
\\hline

i.e., cpp joins two lines together and breaks my Latex src code badly..

Thanks!

pixellany · 07-11-2012, 05:33 AM

If cpp means the C preprocessor, then why would you be running that on a Latex file??

Regardless, I suspect that the solution involves some kind of quoting.

centguy · 07-11-2012, 10:27 PM

i use cpp's #define to choose which journal style I want to adopt. Just for simplicity. I can even choose to compile using
native latex that uses eps figures or pdflatex that uses any non-eps figures (such as png, pdf, ..)

I don't want cpp to be too smart to reinterpret the latex commands.

any help is appreciated.

pixellany · 07-12-2012, 04:31 AM

I still don't understand what you are doing. I am sure that I'm not the only one here that has never used Latex, but I have seen it used. I don't think "compile" has the same meaning as when compiling source code that will eventually become executable.

If cpp (C preprocessor) encounters a Latex source file, what would you expect it to do with it? ( I would expect it to fail with along list of error messages)

brianL · 07-12-2012, 05:20 AM

I'm no expert in LaTeX or any sort of programming, but this is from the cpp info page:

Quote:

The C preprocessor is intended to be used only with C, C++, and Objective-C source code. In the past, it has been abused as a general text processor.

Nylex · 07-12-2012, 06:15 AM

I use LaTeX, but have never used cpp for processing it. Perhaps this thread is of use, particularly post 3.

centguy · 07-13-2012, 02:21 AM

refer to post #1, try it out yourself.

If I do

cpp -P -C -traditional a.tex > b.tex

then a.tex and b.tex are different.

i want them to be the same since I do not want cpp to interpret \\
and therefore break my latex code.

pixellany · 07-13-2012, 05:09 AM

See the post by BrianL.

I am quite sure that there are tools out there intended for use with Latex.