Re: [groff] Creating a numbered list without macros

[Holger Herrlich]

On Mon, 20 Aug 2018 23:22:44 +0200
Tadziu Hoffmann <hoffm...@usm.uni-muenchen.de> wrote:

> > A macro package does not hide the controls any more than writing
> > macros yourself does.  A macro package aggregates the requests
> > needed to perform typesetting functions for convenience, not
> > opacity.  
> 
> Well said.

Isn't it an over generalization? Doesn't technology consist of
compromises as well?

> I would like to add that I sometimes get the impression that people
> think that once they use a macro package, raw formatter requests
> should not be used anymore, as they somehow taint the "purity" of the
> manuscript. (This idea also appears to exist among some LaTeX users.)
>
> But this is of course nonsense.  The purpose of macro packages
> is not to *limit* what you are *allowed* to do, but to *help*
> you in what you *want* to do. And we should keep in mind that one of
> the core uses of macros is not to save a few keystrokes in marking up
> the manuscript (although it helps), but to maintain *consistency*
> across the entire document.