Latex Math Delimiters – Current Limitations And Future Development
The Core Issue with LaTeX’s Math Delimiters
LaTeX provides robust capabilities for typesetting mathematical formulas through its math mode. Delimiters such as parentheses, brackets, braces, bars, arrows, and symbols surround mathematical expressions to indicate grouping, absolute value, norms, end conditions, and more. However, LaTeX's default delimiter sizing reaches its limits with complex nested expressions, leading to overlapping or misaligned delimiters that impede readability.
Delimiters in LaTeX math mode have predefined sizes based on the height and depth of their enclosed expressions. For example, parentheses by default grow vertically to match the height of their content. However, if nested parentheses become too large, the delimiters remain fixed at a maximum size and cannot properly contain the full expression. The innermost delimiters then overflow outside the boundaries of the outer delimiters, cluttering the readable hierarchy of the mathematical structure.
Common issues caused by LaTeX's delimiter size limitations include:
- Overfull or bursting parentheses, brackets, braces due to unexpandable nesting
- Misaligned or uneven fences from size mismatches in sequential delimiter pairs
- Inconsistent spacing around expressions when delimiter growth fails
- Poor delineation of subformulas' scopes within nested structures
Potential Approaches to Solving the Delimiter Size Problem
Several approaches exist to address LaTeX's delimiter size limitations, each with their own advantages and tradeoffs.
Increasing Default Delimiter Sizes
A straightforward method is enlarging the maximum sizes of all delimiters by default in LaTeX's math typesetting engine. For example, the medium-sized parentheses utilized for typical inline expressions could expand vertically up to 2x or 3x their current height before reaching a new absolute size limit. Such changes directly attack the core issue but risk poor formatting aesthetics if paren delimiters grow overly dominant on the page.
Allowing Dynamic Resize of Delimiters
More advanced solutions involve enabling the dynamic resizing of delimiters to perfectly fit their inner content. Delimiters could intelligently scale during final typesetting rather than staying fixed to standard sizes. This approach enables optimal containment of inner subformulas but requires careful attention to spacing, subscript, and fraction alignment as sizes change.
Using Scalerel Packages to Resize Delimiters
Some existing LaTeX packages like scalerel provide basic dynamic delimiter resizing functionality using custom commands. For example, the \stretchleftright command forces its delimiter arguments to vertically scale to match enclosed content:
\documentclass{article} \usepackage{scalerel} \begin{document} \stretchleftright[\Bigg( \frac{a}{b} \Bigg)]{text} \end{document}
However, manual coded interventions via scalerel can disrupt text flow and still lack nanoscopic tuning of delimiter bounding boxes available in a LaTeX engine-level solution.
Future Possibilities for Improved LaTeX Math Delimiters
Fundamental improvements to LaTeX's math delimiter capabilities are possible through extensions in several key areas:
Native Support for Dynamic Delimiter Resizing
If the core LaTeX typesetting engine provided built-in features for dynamic delimiter sizing, it would eliminate the need for manual workarounds. Delimiters could seamlessly resize along both vertical and horizontal axes to perfectly surround their innermost content.
Integration of Semantic Information to Enable Smarter Automatic Resizing
LaTeX could leverage semantic knowledge of delimiter roles and mathematical structure to make smarter decisions about automatic content-based resizing vs manual boundary settings. For example, enclosing delimiters for the full formula could grow separately from internal groupings to preserve reader orientation and rhythm.
Delimiter Sets Optimized for Specific Use Cases
Predefined delimiter sets could cater to particular use cases like inline text delimiters vs display delimiters. Default spacing, thickness, and resize parameters for brackets, bars, arrows and more can be customized for optimal usage context.
Example Mockup of LaTeX Code with Enhanced Delimiter Capabilities
Here is an example demonstrating hypothetical LaTeX syntax for next-generation delimiter size control:
\begin{equation} |\resizeboundaries{Big}{ \Big(\resize{NoResize}{ \big(\protect\brack{\sum_{i=1}^n i} + 5\big) }\Big)} |_{AutoResize} \end{equation}
- \resizeboundaries dynamically sizes the outermost delimiters
- \resize selectively disables resizing to prevent groupings bursting
- Hypothetical \brack command handles brackets with integrated resizing
Conclusion and Call to Action
In summary, LaTeX's fixed-size math delimiters often fail to fully contain complex nested mathematical expressions, harming readability. Allowing engine-level dynamic resizing and alignment of delimiters based on enclosed content can overcome these formatting limitations. Such improvements require continued feedback from the LaTeX user community regarding typical use cases and pain points. Developers should pursue refinements to LaTeX's underlying typesetting algorithms to enable smart, automatic delimiter sizing relative to mathematical substructure roles.