About shorthand \frac

Question

It is possible to write \frac 2 4 or \frac \pi 4 to get 2/4 and \pi/4, respectively.

However, it is not possible to write \frac \sqrt{2} 2 to get \sqrt{2}/2.

Are there consistent rules on how to write shorthand \frac?

Note that this is nothing to do with \frac per se: you will see the same with almost any commands where you provide single tokens as mandatory arguments.

Marco Daniel · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-08 18:40:05Z

up vote 6 down vote accepted

The command \frac has two mandatory arguments. So you can they the first two tokens are the arguments (or simple the first two groups).

\frac \sqrt{2} 2 fails because \sqrt is the first token, {2} the second one.

answered Aug 8 '12 at 18:40

Marco Daniel
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1 Answer