Math & Scienceligature fi in computer programs

Information and discussion about LaTeX's math and science related features (e.g. formulas, graphs).
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user49915
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2019 12:51 pm

ligature fi in computer programs

Post by user49915 »

In Computer Science, from type to time you have to type program parts such as

if x>0 then y:=5 else z:=7 fi

I use bold sans serif to typeset the keywords:

\keyword{if} if x>0 \keyword{then} y:=5 \keyword{else} z:=7 \keyword{fi}

where

\ifxetexorluatex %%%Define bold sans serif math fonts.
\else
\DeclareMathAlphabet{\mathbfsf}{\encodingdefault}{\sfdefault}{bx}{n}
\fi

\DeclareRobustCommand*{\keyword}[1]{%
\ifmmode%
\ifxetexorluatex\mathbfsfup{#1}\else\mathbfsf{#1}\fi%
\else%
\textsf{\textbf{#1}}%
\fi%
}

where iftexetorluatex simply checks whether a UTF-8 engine is used.

(Of course, := is replaced by a proper command, and more of the above is macroified, but expanding on this would be distracting here.)

My main font is a Times clone, my sans font is a Helvetica clone. Thus, I write

\setmainfont[Ligatures=TeX]{TeX Gyre Termes}
\setsansfont{TeX Gyre Heros}[Scale=0.88]

for {xe|lua}latex and

\usepackage{newtxtext}
\usepackage[slantedGreek]{newtxmath}

for pdflatex in the preamble.

Question: Does `f\/i` instead of `fi` produce a more pleasant or more logical result in German typography? Is there any guideline or typographical hint on this?

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thomasb
Posts: 134
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:54 am

ligature fi in computer programs

Post by thomasb »

or put everything in fixed size with listings package :

Code: Select all

\usepackage{listings}
User avatar
Stefan Kottwitz
Site Admin
Posts: 10320
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:44 pm

ligature fi in computer programs

Post by Stefan Kottwitz »

Hi!

For code, I would not use ligatures. I think that in code keywords seeing actual characters is important and consistent appearance of characters.

Also copy and paste of code should give the correct characters.

Btw. you could also get the opinion of German speaking users on TeXwelt.de.

Stefan
LaTeX.org admin
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