How to make certain macros defined in document class inaccessible from within an input file using it?

Question

In C#, we can specify certain properties of a class to be private, read only, etc. I want to apply this methodology in writing LaTeX document class if it is possible.

I can find articles pertaining to it neither on the internet nor in a book.

The following is my simplified document class.

\ProvidesClass{pst-xport}[a cute document class for my own purpose.]
% .... others ....

\RequirePackage{pstricks}

\newcommand\Left{-1}
\newcommand\Right{1}

\newlength\LeftPadding\setlength{\LeftPadding}{1cm}
\newlength\RightPadding\setlength{\RightPadding}{1cm}

% it must be private
\newlength\PictureWidth

\AtBeginDocument
{
    \setlength{\PictureWidth}{\dimexpr\Right\psxunit-\Left\psxunit\relax}
    \paperwidth=\dimexpr\PictureWidth+\RightPadding+\LeftPadding\relax
    % .... others ....
}


% .... others ....

% it must be private
\parindent=0pt

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%% INTERFACES %%%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

\newcommand\SetPicture[2]
{
    \renewcommand\Left{#1}
    \renewcommand\Right{#3}
}


\newcommand\SetPadding[2]
{
    \setlength{\LeftPadding}{#1}
    \setlength{\RightPadding}{#3}
}

\newcommand\GetPaperWidth{\PictureWidth}
\endinput

We use this document class as follows.

\documentclass{pst-xport}

\SetPicture{-2}{2}
\SetPadding{0.5cm}{0.5cm}

% \parindent must not be accessible in this input file.
\parindent=10pt

% \PictureWidth must not be accessible in this input file.
\setlength{\PictureWidth}{10cm}

\begin{document}
\parbox{\GetPictureWidth}
{
    I can find a tool to convert
    PDF to EPS in my neither
    bathroom nor kitchen.
}
\end{document}

Questions

If it is possible, how to make certain macros defined in a document class inaccessible from outside?

I don't think there is a way to make truly private methods per se, but you are aware of the way @ works, right? It is override-able but is standardly used to make macros unavailable in normal documents. http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/8351/what-do-makeatletter-and-makeatother-do — kgr, Jul 27 '11 at 18:23

score 12 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 27 '11 at 19:00

You can't make macros totally inaccessible from "outside". Even the TeX primitives are not protected and can be redefined (their names, not their function). You can only give your macros a very special name to avoid accidental and hinder deliberate changes on them.

Usually internal macros which are not supposed to be changed by other code include an @ which is normally not allowed as part of a macro name. This can be changed using \makeatletter and changed back to normal with \makeatother. Also such internal macros of one package should start with an specific prefix which is normally build from the package name. So instead of naming an internal macro \foobar call it \xport@foobar. This won't protect it from some users which really want to change it, but they can consider themselves warned.

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 27 '11 at 18:44

4

Also, you might want to explore expl3 (part of LaTeX3), which has its own naming conventions (quite distinct from plain TeX's and LaTeX2's @).

answered Jul 27 '11 at 18:44

mbork

13,385

How to make certain macros defined in document class inaccessible from within an input file using it?

Questions

2 Answers2