What's the maximum value that can be displayed by \Roman

Question

Apparently a counter can store up to 2^31-1 (e-TeX). But if I want to typeset that counter using \Roman, what's the maximum I can display?

2^31-1 (although it doesn't try too hard to use a historically accurate representation) — David Carlisle, May 31 '17 at 09:48
This depends on the font, I would say. M is wider than L, in most cases, D is narrower than M, so there might be an optimum for the \textwidth — , May 31 '17 at 09:58
@DavidCarlisle I see there's some flexibility in the historical approaches (linked in my comment under your answer). — Chris H, May 31 '17 at 11:15
By the way, what set me thinking of this was Golf my Shakespeare quote references — Chris H, May 31 '17 at 11:16

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered May 31 '17 at 09:52

7

\documentclass{article}

\newcounter{zz}

\begin{document}

\setcounter{zz}{2147483647}
 \Roman{zz}



\end{document}

Roman works for the full range, but you need a very wide page.

Overfull \hbox (24217.02405pt too wide) in paragraph at lines 8--9
[]\OT1/cmr/m/n/10 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
...
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMDCXLVII

answered May 31 '17 at 09:52

David Carlisle

757,742

1

Is this what they mean by the "width in ems"? – Steven B. Segletes May 31 '17 at 10:05
1

So after MMMCMXCIX (or MMMMCMXCIX if you like) this takes the simple approach rather than any of the alternatives such as using $\bar\mathrm{X}$ or \=X for 10 000 (maths/text modes) or the multiplicative version in @Schweinebacke's answer. This is universal and simple I suppose. – Chris H May 31 '17 at 11:11
1

@ChrisH yes it just adds m (which is used as a useful loop generator in certain trick constructs) see https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/199162/1090 – David Carlisle May 31 '17 at 11:52

Schweinebacke · Answer 2 · 2017-05-31T12:11:20.373

5

Try it out:

\documentclass{article}
\newcounter{maxroman}
\begin{document}
\setcounter{maxroman}{0}% use the initial value you like (e.g. 2147483640)
\makeatletter
\@whilenum \value{maxroman}<\maxdimen\do{%
  \stepcounter{maxroman}%
  \typeout{Trying \themaxroman}%
  \themaxroman=\Roman{maxroman}\par
}
\end{document}

;-)

Nevertheless large Roman numbers with aphostrophus (e.g. IↃↃↃↃ for 500.000), vinculum or multiplication (e.g. D•M) as usually used are not supported by (La)TeX.

edited May 31 '17 at 12:11

answered May 31 '17 at 09:58

Schweinebacke

26,336

1

I am sorry. You posted your answer to the wrong question. I think you meant to post it here: https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/122116/how-to-prolong-compilation-time-while-engaging-in-leisure-activities. ;^) By the way, you hung my computer! – Steven B. Segletes May 31 '17 at 10:03
1

Counting to 2^31-1 could take a while...a very long while. How many years do you still have before you? – Steven B. Segletes May 31 '17 at 10:26
1

@StevenB.Segletes Hopefully several more than my computer. – Schweinebacke May 31 '17 at 10:30
I considered this experiment, but with the level of expertise here thought there would be a documented value somewhere. – Chris H May 31 '17 at 11:02
3

@ChrisH For a documented value see David's answer or simply start the experiment with a higher value (e.g. \maxdimen-1) or turn it (start with \maxdimen and loop down to 1). – Schweinebacke May 31 '17 at 12:09

What's the maximum value that can be displayed by \Roman

2 Answers2