Passing name ending with number to \csname does not work

Question

Possible Duplicate:
macro names with special characters

When I use \yyy defined bellow it does not print yyy, but if I use \xxx it prints xxx. How can I make \yyy work?

\def\P1{yyy}
\def\PA{xxx}
\def\yyy{\csname P1\endcsname}
\def\xxx{\csname PA\endcsname}

Macro names can't have numbers in them. See http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/68201/macro-names-with-special-characters for a workaround. — Ethan Bolker, Jan 25 '13 at 19:44
@cgnieder: very instructive that link; in fact, I did something like the final recommendation in that link before I read it. Thanks — mljrg, Jan 25 '13 at 20:01
Please notice that there's a standard way how duplicates are marked, and this should not be modified. — yo', Jan 26 '13 at 10:20

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 25 '13 at 19:56

There are ways around this:

Use roman numerals rather than arabic ones. For example:

\def\Pi{yyy}
\def\Pii{xxx}
\def\yyy{\Pi}
\def\xxx{\Pii}

Use \@namedef and \@nameuse. For example:

\makeatletter
\@namedef{P1}{yyy}
\def\PA{xxx}
\def\yyy{\@nameuse{P1}}
\def\xxx{\PA}
\makeatother

Regardless, I think one can always get away with not using numerals in control sequences.

Those are interesting workarounds, but as you say, the first option seems to be the better. Thanks — mljrg, Jan 26 '13 at 09:56

1 Answers1