2 Expressions

To use Myron successfully, you have to know how to construct expressions in the syntactic form recognized by the Myron grammar. Using the descriptive definitions and syntax diagrams in this chapter, error messages from the parser and your own mathematical intuition, you will learn the input form of all the mathematical expression types supported by Myron.

Much of this chapter is concerned with syntax. The meanings and use of each expression type are presented elsewhere in descriptions that occupy much of the rest of this guide. The chapter begins with an overview of the life cycle of an expression, following it through the parser to internal representation and ending with display and text rendering. It then introduces the building blocks of Myron expressions: variables, values and operators. After presenting additional major expression forms, the chapter continues with alternative notation for special symbols and alternate forms of expression input including stroke recognition and interoperable markup. It concludes with a summary of primary expressions and unary and binary operators.