[TxMt] Word Count ?

[Mark Eli Kalderon]

On 30 Nov 2006, at 01:12, Paul McCann wrote:

> Haris wrote...
>
>> \newcommand{\this}{Hi there! }
>> and then the document contains:
>> \this\this\this
>
>> I would guess detex will not count those 6 words, will it?
>
> No: but the alternative (typesetting and counting using something  
> like ps2ascii) is unworkably slow on large documents, so it's going  
> to depend on what sort of accuracy you're seeking (and what each  
> method considers to be a "word"). It'd be nice to find something  
> fast-ish and not-too-inaccurate, but I'm not holding my breath!
>

There is a limit to how fast an accurate utility could be if it is to  
accommodate the kind of procedural aspects of LaTeX syntax that Haris  
was referring to. Best, Mark