[NTG-context] "infinite" paper height

[Hans Hagen]

Taco Hoekwater wrote:
> Ricard Roca wrote:
>   
>> I think that's not possible because of TeX. TeX limits any dimension to 2^30 
>> scaled points (~5.75 m).
>>     
>
> I just realized you can cheat just a little:
>
> 	\hsize=575cm
> 	\advance \hsize \hsize
>   
interesting indeed because normally tex checks for overflows when 
calculating
> 	\message{\the\hsize} % reports 32720.66928pt ~ 11.5m
>
> A nice one for Pavel's new 'TeX surprises' in eurobachotex
> next year.
>
>   
actually, one can put stuff in a vbox till tex's mem overflows, and even split off pieces, as long as one does not calculate using the dimensions of a box; tex's overflow check only happens when doing explicit calculations 


Hans 

-----------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE
              Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands
     tel: 038 477 53 69 | fax: 038 477 53 74 | www.pragma-ade.com
                                             | www.pragma-pod.nl
-----------------------------------------------------------------