Robert Dodier wrote on 04/05/2006 09:41:53 AM:
>
> tex typesets $$foobar$$ as 6 1-letter variables, while
> $${\it foobar}$$ is typeset as a word; the spacing between
> letters is different.
> since there are many symbols in maxima which have
> names of 2 or more characters, it seemed appropriate
> to make tex treat them as words.
I rarely use multi-letter identifiers for expressions that
I TeX. On those rare occasions that I do, I generally use
texput to modify the TeX. Most likely, I'll change my mactex
to not use the {\it ... }. Not a big deal.
Barton