Bug in the redefinition of \dotfill in doc.sty about latex2e

[FrankMittelbach]

I wonder why a LaTeX package redefines commands from the kernel.

Interesting question. Quite often because it has to as the 2e kernel doesn't have the right hooks (eg the array package you use above does that even more often than doc). But anyway in this case put it down to the doc code being written 30 years ago (at a time \kern \z@ wasn't in side \dotfill. And back then token space was of real importance so it wouldn't do to add arbitrary new commands unnecessarily.

Anyway, even though that has served for about three decades without anybody coming across that problem, I agree that it makes sense to fix it and as I'm currently anyway revising doc in other places I will make sure that the next release will have the correction.

[FOCCOF]

@FrankMittelbach
Thank you for your reply.
I think the definition of LaTeX2e kernel is related to its proper definition of the tabular/array environments.
At the time of e-TeX, I think the \unskip put after the # in the template should be filtered, since \unskip here means "remove the last space " we should say nowadays with e-TeX :

\ifcase\gluestretchorder\lastskip
\ifcase\glueshrinkorder\lastskip \unskip \fi \fi

In order not to cancel a infinitely stretchable or shrinkable glue, what a "Space" never is.

Finally, to be clear, in my opinion the culprit is @mkpream and not the \dotfill definition of doc.sty....

[davidcarlisle]

@FOCCOF Hi, I hope this account github ping is still working, may we contact you re tabu?
You could mail me at d.p.carlisle [at] gmail.com

thanks,

David