Is it possible to force calc to use the rules of ordinary algebraic calculus when the language is 'latex?

Question

I mean : in a simple way..

(let ((calc-language 'latex))(calc-eval "1/2 + 1/4")) ; =>\frac{1}{12}
(let ((calc-language 'C))(calc-eval "1/2 + 1/4")) ; =>3/4

Of course, no problem if I use parenthesis :

(let ((calc-language 'latex))(calc-eval "(1/2) + (1/4)")) ; =>\frac{3}{4}

But I find that a bit boring.

Answer 1

I evaluated the following form:

  (put 'latex' math-oper-table (math-standard-ops))

then this one which evaluates the desired value:

  (let ((calc-language 'latex))(calc-eval "1/2 + 1/4")); =>\frac{3}{4}

I don't know if there are any unwanted side effects or not, but it seems like this is exactly what I asked for.

To enable it by default, I put:

(with-eval-after-load 'calc-lang (put 'latex' math-oper-table (math-standard-ops)))

in my init file.

Answer 2

Here's a macro I've been using to do something similar (in this package):

(defmacro with-calc-language (lang &rest body)
  "Execute the forms in BODY with `calc-language` set to LANG.
The value of `calc-language` is restored after BODY has been
processed."
  `(let ((old-lang calc-language))
     (unwind-protect
         (progn
           (save-excursion
             (calc-create-buffer))
           (calc-set-language ,lang)
           ,@body)
       (calc-set-language old-lang))))

(with-calc-language 'latex
                    (calc-eval "1/2 + 1/4")) ; => "\\frac{3}{4}"