On 11/09/2015 10:46, Alexander Grahn wrote: > Good afternoon, > > consider the following example: > > \documentclass{article} > \usepackage{expl3} > > \begin{document} > \ExplSyntaxOn > \clist_set:Nn\l_tmpa_clist{,,foo,bar,} > \typeout{\clist_count:N\l_tmpa_clist} %expected: 5, I get 2. > \typeout{\clist_item:Nn\l_tmpa_clist{3}} %expected: `foo`, I get `'. > \typeout{\clist_item:Nn\l_tmpa_clist{4}} %expected: `bar`, I get `'. > \ExplSyntaxOff > \end{document} > > Why does \clist_set:Nn ignore empty items when initialising a clist > variable from a token list? Is this intended behaviour? Is there a > work-around? > > Kind regards > Alexander This is by-design. Comma lists can't contain empty items, commas, etc.: sequences can. The reason is comma lists are 'close' to the user level, and there stray empty entries are normally best ignored. Joseph