🚀 go-pugleaf

This is probably more of a TeX question than a LaTeX one; is there a
TeX command that will cause all vertical and horizontal space
preceeding it to disappear?  What I'm trying to do is make a new
environment with the LaTeX \newenvironment command for mathematical
proofs.  Proofs generally begin with the word ``Proof'' in boldface,
then an arbitrary amount of text probably interspersed with equations,
then a ``QED'' symbol which is a small rectangle (depending upon the
document style it's either solid black or just an outline of the
rectangle).  Depending upon the document style the QED symbol may be
flush right or it may be an end-of-sentence space to the right of the
period of the last sentence.

If the user's LaTeX file contained

\begin{proof}
blah blah blah.
\end{proof}

it would be easy to handle (\begin{proof} would produce ``Proof'' in
the appropriate typeface with the appropriate punctuation and
\end{proof} would produce the appropriate QED symbol in the right
place), but there's no reason that they can't have any number of
spaces in front of the \end{proof} line or any number of blank lines
preceeding it.  Likewise for horizontal and vertical space after the
\begin{proof} line.

What I need is the TeX/LaTeX command(s) that would make it look like
the user's file contained

\begin{proof}blah blah blah.\end{proof}


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	rusty c. wright
	rusty@weyl.berkeley.edu
	ucbvax!weyl!rusty