Hans van der Meer wrote:
Say I have a box, e.g. \setbox\thebox=\vbox{....} with dimensions \wd\thebox etc. What then is the most efficient and economic (in terms of complexity and speed) way to generate a colored background for it?
If you really want your code to be as efficient and minimalist as possible, you are better of with the plain format than with ConTeXt in any case. Personally I prefer to optimize on complexity and readability of my sources instead of on machine clock cycles. That said, metapost graphics are, in general, heavier than \framed. If you really need thousands and thousands of those boxes, a macro like: \def\bgcolorthebox#1% {\dontleavehmode \rlap{\color[#] {\vrule height \ht\thebox depth \dp\thebox width \wd\thebox}}% \box\thebox } can help. But if it is only a few, simply use \framed. Taco