Compositions of projections in Banach spaces and relations between approximation properties (Q1011058)

A separable Banach space is said to have the bounded approximation property \((BAP)\) if there is a sequence \(T_n : X \to X\) of finite-rank operators such that (AI) \(\| T_n x - x\| \mathop{\longrightarrow}\limits_{n \to \infty} 0\) for every \(x \in X\). If the \(T_n\)'s are projections, one says that \(X\) has the \(\pi\)-property. If, moreover, these projections satisfy \(T_n T_m = T_{\min (n, m)}\) for \(n \neq m\), \(X\) is said to have a finite-dimensional decomposition \((FDD)\). It is a longstanding open problem to know whether every separable Banach space with the \(\pi\)-property has an \((FDD)\). In the paper under review, the author gives an equivalent reformulation of this problem in terms of the size of the norm of compositions of projections. He then discusses related problems on composition of projections. Comments: \textit{P.\,Casazza} [Lond.\ Math.\ Soc.\ Lect.\ Note Ser.\ 138, 108--127 (1989; Zbl 0693.46005)] showed that a separable Banach space has an \((FDD)\) if and only if it has the \(\pi\)-property and the communting bounded approximation property \((BAP)_{comm}\), meaning that one can find (AI) with commuting \(T_n\)'s. Then, \textit{P.\,Casazza} and \textit{N.\,Kalton} [Lond.\ Math.\ Soc.\ Lect.\ Note Ser.\ 158, 49--63 (1991; Zbl 0743.41027)] showed that the above problem is equivalent to: Does every separable Banach space with \((BAP)\) actually have \((BAP)_{comm}\)? and equivalent to: Can every separable Banach space with \((BAP)\) be renormed to have \((MAP)\), i.e., with \(\sup_n \|T_n\| = 1\) in (AI)?