updating ConTeXt to latest on openbsd-current

[frantisek holop <minusf@obiit.org>]

hi there,

i am a (somewhat) long time pdflatex user and i am trying to convert to
ConTeXt.  openbsd comes with teTeX 3.0 pre-packaged, that is with a very
old ConTeXt.  the package has some openbsd specific stuff, but minimal,
and only for keeping cnf files between updates and a couple of paths are
different, but that is it.

i was (am) having font problems, so i thought an upgrade would not hurt.
the lovely guides on contextgarden.net got me started, and with minor
changes i have a fresh ConTeXt up and running, but i have some problems
still i am afraid.  i am very new to ConTeXt and to TeX in general,
i was always behind the "safe" curtains of macros (like memoir, etc).


as i followed the instructions from here:
http://wiki.contextgarden.net/TeTeX_3.0_installation
my question are related to this page....

i will break down my question into more mails, so it's not too long,
and so that people can answer to mails they know the answer to :)

the first one:

the first step to upgrade context is:

--\startquote---------------------------------------------------
Fix texmf.cnf

Now first you have to fix texmf.cnf as supplied with teTeX:

# vi /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf/web2c/texmf.cnf 

You have to add an engine path to the TEXFORMATS line, so that it reads:

TEXFORMATS = .;$TEXMF/web2c/{$engine,}

--\stopquote----------------------------------------------------

i deliberately skipped this one, and the new context worked without it.
what does this precisely do?

when i first run the new context, a new line in the output immediately
caught my attention:

 TeXExec 5.4.3 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2005

 fixing texformat path : .:{!!/home/f/.texmf-config,!!/home/f/.texmf-var,/home/f
/texmf,!!/etc/texmf,!!/var/texmf,!!/usr/local/share/texmf,!!/usr/local/share/tex
mf-local,!!/usr/local/share/texmf-dist}/web2c/{$engine,}{pdfetex,}

so i thought, ok, here's the path issue.  so i added "{$engine,}" as intructed,
but it turned out that that this new line comes up anyway.  could anyone comment on it?


the next tip is to

--\startquote---------------------------------------------------

While at it, you probably want to set

shell_escape = t

if it isn't already. 

--\stopquote----------------------------------------------------

in the default openbsd package this line says:

shell_escape = f

what is the difference?  and what is it for anyway?
some external execution of the legends are true? :)

-f
-- 
i'm not old.  i'm chronologically gifted.