updates

[Hans Hagen <pragma@wxs.nl>]

Hi,

Later this week i will post an update. Among the things to keep an eye 
on are:

- if you use the new (web2c) beta binaries be aware of the suffixes of 
formats now all being 'fmt'; conforming to the new tds structure, this 
should go in sync with a so called $engine subpath under webc, but this 
wil lnot be supported by tetex (i'm not sure about texlive); this can be 
rather annoying when you use pdfetex as well as aleph; in that case you 
may want to try

  texexec --make --alone --all --engine

(i always use --all to get all patterns in the format)

- with new binaries you should also be aware of changes in enc and map 
paths; texfont is already adapted to that and textools can be used to 
adapt your trees

- however, the main reason for writing this mail is that i recently 
found out that there has been a change in the us hyphenation files; on 
your system this may be obscured by the fact that sometimes there is an 
alias file somewhere in the tree mapping old names on new names [fyi: i 
finally found out that this alias file is also the reason why sometimes 
fonts like dingbats get messed up]. I have adapted context to look for 
new and old files; unfortunately important changes like this are not 
announced and just happen (i wonder how many us-english users are aware 
of this change); i have been bitten by this (unannounced changes in 
filenames, and i cross my fingers that the content is the same) too 
often now; when it happens again, i'll start distributing patterns as in 
the first versions of context (lang-*.pat/hyp files)

- 8 bit in/output: it looks like tex live will not be 8 bit (the last 
version was 8 bit except chars<32, the previous version was 8 bit) and 
the next version will be yet another mix; since i want context to be 8 
in/8 out the formats will be built with the natural.tcx vector (in a few 
years, when i can be sure that suers are in sync, i will use the -8bit 
switch). I will not bore you with teh arguments that are used to let tex 
not be 8 but by default, but it has to do with unix and terminal output 
and locales and such. (interestingly this is no real problem for context 
since the control characters (<32) are mostly used for file io, 
verbatim, pdf, metapost, javascript, xml etc).  

Hans 

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                                          Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE
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