[NTG-context] Re: upload

[Hans Hagen <j.hagen@xs4all.nl>]

On 6/14/2025 8:47 AM, Max Chernoff via ntg-context wrote:
> Hi Hans,
> 
> On Thu, 2025-06-12 at 13:56 +0200, Hans Hagen wrote:
>> I uploaded a new version,
> 
> Looks like my autoupdating scripts worked well, the new version should
> be available in TeX Live as of a few hours ago.

hm, there will be a new upload with some reported issues fixed ... i 
wonder if a too frequent texlive sync is good, as it sounds pretty beta 
and isn't tex live also in linux distributions? maybe some delay is 
better; is there some policy wrt that in texlive? like monthly update or 
so that we can then adapt to?

> In case anyone ever encounters any critical bugs in the version packaged
> by TeX Live, it's pretty easy to downgrade the prior version:
> 
>      $ tlmgr restore context 75454
>      $ tlmgr restore context.x86_64-linux 75425
> 
> (run "tlmgr restore context" to list the available versions)
> 
> Or if you need to downgrade to an even earlier version, it's only
> slightly more involved:
> 
>      $ rm /usr/local/texlive/2025/bin/x86_64-linux/{mtxrun,mtxrun.lua,context,context.lua,luametatex}
>      $ tlmgr install --reinstall --file \
>            https://texlive.info/tlnet-archive/2025/06/12/tlnet/archive/context.tar.xz \
>            https://texlive.info/tlnet-archive/2025/06/12/tlnet/archive/context.x86_64-linux.tar.xz
> 
> (replace the "2025/06/12" with whatever date you want to downgrade to)
> 
>> -- additional warnings (or abort) in case one runs from tex live and
>> missing or expected files
 > > Sure, fine by me. One possible idea: instead of relying on the file
> luametatex.h existing/not existing, I could add a "distributed_by" key
> (or similar) to the texmfcnf.lua file in TeX Live. Then ConTeXt could
> display the contents of that key in the log file, right below the
> ConTeXt version, so that it's clear to users (and people reading
> messages to the mailing list) that they're using an unofficial version.

that would only work for texlive then but it could be an option indeed

>> ps. i might reintroduce the beta/current updating scheme at some point
>> .. still undecided
> 
> Also fine by me; let me know if you ever want me to make any changes to
> the packaging in TeX Live.

i'll think of it; basically in the installer you can already set it to 
beta so it's basiclaly just another path then but it might not be worth 
the trouble in the end

>> % texmf-dist/tex/context/modules/mkxl/m-texlive.mkxl
>> %D This is a variant on code I found in a \TEXLIVE\ installation in \type
>> %D {cont-sys.mkxl} in 2025. In \type {cont-sys.mkxl} one can add this:
>> %D
>> %D \starttyping
>> %D \usemodule[texlive]
>> %D \stoptyping
> 
> I've updated cont-sys.mkxl with your new code, thanks!

Ha, you noticed. I wanted to test that but you beat me on that.

>> %D I guess that the reason for this hackery is that a \TEXLIVE\ doesn't do
>> %D an update of the file database after installing some \CONTEXT\ related
>> %D files. In a similar manner, when a used updated something \CONTEXT\ we
>> %D don't generate an lsr file. Here both are checked.
> 
> So TeX Live (tlmgr) always runs "mtxrun [--luatex] --generate" and
> "context [--luatex] --make" whenever it modifies any ConTeXt files, but
> since most users install TeX Live to "/usr/local/texlive/$YEAR" (or
> similar), tlmgr runs as root, so it can only update the caches/formats
> in "/usr/local/texlive/$YEAR/texmf-var/". But if a someone ever runs
> "mtxrun --generate" or "context --make" as a regular user, ConTeXt will
> create caches/formats in "~/.texlive$YEAR/texmf-var/", and then it will
> ignore all the files in "/usr/local/texlive/$YEAR/texmf-var/", even if
> they're newer than the user-local ones.

i suppose it also catched users putting e.g. fonts someplace without 
runnign file database updaters .. chicken-egg stuff (also becaus ein 
context we have texmf-fonts and a more flat structure)

btw, i installed a texlive in a vm and it seemd to work (i explicitly 
have to set these paths to a more reliable isolation (i want no funny 
.foo and mess in ~) but using the same tex related var local and home 
paths works)

> I wrote that code as a quick hack back in 2023, but as we all know,
> quick hacks tend to stay around far longer than they should :). If
> there's some way to tell ConTeXt to always use the system's filename
> cache files for "root == 'selfautoparent:texmf-dist'", and then the
> user-local filename cache files for other roots, that would probably be
> even better.

indeed. and having a module has better change of keeping in sync

if we need more explanation in that file, we can add it (Just let me know)

(i wondered about a warning of using a different than default papersize 
as set up by texlve - i saw that it's optional in the installer - but 
that is a bit hard to catch realiable but i'll think about it; manuals 
are rendered assuming A4)

Thanks for the patience and effort.

Hans


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                                           Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE
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