Re: problem with texexec and inline metapost

[Hans Hagen <pragma@wxs.nl>]

At 12:38 PM 7/14/2001 +0200, you wrote:
>At 12:35 14.07.2001 +0200, Taco Hoekwater wrote:
>> > >What latest? The ones i uploaded the last few days *do* an extra pass 
>> with
>> > >external mp graphics {based on checksum calculation] but only with the
>> > >undocumented --automprun, so
>> > >
>> > >texexec --automprun yourfile.tex
>> >
>> > Runtime graphics with \write18 are compiled each tex run, no matter if 
>> they
>> > were changed or not. A checksum calculation could speed up things
>> > significantly. Perhaps this is a feature worth thinking of, if it can be
>> > implemented with acceptable effort.
>>
>>You need checksum calculation in TeX macros then, since nothing else is
>>called
>>inbetween. Possible, of course, but it might actually be slower than
>>calling MP
>>regardless of change.
>
>But what about having texexec/perl calculate the checksums, writing them 
>to an auxiliary file, and tex just reading them? And in any case, one can 
>be sure that the mp code will not change during the same call to texexec 
>(or can there be exceptions?), so that if, say, three tex runs are 
>necessary, one run of mp would be sufficient. Setting some switch may be 
>sufficient to achieve this.

actually, if you search texexec.pl for the word checksum, you will see that 
something like that is done. One pitfall is when one uses random numbers 
[context sets the mp random number in order to have control over successive 
runs]. Th eexperimental --automp will give you the functionality needed. 
With runtime graphics there is no saving to gain exept calculating a 
checksum per graphic and saving it in the tuo file. The best saving is to 
use reusable graphic or unique ones when possible [is possibel in most cases]

Hans
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