[NTG-context] Re: In LuaMetaTeX, `\read` sometimes doesn't grab the entire balanced text

[Hans Hagen via ntg-context <ntg-context@ntg.nl>]

On 9/23/2025 11:14 AM, witiko@gmail.com wrote:
> I am seeing some other issues with `\read` as well. For example, `\def\first{hello  world}` (notice the two spaces) will store 11 tokens "hello␣world" in `\first` but storing `hello  world` in a text file named `example.txt` and reading that file with `\newread\example \openin\example=example.txt \read\example to\second` in LuaMetaTeX stores 13 tokens "hello␣␣world\n" in `\second`. LuaTeX and other TeX engines would store just 12 tokens "hello␣world\n". This is less of an issue than the one described in the original post and can likely be fixed by using `\scantokens` on `\second`.

On my machine from this:

\starttext

\newread\example
\openin\example=example.txt
\read\example to\hello
\read\example to\world
\closein\example

(\meaningfull\hello)

(\meaningfull\world)

[\hello\ \world]

\stoptext

I now get:

(global macro:{hello})
(global macro:world)
[hello world]

For

{%
hello}
world

But I used a patched version of \read that is not yet uploaded.

Hans

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