Re: version dates confuse me after upgrade

[Sanjoy Mahajan <sanjoy@mrao.cam.ac.uk>]

Hans Hagen wrote:

> well, either use texconfig to generate context formats or use 
> texexec --make
> 
> texconfig does not support the $engine subpath feature (too difficult
> to implement) but we need this in order to distinguish between
> formats for pdftex, aleph and xetex

Success:

$ texexec --version

 TeXExec 5.4.3 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2005

               texexec : TeXExec 5.4.3 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE
               1997-2005
               texutil : TeXUtil 9.0.1 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE
               1992-2006
                   tex : pdfeTeX, 3.141592-1.21a-2.2 (Web2C 7.5.4)
               context : ver: 2006.03.25 13:21
               cont-en : ver: 2006.03.25 13:21  fmt: 2006.4.6  mes:
               english


Taco Hoekwater wrote:

> All this confusion with the formats and their paths is why my teTeX
> installation page starts with:
>
>   "De-install any existing teTeX"
>
> That really is the least confusing option, IMO. If you really do not
> want to do that (because you only ever use pdftex, for example)
> simply always copy the formats generated by texexec over the ones
> generated by texconfig/fmtutil.

I followed the Debian installation page using apt-get for the
latin-modern and cm-super fonts.  Probably many Debian users prefer
that method rather than the raw tetex method.  For one, xpdf has
recurring buffer overruns being discovered, and tetex (at least on
Debian) gets updated with the fixes -- and you want an installation
method that brings in the fix without having to reinstall everything
including context.

So what I did mixes in some of your raw tetex installation
instructions.  I already had tetex-3.0 and a .texmf-var directory from
the texconfig run to switch to letter paper, and (Debian's?)
tetex-3.0's texmf.cnf puts formats there.  So (once I had run texexec
--make):

* comment out the mptopdf, cont-en, and metafun lines in
  /etc/texmf/fmt.d/01tetex.cnf, so that fmtutil won't try to make them
  again.

* deleted the ~/.texmf-var/web2c/{cont-en,mptopdf}.fmt (I didn't have
  any metafun formats or I would delete them too).

* did "(cd ; kpsewhich  --format=fmt cont-en )" to find any other
  instances of cont-en.fmt, and then remove it:
    rm /var/lib/texmf/web2c/cont-en.fmt
  Same for mptopdf and (if any) metafun.

* Edited the TEXFORMATS line in /etc/texmf/texmf.d/45TeXinputs.cnf to
  have the /{$engine,} magic:
     TEXFORMATS = .;$TEXMF/web2c/{$engine,}

* As root, ran update-texmf to regenerate /etc/texmf/texmf.cnf

* Checked whether the new formats are found:
    $ (cd ; kpsewhich -format=fmt --engine=pdfetex cont-en mptopdf metafun)
    /home/sanjoy/.texmf-var/web2c/pdfetex/cont-en.fmt
    /home/sanjoy/.texmf-var/web2c/pdfetex/mptopdf.fmt
  (No metafun yet, but that's okay.)

* Looks okay, so run 'texexec --version' to see whether it really is okay.

Should I add these steps to the Wiki in the Debian installation page?

-Sanjoy

`Never underestimate the evil of which men of power are capable.'
         --Bertrand Russell, _War Crimes in Vietnam_, chapter 1.