Re: problem in kpse.rb

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

> path = run("--expand-path=\\\$#{varname}") rescue ''
> 
> to
> 
> path = run("--expand-path=\$#{varname}") rescue ''

I also ran into this (a few weeks ago on the list) and the patch I
sent Hans after testing it on my Ubuntu Linux laptop was to use two
backslashes:

  run("--expand-path=\\$#{varname}")

so that Unix sees the command as, for example,

  kpsewhich --expand-path=\$TEXMFLOCAL

which prevents the shell from expanding TEXMFLOCAL as a shell or
environment variable, leaving it for kpse to find it in texmf.cnf.
Interesting that \$ also works.  I guess the \ gets passed unchanged,
so the $ still gets procted from the shell.

By the way, the rescue '' doesn't do anything, since a failed run of
kpsewhich doesn't throw an exception.  I think I have a patch for
that.

Hans, should I resend those patches?

-Sanjoy

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