Re: wiki: debian installation

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

       # mkdir /usr/local/share/texmf
       # cd /usr/local/share/texmf
       # unzip /path/to/fresh/cont-tmf.zip
       # chmod 755 scripts/context/ruby/texmfstart.rb
       # texexec --make
       # mv conte-en.fmt cont-nl.fmt metafun.mem mptopdf.fmt web2c/
       # texhash

I don't understand how the 'mv' worked.  I'm experimenting here with
it and similar methods, and the formats go into
~/.texmf-config/web2c/pdfetex/ whereas in the commands above, it looks
like they went into /usr/local/share/texmf/ ?

>From looking at texexec.rb and tex.rb, the destination for texexec is
the first non-. path in "kpsewhich --engine=pdfetex --show-path=fmt"

Oh wait, maybe the old texexec does something different (for example,
put the formats in the current directory)?  From your logs, you are
using:

                texexec : TeXExec 5.4.3 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2005

which is the old, Perl version.  But now the python, sorry I mean ruby
version will be installed and used for the next update.  Here's what
texexec (v6, i.e. ruby) did here:

TeXExec | 
TeXExec | tex engine path: /home/sanjoy/.texmf-config/web2c/pdfetex
TeXExec | mps engine path: /home/sanjoy/.texmf-config/web2c
TeXExec | 
TeXExec | tex: 04/10/2006 23:27:43 > /home/sanjoy/.texmf-config/web2c/pdfetex/cont-en.fmt (7041446)
etc.

So will the formats from that update go into the per-user
.texmf-config/ tree or into a system-wide tree?

A related point, but probably not essential, is that the formats, or
maybe only the non-mpost ones, should go into web2c/pdfetex/ in case
there's a different, incompatible engine some day (e.g. luatex).

All this bootstrapping point is what I've had a hard time figuring out, so
I'm never sure that my installation method is robust.  For example, I
want a method that one can repeat and it keeps working.  So I thought
the easiest is solution to let ctxtools --updatecontext do the work,
with some help from environment variables (I would set TEXMFLOCAL to
~/texmf while running it).

>        "If you have already followed the *following* steps"
>    (my emphasis) which seems a little odd to some non-native speakers,

That's okay language wise ('following' meaning here upcoming) -- a
common usage before a colon (:).  Though it is a bit confusing here
because of the followed and following nearby.

-Sanjoy

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