Re: webserver error

[Ed L Cashin <ecashin@coe.uga.edu>]

Anders Alstrin <anders.alstrin@forprint.se> writes:

> Hi all.
> 
> I´m trying to execute a shell script from a php program but
> texexec gives me an Error.
...
> pdfetex -progname=context \&cont-en /nexit/kunder/P004/html/test3
> 
> This is pdfeTeX, Version 3.14159-14e-released-20000217-2.1 (Web2C 7.3.1)
> 
> entering extended mode
> ! I can't write on file `test3.log'.
> Please type another transcript file name:

As it says, pdfetex can't write to its logfile.  Odds are pdfetex is
running as whatever user the webserver is, whether that's "web" or
"nobody" or whatever.

A nice way to handle that is to carefully create a uniquely-named
directory in a temp directory like /var/tmp.  Then you can make sure
that all of your commands are executed in that new temporary
directory.  

For example, the shell command would be something like this once
you've made the temp directory "/var/tmp/aaa4172":

    sh -c '(cd /var/tmp/aaa4172 && texexec test3)'

-- 
--Ed Cashin                     PGP public key:
  ecashin@coe.uga.edu           http://www.coe.uga.edu/~ecashin/pgp/