[metapost] New MPlib beta

[Dan&Jan Luecking]

At 04:49 PM 7/1/2008, Taco Hoekwater wrote:
>Dan Luecking wrote:
>>The mpost.exe that comes with the new MPlib beta (1.0080) complains
>>of not finding plain.mem if a -mem option is not given. Shouldn't it
>>be looking for mpost.mem?
>
>Do you happen to know the exact logic web2c uses, by any chance?

In MetaPost 1.002 (Web2C 7.5.5), the help text says,
in part:
   Usage: mpost [OPTION]... [MPNAME[.mp]] [COMMANDS]
   ...
   If the first line of MPNAME is %&MEM, and MEM is an existing
   .mem file, use it.  Else use `NAME.mem', where NAME is the
   program invocation name...
   ...
   Alternatively, if the first non-option argument begins with
   a &, the next word is taken as the MEM to read, overriding
   all else.
   ...
   Options:
   ...
   -mem=MEMNAME      use MEMNAME instead of program name or a %&MEM

Thus:
use progname,
but %&MEM line overrides  that
and -mem=MEMNAME or &MEMNAME on command line overrides that.

I do, however, remember the days when plain was the default
for tex and metafont. In emTeX, this persisted through the
late 90s, even in metapost. I don't know if that was ever
the case in web2c.

Regards,
Dan


Dan Luecking
Fayetteville, Arkansas