[tex-live] Where is the master control switch?

Zdenek Wagner wagner at cesnet.cz
Mon Jul 31 17:00:51 CEST 2006


On Mon, 31 Jul 2006, Ken Brooks wrote:

> I have read the kpathsea manual, and the original texmf.cnf, and I am
> left with a few questions.  I'm a little unclear on what has to take
> place at compile time vs. what is established at runtime:
>
> 1. Does a texmf.cnf need to be available at compile time when the
> various tex programs are built?  In general, does the texmf tree as a
> whole need to be installed for best results before compiling tex programs?
>
> 2. There are so many choices.  I'm wondering about best practices for
> handling the numerous variables named in all-caps, found in texmf.cnf
> and elsewhere: TEXMFMAIN, TEXMFLOCAL, TEXMFDBS, VARTEXFONTS, etc.
> Should these best be handled as
> - command line parameters to "configure"?
> - environment variables present when configure is run?
> - entries in texmf.cnf (presuming that TEXMFCNF has been set already)
> - or, environment variables present at runtime?
>
These variables are defined inside texmf.cnf. If your texmf trees are
elsewhere on HD, change the definitions of these variables inside
texmf.cnf, the definitions are close to the beginning of the file. If your
binaries are not able to find texmf.cnf, set the TEXMFCNF environment
variable so that it points to the directory where your texmf.cnf resides.

> 3. I have already observed that setting TEXMFMAIN as an environment
> variable at runtime is inadequate.  How many such variables would need
> to be separately set at runtime to make things work right, if the texmf
> tree is not where it was expected to be at compile time?
>
> Thanks,
> Ken Brooks
> rPath, Inc.
>
> Thomas Esser wrote:
> >> When I try to run an ill-configured tex I get:
> >>
> >> kpathsea: Running mktexfmt tex.fmt
> >> /usr/bin/mktexfmt: line 331: /texconfig/tcfmgr: No such file or directory
> >
> > In that ill-configured installation,
> >   kpsewhich --var-value=TEXMFMAIN
> > expands to the empty string.
> >
> > In a better installation, a texmf.cnf file defines this variable to
> > something that makes sense. There is a search path TEXMFCNF which defines
> > where to look for texmf.cnf files. I guess that your installation does
> > not even find a texmf.cnf file. To check, just
> >   kpsewhich texmf.cnf
> >
> >> Is it normal to have a /texconfig directory at root level?  Or are
> >
> > It is $TEXMFMAIN/texconfig/tcfmgr.
> >
> >> need to do.  Where do I go for the documentation of its contents?
> >
> > If you don't go the regular route, be prepared to read some documentation
> > (e.g. the kpathsea manual) and to debug some scripts.
> >
> > Thomas
>
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Zdenek Wagner
e-mail: wagner at cesnet.cz

see also http://hroch486.icpf.cas.cz/wagner/
         http://icebearsoft.euweb.cz



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