wiki: debian installation
Hi, apropos a good manual: is the debian installation description still supposed to be correct and/or supported? I did an installation with last weeks unstable release and found the wiki infos not really helpful, if not outright misleading. with greets from the penguin side of things, Jak. PS.: Yes, I also prefer printed docs. And no, I do not know who has got enough time and insight to write them ... -------------------------------------------------------------------- 150MB of disk space, Webmail over SSL with address book, calendar, and organizer. Access thru Imap, Imap-SSL, Pop3, Pop3-SSL and Smtp. 5 different domains, antispam (spamassassin, bayes, razor, dcc) and mime filter, Up to 200mb per outgoing message. All free, is your current email having this functionalities ? Check http://www.nemail.it for registration and more info. This message is added automatically, for any information or support contact: support@nectarine.info; if it is spam dont hesitate to report it. --------------------------------------------------------------------
I did an installation with last weeks unstable release and found the wiki infos not really helpful, if not outright misleading.
That's too vague to be helpful. Having written some of the Debian installation materials, I would find it useful to know what places were wrong or misleading so that it could be improved. -Sanjoy `Never underestimate the evil of which men of power are capable.' --Bertrand Russell, _War Crimes in Vietnam_, chapter 1.
That's too vague to be helpful. Having written some of the Debian installation materials, I would find it useful to know what places were wrong or misleading so that it could be improved.
Good to hear this part of the ConTeXt labyrinth still has some care
taking inhabitants ...
So, here are some specifics about the experiences following the wiki
installation page for Debian. It reminds me of catching a young koetje
with too many efforts, and just when you are about to give up, the thing
is already in the barn.
First of all, why the page is rather misleading:
* In the beginning the installation text seems to intend a global
installation of ConTeXt, but later on it silently switches towards a
user specific one. Latter is fine with me, but do we really have to
change the system-wide TeX installation for that?
* The system-wide installation is changed without using the debian
package system at all. If there is a reason for this, it is not
mentioned in the text.
Besides, the wiki link to this page says that the installation is
intended for people who like to use apt. Well, quite the contrary:
this installation procedure is for people who *dont* want to use apt
for their context installation, because ConTeXt is installed across
different parts of the debian package system, apt is just used to
get some general TeX/tetex-packages.
I won't go into details here WhyThisIsNotAGoodThing, if it´s all about
a box intended for "Personal ConTeXing" it might be o.k., but
most certainly not for a box that hosts different users and
TeX flavors, so that it could use a single management interface like
the debian one.
* In the end, debian works out perfectly well now, as shown below. Plus
there is a more debianish way to have a system-wide fresh ConTeXt
koetje on your box every other release day (s. below).
Ok, so much for generics. Now lets go along the installation text and
see what happens on a fresh debian (unstable release 2006-10-02) system:
1. First we make sure to have packages tetex-bin, tetex-extra, lmodern
and cm-super and install the new metapost and pdftex versions by
hand.
2. What now? Ok, now we are switching to a user specific installation.
Where? Any pathname restrictions? The text doesn´t mention
anything, but lets call it ~myuser/texmf, just to be on the safe
side. A lot of people may never have heard about TEXMFHOME
environment variables. It could be helpful to mention it at this
point.
3. we download and unzip cont-tmf.zip and then at the end of
~myuser/texmf > texexec --make
... lots of output ...
used engineformatpath : /home/myuser/texmf/web2c/pdfetex/
TeX binary : pdfetex
format(s) : en nl metafun mptopdf
total run time : 4 seconds
warning : use 'texmfstart texexec' instead
Hmm. A warning. Do we have to care? Anyway, lets continue.
4. What now, pt. 2: the big heading says "Context first time upgrade",
but the small text a few lines above says
"If you have already followed the *following* steps"
(my emphasis) which seems a little odd to some non-native speakers,
if they notice that fine point anyway: it doesnt say previous
steps, it says following steps, the steps we haven´t read so far ...
After some ruminations it seems we just have two alternatives here:
if you follow these instructions the first time,
please do the following
if you just want to upgrade cont-tmf,
please go to chapter foobar
Alright, so we´re doing a "first time upgrade", since we´re
following these instructions the first time and have an old ConTeXt
in the standard debian tetex package. According to the text we should
look out for old formats. No search results in any user
dot-directory.
Our last step generated cont-en, cont-nl and mptopdf format files in
~myuser/texmf/web2c/pdfetex/
"kpsewhich cont-en.fmt" does only return the global format we created
during the pdfetex installation in step 1. Even a
# find / -iname cont-en.fmt
returns nothing more. This step seems finished, now we tell TeX how
to find our formats in the next step by changing the configlets.
5. First, according to the wiki, we need to comment out the format
generation of mptopdf, metafun and cont-en, which is controlled by
/etc/texmf/fmt.d/01tetex.cnf (we notice that there is no metafun
format in our local directory, but maybe thats intentional).
We run update-fmtutil. Still just the old metafun.mem in
/var/lib/texmf/web2c, what to do about this? No instructions, so
lets just leave it at that, and add the {$engine,} subpath string
to TEXFORMATS, followed by an update-texmf.
6. Everythings o.k. now? Let´s see:
~myuser/ > texexec --version
TeXExec 5.4.3 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2005
texexec : TeXExec 5.4.3 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2005
texutil : TeXUtil 9.0.1 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1992-2006
tex : pdfeTeX, 3.141592-1.30.6-2.2 (Web2C 7.5.5)
context : ver: 2006.08.08 21:51
cont-en : ver: 2006.08.08 21:51 fmt: 2006.9.30 mes:
english
total run time : 0 seconds
warning : use 'texmfstart texexec' instead
Hmm. Again the warning. What is this texmfstart thing anyway? In
~myuser/scripts/context/ruby/texmfstart.rb
~myuser/scripts/context/stubs/lib/texmfstart
there is something, but maybe it is not (yet?) needed. So let´s give
it a try and create the first "official" ConTeXt test file hello.tex:
\starttext
Hello World
\stoptext
and then:
~myuser/ > texexec --pdf hello.tex
...
... lots of output that looks o.k., until:
...
fonts : using map file:original-public-lm(/home/myuser
/texmf/tex/context/base/pdfr-ec.tex)[1.1{/home/myuser/texmf/fonts
/map/dvipdfm/context/original-empty.map}{/home/myuser/texmf/fonts
/map/dvipdfm/context/texnansi-public-lm.map}{/home/myuser/texmf
/fonts/map/dvipdfm/context/original-base.map
Warning: pdfetex (file /home/myuser/texmf/fonts/map/dvipdfm/
context/original-base.map): invalid entry for `fmvr8x': font file
missing
...
... and a lot more of these warnings follow, also in the 2nd run:
...
Warning: pdfetex (file/home/myuser/texmf/fonts/map/dvipdfm/context
/original-public-lm.map): invalid entry for `cmmib9': font file
missing}]
systems : end file hello at line 3
)
Output written on hello.pdf (1 page, 2611 bytes).
Transcript written on hello.log.
return code : 0
run time : 0 seconds
sorting and checking : running texutil
TeXUtil 9.0.1 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1992-2006
action : processing commands, lists and registers
option : sorting IJ under Y
option : converting high ASCII values
input file : hello.tui
output file : hello.tuo
passed commands : 19
remapped keys : 0
register entries : 1 -> 0 entries 0 references synonym
entries : 3 -> 1 entries
bad entries : 3
embedded files : 1
remark : 'texutil' is now part of 'texexec'
warning : use 'texmfstart texutil' instead
total run time : 1 seconds
warning : use 'texmfstart texexec' instead
Hmm. The texmfstart warning looks familiar, but missing font
files? Strange. Anyway, the pdf-file looks ok, so lets be more
adventurous, and try the second ConTeXt test file from the wiki,
the one with the little red hat:
texexec --pdf littleredhat.tex
TeXExec 5.4.3 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2005
fixing engine variable : pdfetex
executable : pdfetex
format : cont-en
inputfile : littleredhat
output : pdftex
interface : en
current mode : none
TeX run : 1
This is pdfeTeX, Version 3.141592-1.30.6-2.2 (Web2C 7.5.5)
(/home/myuser/texmf/web2c/natural.tcx)
entering extended mode
(./littleredhat.tex
ConTeXt ver: 2006.08.08 21:51 fmt: 2006.9.30 int: english mes:
english
language : language en is active
Thanks, that's very helpful. I didn't understand everything that happened in your installation notes, but for what I did understand (most of it) I agree with what you say. I'll go through it again, figure out what I'm still confused about, and then ask you on the list.
PPS: No, still no idea who should write all that documentation.
I'll make a start. Probably the best is to have two pages, one for system-wide installation in /usr/local/share/texmf, for which life can be a lot simpler, and one for personal installation in $HOME/texmf. -Sanjoy `Never underestimate the evil of which men of power are capable.' --Bertrand Russell, _War Crimes in Vietnam_, chapter 1.
Hi, as soon as I put a placefigure in an \item paragraph, the whole paragraph starts one line below the stopper. Is this a conceptual issue or just a weirdness? What is the best way to start at the same height? I couldn´t find anything in the wiki or the details ... As an example, see: \starttext \startitemize \item \input tufte \item \placefigure[right,none]{}{\framed[height=1cm]{foo bar}} \input tufte \item \input tufte \stopitemize \stopttext thanks, Jak -------------------------------------------------------------------- 150MB of disk space, Webmail over SSL with address book, calendar, and organizer. Access thru Imap, Imap-SSL, Pop3, Pop3-SSL and Smtp. 5 different domains, antispam (spamassassin, bayes, razor, dcc) and mime filter, Up to 200mb per outgoing message. All free, is your current email having this functionalities ? Check http://www.nemail.it for registration and more info. This message is added automatically, for any information or support contact: support@nectarine.info; if it is spam dont hesitate to report it. --------------------------------------------------------------------
On 10/3/06, plink wrote:
Hi,
as soon as I put a placefigure in an \item paragraph, the whole paragraph starts one line below the stopper. Is this a conceptual issue or just a weirdness?
What is the best way to start at the same height? I couldn´t find anything in the wiki or the details ...
As an example, see:
\starttext
\startitemize \item \input tufte \item \placefigure[right,none]{}{\framed[height=1cm]{foo bar}} \input tufte \item \input tufte \stopitemize
\stopttext
\placefigure will always start a new paragraph, but usually you don't notice that since you want it in a separate paragraph anyway. It has to do with boxes, although I have no idea how exactly Hans implemented "itemize/itemgroup" environment. You can help yourself a bit by using \item \strut\vskip -\lineheight\placefigure... although there should be a better solution. (I would agree that the empty line makes no sense in that "special case" and should better disappear, but I have no right to judge about how serious "backward compatibility issue" that is and how difficult it would be to fix it without breaking the behaviour in other "special cases") Hopefully someone on the list will be able to help you better. Mojca
Mojca Miklavec wrote:
\placefigure will always start a new paragraph, but usually you don't notice that since you want it in a separate paragraph anyway. It has to do with boxes, although I have no idea how exactly Hans implemented "itemize/itemgroup" environment.
You can help yourself a bit by using \item \strut\vskip -\lineheight\placefigure...
I'll give the vskip a try. In the meantime I tried to relive my knowledge about \offset, but it didn't seem a good idea to try that in this case. Sigh, one day I'll be able to understand the source ... -------------------------------------------------------------------- 150MB of disk space, Webmail over SSL with address book, calendar, and organizer. Access thru Imap, Imap-SSL, Pop3, Pop3-SSL and Smtp. 5 different domains, antispam (spamassassin, bayes, razor, dcc) and mime filter, Up to 200mb per outgoing message. All free, is your current email having this functionalities ? Check http://www.nemail.it for registration and more info. This message is added automatically, for any information or support contact: support@nectarine.info; if it is spam dont hesitate to report it. --------------------------------------------------------------------
On 10/2/06, plink wrote: Thanks a lot for all the comments! Feel free to edit the wiki if nobody else starts doing so (I have some plans in mind about changing/improving installation pages, but it's only a question of starting it and taking some more time ...). I'm only answering a few of the questions.
Hmm. The texmfstart warning looks familiar, but missing font files? Strange. Anyway, the pdf-file looks ok, so lets be more adventurous, and try the second ConTeXt test file from the wiki, the one with the little red hat:
...
Warning: pdfetex (file /home/myuser/texmf/fonts/map/dvipdfm/ context/original-base.map): invalid entry for `fmvr8x': font file missing
Some time ago it was a hot topic on the mailing list. See: http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Error_Recovery and fix it if possible even if it is working now for some reason. But that page should be less hidden, I admit.
Well, several hours of documentation/wiki grinding later we thought: lets do it like the ConTeXt gurus and try the texmfstart thing. We created the two liner /home/myuser/bin/texexec:
#!/bin/sh texmfstart texexec.rb --nonstopmode "$@"
and a link
ln -s ~/texmf/scripts/context/ruby/texmfstart.rb texmfstart
That's the proper way ;)
Heureka - that was it! Umlauts, special chars in typing environments etc. are fine with the new texexec, even if the system wide format files are created with the old texexec !?!
texexec only calls pdfTeX with proper arguments, so it's pdfTeX version (and version of ConTeXt .tex source files) the one that matters, not really the flavour of texexec.
hth and wel te rusten, Jak.
PS: One question remains: is the texmfstart.rb way now the "official" way of doing ConTeXt on Linux/Debian these days?
Yes. It already is the default under MikTeX 2.5 & with stand-alone ConTeXt, but I have no idea when/if it's going to be the default under teTeX (it's not maintained any more), gwTeX, ... Hopefully it's going to be the default under TeX Live, other distributions usually follow then.
If so, it´d better be documented for the rookies of us somehow/somewhere, if not, something else in the documentation needs to be fixed.
Sure, Installation pages should be more unified.
PPS: No, still no idea who should write all that documentation.
Wiki is left to the users (like & including you). Mojca
Mojca Miklavec wrote:
Warning: pdfetex (file /home/myuser/texmf/fonts/map/dvipdfm/ context/original-base.map): invalid entry for `fmvr8x': font file missing
Some time ago it was a hot topic on the mailing list. See: http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Error_Recovery and fix it if possible even if it is working now for some reason.
Thanks for this helpful link, Mojca!
But that page should be less hidden, I admit.
Indeed, just found this nice whatlinkshere feature of the wiki and the result of http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Special:Whatlinkshere/Error_Recovery: (List of links) Jump to: navigation, search < Error Recovery No pages link to here. leaves something to be desired ;-) Jak -------------------------------------------------------------------- 150MB of disk space, Webmail over SSL with address book, calendar, and organizer. Access thru Imap, Imap-SSL, Pop3, Pop3-SSL and Smtp. 5 different domains, antispam (spamassassin, bayes, razor, dcc) and mime filter, Up to 200mb per outgoing message. All free, is your current email having this functionalities ? Check http://www.nemail.it for registration and more info. This message is added automatically, for any information or support contact: support@nectarine.info; if it is spam dont hesitate to report it. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Warning: pdfetex (file /home/myuser/texmf/fonts/map/dvipdfm/ context/original-base.map): invalid entry for `fmvr8x': font file missing
Some time ago it was a hot topic on the mailing list. See: http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Error_Recovery and fix it if possible even if it is working now for some reason.
I ran into the same issue a few days ago and eventually found my to the same solution. About the 'some reason': I noticed that without the fix, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The answer is the damn database file (the ls-R). kpathsea searches in 'directory order', which you can find with 'ls -U'. So ls -U ~/texmf/fonts/map/ gave me pdfetex, dvips, then dvipdfm, and I couldn't understand why anyway the dvipdfm file was being found ahead of the pdfetex one (even without the $progname). The answer is that the ls-R file is listed in, well, ls -R order, which is not necessarily directory order. It's probably alphabetical. So dvipdfm is ahead of pdfetex. Getting rid of the ls-R means the pdfetex map file is found (good), but it can easily change back if some script makes a new ls-R (so it's not robust). Short version: Do the recommended fix. -Sanjoy `Never underestimate the evil of which men of power are capable.' --Bertrand Russell, _War Crimes in Vietnam_, chapter 1.
From looking at texexec.rb and tex.rb, the destination for texexec is
# 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/ ? 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.
On Thu, 5 Oct 2006, Sanjoy Mahajan wrote:
# 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
Why not use texmfstart texexec --make to make sure that the correct (ruby) version of texexec is used.
# mv conte-en.fmt cont-nl.fmt metafun.mem mptopdf.fmt web2c/ # texhash
Aditya
participants (4)
-
Aditya Mahajan -
Mojca Miklavec -
plink -
Sanjoy Mahajan