Bug#240231: mktexmf creates tempfiles in working dir (was: Bug#240231: tetex-bin: mktextfm fails to create font)

[Frank Küster <frank@debian.org>]

Hi Thomas,

here we have an other bugreport in our BTS. Since there have been no
changes between 2.0.2 and the current beta, I didn't want to clutter the
list with that stuff.

Gianluca Della Vedova <gianluca.dellavedova@unimib.it> schrieb:

> Below is an excerpt of the execution. 
>
> $mktextfm ecrm1095
>
> mktextfm: Running mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode; input ecrm1095
> This is METAFONT, Version 2.7182 (Web2C 7.4.5)
> kpathsea: Running mktexmf ecrm1095
> /usr/bin/mktexmf: line 92: mf10901.tmp: Permission denied
> chmod: impossibile leggere gli attributi di `mf10901.tmp': No such file or directory
> mv: impossibile fare stat di `mf10901.tmp': No such file or directory

mktexmf does the following - I copy only the important lines:

    cat > "mf$$.tmp" <<END
design_size := $realsize;
input $rootname;
END

chmod `kpsestat -xst,go-w .` "mf$$.tmp"
rm -f "$mfname"
mv "mf$$.tmp" "$mfname"

This will only work if one has write access to the directory. Usually
this is the case, because also tex wants to create its files there - but
obviously not always. It would be better to create the temporary file in
/tmp (or $TMPDIR if set). 

By the way, the next line in this transcript is:

> mktexmf: /var/cache/fonts/source/jknappen/ec/ecrm1095.mf: successfully generated.

Probably some checks should be done - or at least the script should be
"set -e".

Regards, Frank
-- 
Frank Küster, Biozentrum der Univ. Basel
Abt. Biophysikalische Chemie