Bug#245599: tetex-bin: mpost always fails with "Fatal mem file error; I'm stymied"

[Hilmar Preusse <hille42@web.de>]

On 24.04.04 Seth M LaForge (sethml@ofb.net) wrote:

Hi,

> I installed tetex-bin, and whenever I run it I get the following:
> 
>   % mpost foo
>   This is MetaPost, Version 0.641 (Web2C 7.4.5)
>   (Fatal mem file error; I'm stymied)
> 
> (Regardless of whether the file foo exists or not.)
> 
Means, the mem-file (format-file) for Metapost was (probably) not
generated for that version of metapost. It has to be regenerated.
Was that an upgrade from an old version of tetex-bin?

> On a debian stable system, I get:
> 
>   % mpost foo
>   This is MetaPost, Version 0.641 (Web2C 7.3.7)
>   ! I can't find file `foo'.
>   <*> foo
> 
>   Please type another input file name: 
> 
mpost on a not existing file should give you that error message...

> and of course, if I give it an actual file, it does stuff.
> 
Means, it runs? There was tetex-extra installed on that system?

> I purged tetex-bin and tetex-base and reinstalled them to clean out old
> config, and the behavior changes a bit but is still broken:
> 
>   % mpost foo
>   This is MetaPost, Version 0.641 (Web2C 7.4.5)
>   kpathsea: Running mktexfmt mpost.mem
>   fmtutil: format `mpost' not available.
>   I can't find the mem file `mpost.mem'!
> 
Well, the old mem-files was purged. He tried to regenerate that file,
but failed, cause the input file for generating the format-file was
missing. You have to install tetex-extra to use Metapost.

H. 
-- 
sigmentation fault