Bug#291545: tetex-bin: initex fails to generate some etmf files

[frank@kuesterei.ch (Frank Küster)]

Margarita Manterola <debian@marga.com.ar> wrote:

> Hola Frank Küster!
>
>> This is a really low value. For debugging, we need some more
>> information. Can you please send us the output of the following
>> commands:
>
>> grep trie_size /etc/texmf/texmf.d/95NonPath.cnf
>
> marga@fobos:~$ grep trie_size /etc/texmf/texmf.d/95NonPath.cnf
> % `ssup_trie_opcode' and `ssup_trie_size' in tex.ch (and rebuild TeX);
> trie_size = 262000

This is the unchanged value, as the file is included in the deb. So far,
so good.

>> grep trie_size /etc/texmf/texmf.cnf
>
> marga@fobos:~$ grep trie_size /etc/texmf/texmf.cnf
> % `ssup_trie_opcode' and `ssup_trie_size' in tex.ch (and rebuild TeX);
> trie_size = 64000

texmf.cnf is created from files in /etc/texmf/texmf.d/, and therefore in
an ideal world the value should be the same here. It is not, and this
indicates either a bug, or that someone has edited the file - which is
allowed, of course, but done on one's own risk. If that "someone" is an
other package, as you suspect, this would be a grave bug, of course, and
it would be really good if we could find this out.

To find out what happened, please do the following, and send us the
output:

grep texmf.cnf /var/lib/ucf/hashfile
md5sum /etc/texmf/texmf.cnf
update-texmf -d

If it asks you about changes made, you can look at the diff, but for
debugging purposes, you should choose not to accept the maintainer
changes, as suggested, but keep your installed version. After this do
again:

grep trie_size /etc/texmf/texmf.cnf
grep texmf.cnf /var/lib/ucf/hashfile
md5sum /etc/texmf/texmf.cnf

If after the call to update-texmf the trie_size in texmf.cnf is still
not 262000, please go on like this:

Open /etc/texmf/texmf.d/95NonPatch.cnf in an editor and change an
arbitrary comment. For example, go to the line before the trie_size
setting and write something like

% this must be at least 262000

After this, run "update-texmf -d" again. Now it should really display a
dialog: It should tell you that there are changes that need to merged,
and offers you to show the differences. Please look at the differences.

If the only difference is the comment you added and the setting of
trie_size, please accept the "maintainer changes" - this means the
changes that come from the files in texmf.d. If there are more
differences, things are more difficult. It might be that you or some
other admin on that machine edited the file, and the changes actually
make sense - then it would be advisable to also make the changes in the
respective file in texmf.d - then update-texmf will no longer ask you.

If you don't have any idea where those changes might come from, it might
in fact be that some other package did these changes in a wrong
way. Please send us the diff - you need not copy&paste it. Instead,
simply chose to _not_ accept the "maintainer" changes, and look at the
filename that is displayed in the end, something like

Keeping temporary file /tmp/tmp.XXXXrB9Inp/texmfXko4iou

You can then make a diff between this file and /etc/texmf/texmf.cnf. 

Regards, Frank
-- 
Frank Küster
Inst. f. Biochemie der Univ. Zürich
Debian Developer