using fmtutil as user (non-root)

[Richard Lewis <rtf@jabble.com>]

Hi all, I don't know if this is a bug in fmtutil or in my understanding

I am trying to use welsh hyphenation patterns from

<http://www.tug.org/ftp/texlive/Contents/testinstalled/texmf/tex/generic/hyphen/cyhyphen.tex>
[you also need cathyph.tex form the same directory]

I can do it as root by editing /etc/texmf/language.dat but how can I
do this as a normal user? (I need to do this on a machine where I have
no root access, but I'm trying to do this with Debian testing first)

So: 

I want to dump an elatex format (ecylatex.efmt) with just british and
welsh patterns enabled.

In what follows . is wherever I have a .tex file I want to compile
with the new format.  Here's what I tried:

I create a ./texmf directory whose ls-R (texhash ./texmf) is
,----
| % ls-R -- filename database for kpathsea; do not change this line.
| ./:
| .:
| ls-R
| tex
| web2c
| 
| ./tex:
| ecylatex
| generic
| 
| ./tex/ecylatex:
| config
| 
| ./tex/ecylatex/config:
| ecylatex.ini
| 
| ./tex/generic:
| config
| hyphen
| 
| ./tex/generic/config:
| language.dat.ecylatex
| 
| ./tex/generic/hyphen:
| cathyph.tex
| cyhyph.tex
| 
| ./web2c:
| ecylatex.cnf
`----


In the above:
* ecylatex.ini is a copy of elatex.ini
* the files in tex/generic/hyphen/ are the required welsh patterns
(ukhyph.tex is in /usr/share/texmf/tex/generic/hyphen/ukhyphen.tex
[I've not upgraded for a while!]
* language.dat.ecylatex contains
,----
| american ushyph1.tex
| =USenglish
| 
| =UKenglish
| 
| % english should always be defined. Either an alias for american or british.
| =english
| 
| % welsh/cymraeg
| welsh cyhyph.tex
| =cymraeg
`----

ecylatex.cnf contains
,----
| # format	engine		pattern-file	         arguments
| ecylatex        etex            language.dat.ecylatex    ecylatex.ini
`----

Then doing
HOMETEXMF=./texmf VARTEXMF=./texmf \
  fmtutil --cnffile=./texmf/web2c/ecylatex.cnf \
          --byfmt ecylatex

Generates the format file, but it looks like it's using the
system-wide language.dat (with lots of patterns loaded, but not the
welsh). 

However,

$ HOMETEXMF=./texmf VARTEXMF=./texmf  fmtutil --cnffile ./texmf/web2c/ecylatex.cnf --showhyphen ecylatex
./texmf/tex/generic/config/language.dat.ecylatex

which looks like i've found a bug in fmtutil(?)

When I try using the format:

$ HOMETEXMF=./texmf/ VARTEXMF=./texmf/ evirtex \&ecylatex elections.tex

I get
,----
| Babel <v3.7h> and hyphenation patterns for american, british, french, ngerman, 
| nohyphenation, loaded.
`----

and
,----
| Package babel Warning: No hyphenation patterns were loaded for
| (babel)                the language `welsh'
| (babel)                I will use the patterns loaded for \language=0 instead.
`----
)