tex-config does not like being installed or uninstalled

[geofft]

If tex-config is installed without TeX being installed, you get

/var/lib/dpkg/info/debathena-tex-config.postinst: 154: fmtutil-sys: not found

and the preinst fails.

If tex-config is removed under... some circumstances? (Possibly TeX being removed at the same time? We're getting this when aptitude decides to remove all of debathena-cluster), you get several errors of the form

fmtutil: running `pdftex -ini   -jobname=pdftex -progname=pdftex -translate-file=cp227.tcx *pdfetex.ini' ...
This is pdfTeX, Version 3.1415926-1.40.10 (TeX Live 2009/Debian) (INITEX)
 restricted \write18 enabled.
 (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/web2c/cp227.tcx)
entering extended mode
(/usr/share/texmf-texlive/tex/plain/config/pdfetex.ini
! I can't find file `pdftexconfig.tex'.
l.4 \input pdftexconfig.tex
                           
(Press Enter to retry, or Control-D to exit)
Please type another input file name: 
! Emergency stop.
l.4 \input pdftexconfig.tex
                           
No pages of output.
Transcript written on pdftex.log.
Error: `pdftex -ini  -jobname=pdftex -progname=pdftex -translate-file=cp227.tcx *pdfetex.ini' failed

and then finally

###############################################################################
fmtutil: Error! Not all formats have been built successfully.
Visit the log files in directory
  /var/lib/texmf/web2c
for details.
###############################################################################

and the postinst fails.

(I have the full log if that's interesting, and I can probably also get to /var/lib/texmf/web2c.)

[geofft]

I think the first one can be solved with simply

debian/debathena-tex-config.postinst

@@ -25 +25 @@
 
 case "$1" in
     configure)
-        fmtutil-sys --all
+        if hash fmtutil-sys 2>/dev/null; then
+            fmtutil-sys --all
+        fi
     ;;
 
     abort-upgrade|abort-remove|abort-deconfigure)

but I'm going to hold off on that in the name of the scientific method until we get Lucid cluster installs consistently working.

[jdreed]

Uh, why does tex-config not depend on stuff it's configuring. Like, say, at least texlive-binaries and texlive-base?

[jdreed]

tex-config is needlessly complicated. Much better solution:

• In the postinst, run "texconfig conf" and see what the paper sizes are. Save them. Run "texconfig paper letter".
• In the postrm, read the saved paper sizes, and reset them.

[andersk]

Even better solution: we can kill this package completely as of wheezy/oneiric.

texlive-bin (2009-10) unstable; urgency=low
…
  * The binaries pdftex, dvips, xdvi and dvipdfmx now respect the
    system-wide paper setting as their default if there is no papersize
    information in the input file (see #49149).  It is still highly
    recommended to specify such information explicitly, e.g. using
    hyperref.sty with LaTeX.

 -- Frank Küster <frank@debian.org>  Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:54:49 +0200

[geofft]

• Resolution set to wontfix

Well, hold up. The fact that tex-config isn't uninstallable is relevant if you ever want to uninstall tex-config (for instance, on upgrade for natty to oneiric).

[jdreed]

OK, yeah, this is still a problem. I just tried to uninstall it on my machine using apt-get so aptitude wouldn't try and be clever, and it fails with the same error geofft had -- being unable to find pdftexconfig.tex. Which we do divert. On my machine, I think the uninstallation comes from the fact that I only have a pdftexconfig.tex.dpkg-new and pdftexconfig.tex.debathena. But no debathena-orig. So when tex-config is uninstalled, there's no symlink. It's unclear what caused this.

At this point, I'm more interested in cleaning up correctly. Suggestions?

[jdreed]

So, here's what happens. Because tex-config doesn't depend on anything it's configuring (WHY?!!), it can be installed without tex installed. When tex is finally installed, /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/pdftexconfig.tex gets installed as /etc/texmf/tex/generic/config/pdftexconfig.tex.dpkg-new. And there's no .debathena-orig file to replace on uninstallation. I propose we push out a new tex-config whose postinst checks for this brokenness and fixes it (cp or mv the .dpkg-new to .debathena-orig). And then we can push out workstation 1.6 which will cause tex-config to get uninstalled. thoughts?

[jdreed]

We totally fixed this. tex-config 1.5 went out for everything except oneiric and precise, and it deals with the screw cases. I can uninstall it on natty and re-install it.