Subject: Re: bug#70399: ConTeXT options need updating

From: Jim <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 17:47:34 -0300

Hi Ikumi,

On Thu, Apr 18, 2024 at 15:31 (+0900), Ikumi Keita wrote:

> Thank you for your report.  None of the AUCTeX maintainer uses ConTeXt, so
> inputs from ConTeXt user are valuable.

Glad you think so!

>>>>>> Jim <[email-masked]> writes:
>> (1) TeX-command-list contains the following
>>     ("ConTeXt" "%(cntxcom) --once --texutil %(extraopts) %(execopts)%t"
>> and --texutil isn't in texlive 2023's context, texlive 2024's context,
>> or the context in the ConTeXt distribution.

> It is easy to remove "--texutil", but I'd like to ask whether it is safe
> for older (before 2023) TeX distribution to do so. What was this option
> "--texutil" for? Unfortunately, "context --help" of TeX Live 2024
> doesn't give me useful information.

I am a relatively recent ConTeXt convert, so I have never used it.
However, the documentation I can find indicates that texutil was used for
ConTeXt Mk II, which has (long since) been deprecated (as I understand it).

I guess since it doesn't hurt anything, it could stay, but I think that it
has no use in ConTeXt Mk IV.

>> (2) A recent change (early April 2024?) to context has changed how
>> synctex is done.
>> On the good side, with the right option context will produce a
>> synctex file that epdfinfo knows how to parse.
>> On the bad side,
>>     (a) rather than calling with "--synctex=1" (as done in
>> ConTeXt-expand-options in context.el) the correct option is now
>>         "--synctex=repeat";
>>     (b) but if context is called with "--nonstopmode" (or "--nonstop")
>> the "--synctex=..." request to create a synctex file is over-ridden.
>> It is easy for a user who knows what is going on to use
>>         (setq ConTeXt-texexec-option-nonstop "")
>> but changing --synctex=1 to --synctex=repeat seems to require
>> a redefinition of the function.

>> The --synctex=repeat version may not have reached texlive 2024 yet, but
>> using --synctex=repeat with the version of context in TL2024 creates the
>> same synctex file as --synctex=1, so there seems to be no harm in
>> changing this.

> OK, then I'll change "--synctex=1" to "--synctex=repeat", expecting that
> the situation about compatibility is the same for older ConTeXt.

Thanks.

>> Bonus "bug": TeX-submit-bug-report suggests upgrading to the version from
>> https://www.gnu.org/software/auctex, but as of today that would be a
>> downgrade, since it says the current auctex version is 13.3.

> The message is followed by "if your installation is older than the one
> available from the web site.", isn't it? 🙂

Good point!

Cheers.
                                Jim