Metafont in texlive +full port not compiled with X window support

[essandess (Steve Smith)]

The Metafont ("mf") binary in the texlive port does not come compiled with X windows support. For example, this basic mf command yields,

$ mf '\mode=proof; \mag=900/2602; input cmex10' ;
This is METAFONT, Version 2.718281 (TeX Live 2010/MacPorts 2010_2)
(/opt/local/share/texmf-texlive-dist/fonts/source/public/cm/cmex10.mf
(/opt/local/share/texmf-texlive-dist/fonts/source/public/cm/cmbase.mf)
(/opt/local/share/texmf-texlive-dist/fonts/source/public/cm/mathex.mf
(/opt/local/share/texmf-texlive-dist/fonts/source/public/cm/bigdel.mf
\big left parenthesis [0]
mf: Window support for X was not compiled into this binary.
mf: There may be a binary called `mfw' on your system which
mf: does contain X window support.

mf: If you need to recompile, remember to give the --with-x
mf: option to configure

mf: (Or perhaps you just failed to specify the mode.)
. . . 

Under Metafont's "proof" mode, an X window should pop up displaying the fonts as they are compiled. It is still possible to view the fonts after the fact using the gftodvi and dvipdf commands, but Metafont is not being compiled with X window support.

This is using the macports texlive package installed with "sudo port install texlive +full".

[jmroot (Joshua Root)]

Please remember to cc the maintainer.

[jmroot (Joshua Root)]

Seems like ${prefix}/bin/mf is incorrectly linked to mf-nowin (or maybe there should be another link for mfw like the message says). There are separate binaries in ${prefix}/libexec/texlive/binaries.

[essandess (Steve Smith)]

Seems like ${prefix}/bin/mf is incorrectly linked to mf-nowin

Nope:

$ ls -i /opt/local/libexec/texlive/binaries/mf* 
93831440 /opt/local/libexec/texlive/binaries/mf
93831441 /opt/local/libexec/texlive/binaries/mf-nowin
93831442 /opt/local/libexec/texlive/binaries/mft

Also, note that there is no "mfw" binary -- only mf and mf-nowin. "mft" is another program that converts Metafont code to TeX for prettyprinting.

P.S. I'm a n00b, so I don't know how to cc the maintainer.

[jmroot (Joshua Root)]

What do you mean "nope"? Your ls output confirms (the second part of) what I said. I realise there is no mfw, that's why I said "maybe there should be".

The maintainer's address is included in the output of 'port info', just put it in the Cc field when you create the ticket.

[essandess (Steve Smith)]

Cc Me!

[drkp (Dan Ports)]

Huh, I figured we must not be building the X version of metafont, but no, it's hiding there in ${prefix}/libexec/texlive/binaries.

This should be easy enough to fix, but I'm trying to figure out why the texlive rules say that mf should use mf-nowin in the first place.

There is no mfw; that error message is ​obsolete and will probably go away in the next texlive release.

[drkp (Dan Ports)]

Should be fixed by r77477.