texlive-htmlxml: missing xhtex

[akimd (Akim Demaille)]

At least one script is missing for everything to go smoothly with tex4ht. This script is used with the mouseover option. There is a Debian bug report (​http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=118090) that describes the same issue (for Debian).

If you run the very same test file, you get the same error because xhtex is not included in the distro:

[...]
Searching `lm-rep-cmrm.htf' for `cmr10.htf'
(/opt/local/share/texmf-texlive-dist/tex4ht/ht-fonts/unicode/lm/lm-rep-cmrm.htf)
[1 file foo.html
 file foo.css
 file foo.tmp
 file foo2.html
 file foo1.tmp
] [2]
Execute script `foo.lg'
----------------------------
t4ht.c (2009-01-31-07:34 kpathsea)
t4ht -f/foo.tex 
(/opt/local/share/texmf-texlive-dist/tex4ht/base/unix/tex4ht.env)
Entering foo.lg
Entering foo.css
Entering foo.tmp
System call: xhtex foo-js
sh: xhtex: command not found
--- Warning --- System return: 32512

I have found a copy of such a file on the Internet, and I confirm that, provided this file is in the PATH, then mouseover _does_ work.

Cheers!

[akimd (Akim Demaille)]

LaTeX test file, run htlatex foo.tex "html,mouseover"

[akimd (Akim Demaille)]

xhtex (found in ​http://www.coursehero.com/external.php?db_filename=3279512&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftorus.math.uiuc.edu%2Fjms%2Ftex2mathml%2Ftex4ht%2Fdoc%2Fshare%2Fxhtex.txt)

[drkp (Dan Ports)]

This is also the case in TL2011 (which I am testing)

xhtex does not seem to be included in TeX Live. I'll look into whether it ought to be included in this port, or perhaps some other.

[akimd (Akim Demaille)]

I expect that there are other such scripts. I agree there are too many :( so I can understand that TeXLive people don't want to ship them. But as is, the distro is borken.

Maybe these scripts (many of which are used internally) should be moved in a non-PATH place, and the drivers should just change their PATHs when they need it.

Alternatively, all these scripts are extremely alike and very little change from one another, so I guess it wouldn't be too hard to change all them into a single script with options. But that's more a job for the new maintainers of tex4ht, agreed...

[drkp (Dan Ports)]

I spent an embarassingly long time trying to figure out where these files come from (as you probably noticed, they're surprisingly hard to find online, presumably because the original maintainer died), and then realized that they're actually in the texlive source, they just don't get installed for some reason. Still trying to figure out what's going on...

[akimd (Akim Demaille)]

Replying to dports@…:

spent an embarassingly long time

It's amazing how TeX can sometimes be a time sink.

trying to figure out where these files come from (as you probably noticed, they're surprisingly hard to find online, presumably because the original maintainer died),

Yes; this is unfortunate, he was a kind person and he was quick to fix issues in tex4ht. But TUG people such as Karl Berry took over the maintenance (​http://gna.org/projects/tex4ht and ​http://www.tug.org/tex4ht/)

and then realized that they're actually in the texlive source, they just don't get installed for some reason. Still trying to figure out what's going on...

Thanks for the good work!

[drkp (Dan Ports)]

This should be fixed in r89945. Let me know if you run into other problems; I haven't tested tex4ht extensively.

Sorry it took so long!