Re: Using a macro makes pdfetex quits and exits with bad status

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com>
> Cc: gavinsmith0123@gmail.com, help-texinfo@gnu.org
> Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:42:10 +0200
> 
> It would be a great improvement to have a standard on how we can test
> newer versions of texinfo without affecting the stable version we normally
> use.  It makes it very difficult for me to help out as a tester.

Your suggestion of help is appreciated, but help-texinfo is not about
that.  It's about helping _users_ of Texinfo in using the _released_
versions.

> > > Why can't I have multiple versions of the program and run the ones I
> > > want?
> >
> > You can, but you should know very well what you are doing, and how the
> > different parts, in particular Texinfo and TeX, work together and what
> > each one of them expects to find where.  If you don't know these
> > details, my best recommendation is not to do that, as you will be
> > facing an uphill battle.
> 
> I am quite sure you have more experience to be able to tell us exactly
> how to set things up in the case of development versions.

Actually, no.  My help in testing development versions is limited to
running the extensive test suite.  If Gavin wants me to test specific
aspects, he gives precise instructions and I follow them.  Otherwise,
I always install the new version replacing the old one.

I only know a little about the internals because in some distant past
I ported TeX/Web2C to a non-Posix platform, that's all.  Based on that
vague memory, I can tell you that you would need to futz with
TEXINPUTS, but that's about all I can tell.

Again, using such a dual installation is not recommended unless you
have a lot of free time and don't need to actually do something useful
with Texinfo except tinker with it.

> Am I the only one who gets in all this trouble, I ask ?

Most probably, you are one of a very few.

> > Why not simply install the development version instead the one you
> > have already?  It will definitely be simpler to set up and use than
> > what you are going through.
> 
> So I forget about using prefix in configure?  Is that what you are saying?
> I would certainly require additional systems in case development versions
> screw my working setup.

First, the development version is quite stable at this point: Gavin
has already released 2 pretest versions.  And Texinfo is stable in
general, even in early stages of development of the next release,
because the language is fairly complete, and so changes are relatively
minor.

And if worse comes to worst, there's always "make uninstall".

So my best advice is simply configure and install the snapshot as if
it were a released version, yes.