[luatex] luaotfload problems (MiKTeX/Windows 7) | not solved

[Evan Cooch]

>>                              But this variable is not defined under
>> MiKTeX, and upon seeing that it's not defined, luaotfload is
>> supposed to put the database in a folder with the path given by the
>> value of the variable $TEXMFVAR (the default value in MiKTeX on Win
>> 7 is C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\MiKTeX\2.9 and you can test the
>> value on your system by typing kpsewhich --expand-var=$TEXMFVAR in
>> the Command Prompt, or by looking in the Roots panel of the MiKTeX
>> settings application). The bug we've been discussing keeps
>> luaotfload from doing that, which is why your database ends up where
>> it does (and the problem doesn't apply to TeX Live, because the
>> $TEXMFCACHE variable is defined in that setup).
> Fwiw version 2.3 went up to CTAN yesterday. You can get the zip at:
>
>      https://github.com/lualatex/luaotfload/releases
>
> (choose the tds one). This version introduces incompatible
> changes so remember to delete the cache directories after
> updating.
>
>

Quick followup:

1\ so, should running luaotfload-tool --update --force create the 
approrpate names DB and font cache?

If so, then

2\ where is it trying to write it? Using MikTeX 2.9, installed just for 
a single user (me!), under Windows 7.


I ask because I may have spoken too soon about 2.3 working.  I'd run a 
few tests, which seemed to compile, then I remembered I needed to delete 
old cache'. So, went into \users\me\AppData\Local\MikTeX\2.9 and deleted 
luatex-cache (and all the subdirs contained therein).

Then, after rebuilding the .fmt files for luatex and lualatex (just in 
case), tried a simple compile of the MWE I've been using (see earlier 
posts).  Chugs along, then luaotfload | db claims it can't find the DB 
(good), and then says its going to generate a new one. I see that now in 
\users\me\AppData\Local\MikTeX\2.9 and deleted luatex-cache the process 
has created \generic, which contains \names and \\fonts (which contains 
\of and a bunch of fonts).


But...\names is empty!  And, while trying to build the database, I got 
*lots* (dozens and dozens) of messages like

luaotfload  | cache | could not write to cache
luaotfload | cache could not write lookup cache
luaotfload | cach could not write to cache 
[1{C:/Users/me/AppData/Local.../MikTeX/2.9/pdftex/config/pdftex.map


Now, in my MWE, I'm using unicode-math, and Asana Math for the font. 
Ulrike Fischer pointed out that to use unicode-math, you have to hack 
lualatexiniconfig.tex, to add 'umath' to tex.extraprimitives. Did that, 
and rebuilt the .fmt files, yet again.. When I look in 
\generic\fonts\itf, I see asanamath.lua, so luaotfload is at least 
getting that far. But, nothing in the \names directory.

Makes no difference. Every time I try to compile the MWE, luaotfload 
keps trying to rebuild the DB, presumably because it hasn't stored 
anything in \names. So, for the moment, situation is actually worse than 
before. Previously, once the $TEXMFCACHE directory was written in a 
working directory, it was always there, and thus lualatex only had to 
build it the first time.  Now, $TEXMFCACHE isn't being written, at all!

Sorry...