[OS X TeX] Re: Reading The TeXbook terminal in hand

[Alain Schremmer]

On Jun 6, 2012, at 9:54 AM, Herbert Schulz wrote:

>
> On Jun 6, 2012, at 8:50 AM, Alain Schremmer wrote:
>
>>
>> On Jun 5, 2012, at 9:37 AM, Alain Schremmer wrote:
>>
>>>> 	terminal:
>>>>
>>>> kpathsea: Running mktexfmt TeX.fmt
>>>> I can't find the format file `TeX.fmt'!
>>>> MacAlain:~ gpadnom$
>>
>> When I (finally) thought of looking for TeX.fmt myself, I found it  
>> here:
>>
>> Macintosh HD > usr > local > texlive > 2011 > texmf-var > web2c >  
>> tex > tex.fmt
>>
>> Since I sure did not put it there myself, why can't terminal find it?
>>
>> gpadnom is the name under which I am known by computer MacAlain
>>
>> Since I would really like to read the TeXbook, I would appreciate  
>> it very much if someone would help me help terminal find tex.fmt
>>
>> Hopeful regards
>> --schremmer
>
>
> Howdy,
>
> As I said before it is called tex.fmt NOT TeX.fmt. The for most  
> things Terminal is case dependent! The command line should be run  
> using
>
> tex file.tex
>
> NOT
>
> TeX file.tex

(1)	I apologize for not having paid attention back then but, until  
Moore convinced me to read the TeXbook and since I had no intention  
whatsoever to do anything but write my stuff in LaTeX, there really  
was no point to.

(2)	You are exactly correct: I started by typing TeX but that was not  
my fault: I was following Knuth to the letter:

> "Usually the operating system prompts you for a command and you type  
> 'TeX' or 'run tex' or something like that."


(3)	Now everything went well:

> Last login: Wed Jun  6 10:06:53 on ttys000
> MacAlain:~ gpadnom$ tex
> This is TeX, Version 3.1415926 (TeX Live 2011)
> **\relax
>
> *Hello?
>
> *\end
> [1]
> Output written on texput.dvi (1 page, 212 bytes).
> Transcript written on texput.log.
> MacAlain:~ gpadnom$


(4)	To quote Knuth further:

> "Now you're going to need some help again from you friendly local  
> computer hackers. They will tell you how to produce hardcoput from  
> textput.dvi."


More hopeful regards
--schremmer