[metapost] Unable to make mpx file. Btex and etex issue

[Taco Hoekwater]

On 09/03/2010 02:07 PM, ozhan fenerci wrote:
> Dear List,
>
> I am trying to learn metapost. I found a book which uses metapost
> extensively. I wanted to compile the a few example from it but I failed.
>
> mpost works until it hits the line " label(btex{\small $c$}
> etex,(-15w,.5c));". Mpost gives the error like :
>
> $mpost ch1.mp
>
>
> This is MetaPost, version 1.208 (kpathsea version 5.0.0)
> (./ch1.mp (./jh.mp (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/metapost/base/boxes.mp)
> (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/metapost/base/graph.mp
> (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/metapost/base/marith.mp
> (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/metapost/base/string.mp))
> (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/metapost/base/format.mp
> (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/metapost/base/string.mp)
> (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/metapost/base/texnum.mp))))fatal: Command
> failed: latex --parse-first-line --interaction=nonstopmode mp518785.tex;
> see mpxerr.log
>  >> ch1.mp
>  >> ch1.mpx
> ! Unable to make mpx file.
> l.54 label(btex
> {\small $c$} etex,(-15w,.5c));
> Transcript written on ch1.log.
>
> I don't know what have gone wrong but sometihing about "btex and etex"
> issue.

Running latex failed. The metapost command above will have left you
with mpxerr.tex in the current directory, please try to run

  $ latex --parse-first-line --interaction=nonstopmode mpxerr

to see what the actual latex error was.

Best wishes,
Taco