[tex-live] Problem with 11pt Blackboard Bold in TeXLive 2004

[John Murdie]

A user here (not the same one) has reported another problem in TeXLive
2004 (on a modern Linux system):

> $ mktextfm bbold11
> mktextfm: Running mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1;
> nonstopmode; input bbold11
> This is METAFONT, Version 2.71828 (Web2C 7.5.3)
> 
> (/usr/local/var/texlive-2004b/fonts/source/jknappen/sauter/bbold11.mf
> (/usr/local/pkg/texlive-2004b/texmf-dist/fonts/source/public/bbold/bbold.mf
> (/usr/local/pkg/texlive-2004b/texmf-dist/fonts/source/public/bbold/bbparams.mf
> >> asc_height#-x_height#-0.30714bigcap#
> ! Unknown relation will be considered false.
> <to be read again>
>                    :
> <for(asc_height#)> if(EXPR0)<u_:
>                                 u_:=(EXPR0);fi ENDFOR
> ...

I can reproduce the problem by running latex(1) on:

> \documentclass[11pt]{article}
> \usepackage{bbold}
> \begin{document}
> % Using Alan Jeffrey's (1994) Blackboard bold.
> This is typeset in $\mathbb{[BLACKBOARD BOLD], I said, 0123456789 times!}$.
> 
> This is typeset in \textbb{textbb}.
> \end{document}

The problem doesn't happen with 10pt bbold in TeXLive 2004, and with
neither of 10 or 11pt bbold in TeXLive 2003.

(I wish these users had found these problems in the several weeks I
allowed for local beta testing of TeXLive 2004 on Linux, and not now
I've made it the default here! I don't really want to revert to TeXLive
2003.)

John A. Murdie
Department of Computer Science
University of York