[tex-live] Bad .cfg files in TeX source tree?

[Heiko Oberdiek]

On Fri, Jan 19, 2007 at 04:18:39PM +0100, David Kastrup wrote:

> Heiko Oberdiek <oberdiek at uni-freiburg.de> writes:
> 
> > On Fri, Jan 19, 2007 at 03:45:18PM +0100, David Kastrup wrote:
> >
> >> "Zdenek Wagner" <zdenek.wagner at gmail.com> writes:
> >> 
> >> > 2007/1/19, David Kastrup <dak at gnu.org>:
> >> >> Jonathan Kew <jonathan_kew at sil.org> writes:
> >> >> ...
> >> >
> >> >> I think this is too complicated.  Packages should just check whether
> >> >> \pdfpagewidth is defined and set it if it is.
> >> >>
> >> >> Whether the actual engine is PDFTeX, XeTeX, Aleph or whatever else is
> >> >> rather irrelevant.
> >> >>
> >> > If \pdfoutput=0, \pdfpagewidth is available but has no effect.
> >> 
> >> Setting it would nevertheless not do any harm.
> >
> > It does harm:
> > * Who knows, how future versions of pdfTeX behave? It is reasonable
> >   to issue a warning or error if \pdfpagewidth and \pdfpageheight
> >   are used in DVI mode.
> 
> No.  I don't see appropriate prior art for "barf on assignment".  That
> is no sensible behavior.  There are a few readonly variables in TeX,
> but they have sensible valued when read out.  Reading those variables
> out in DVI mode could not deliver useful values.
> 
> So there are only two remotely useful behaviors: make the control
> sequences undefined, or make them just hold a value that is ignored.

I don't see a problem if additionally a warning is issued.
In contrary, it shows that something went wrong.

> > * The package thinks the setting of the page dimensions is
> > successful without a chance for doing it right or issuing a
> > warning/error at least.
> 
> The package does not have a chance for doing it right or issuing a
> warning/error itself if TeX decides to barf-on-assignment all by
> itself.

It has the chance, if it is not being fooled. Then it knows
that pdfTeX is not running in PDF mode and is free to use
other methods for setting the page size.

Yours sincerely
  Heiko <oberdiek at uni-freiburg.de>