[tex-live] ovp2ovf with VPL input

[Peter Breitenlohner]

On Wed, 16 Sep 2009, Lars Hellström wrote:

> Peter Breitenlohner skrev:
>
>> moreover in cases where one could as well use VTtoVP & Co.
>
> You mean VFtoVP? Problem is, I want to make an 8-bit VF that does a 16-bit 
> set_char, and VPtoVF screams if the argument of (SETCHAR) exceeds 255. 
> ovp2ovf exposes more of the generality of the DVI format.

> *I* can build (from the web source) an ovp2ovf that does what I want; indeed, 
> I've already done that. The problem comes when other people might want to 
> repeat what I'm going to use it for...

Hi Lars,

yes, but the Web2C companions ofm2opl and ovf2ovp are badly broken, they
badly misparse tfm files (unless there are neither ligatures/kerns nor
extensible character recipes).

I'd say after the TeXlive freeze, hopefully early in October, there should
be working Web2C (and maybe C) versions for all of that.

If you are in a hurry, I could send you updated Web2C .ch files fixing all
bugs I have found (so far).

>> both the C and the Web2C version are broken in many respects, in particular
>> neither version properly handles tfm/vf files.
>
> The only problem with the Web version that I've seen is that it lacks a 
> method for the user to make it generate VF+TFM (set ofm_level=-1, in that 
> case). Easy enough to make a command-line option for, or conditionalise by 
> the input file suffix...

The method is there and the recognition is automatic (see above).

>> It's just the other way around. Akira needed the Web2C implementations for
>> some ofm_level=1 feature (CHARREPEAT) completely absent from the C version.
>
> So there are so far no known examples of the C version (2.0) doing anything 
> that the Web version (1.11) can't do just as well or better?

Well, the C programs are limited to ofm_level=0 but are said to have fixed
the bugs present in the Web2C versions.  IMHO at best partly true.

Regards
Peter Breitenlohner <peb at mppmu.mpg.de>