[OS X TeX] Wrong latex getting used.

[Rolf Turner]

On 3/03/2009, at 3:31 PM, Herbert Schulz wrote:

>
> On Mar 2, 2009, at 7:50 PM, Rolf Turner wrote:
>
>>
>> I sent the following message to the texhax mailing list earlier
>> today, and it was suggested to me that I try *this* list.  So
>> here goes:
>>
>> This is really more a problem with Mac OS X than with latex, ...
>> But I don't know where else to turn and this list is usually very
>> helpful.  Said he hopefully.
>>
>> Recently I unwisely did a re-install of LaTex on my Imac --- using,
>> I *think* ``sudo fink install latex''.  Can't even remember why I
>> did this. :-(
>>
>> Ever since, things that used to work now don't.
>>
>> This morning I tried to process a powerdot presentation to which
>> I had made some slight adjustments, and got errors in respect of
>> xkeyval --- it complained that I had requested a newer version
>> of xkeyval than was available, and then threw an error about
>> an undefined control sequence.  I can give further details if
>> these are relevant, but I don't think so.
>>
>> Upon investigation I found that the xkeyval package in
>>
>> 	/sw/share/texmf-dist/tex/latex
>>
>> was indeed out of date, and the latex that gets used is in
>> /sw/bin.  But there is a perfectly up-to-date xkeyval in
>>
>> 	/usr/local/texlive/2008/texmf-dist/tex/latex
>>
>> which seems to be what is pointed to by the symbolic links inside
>>
>> 	/Library/TeX/Distributions
>>
>> I would have thought that this last would be what would get used
>> by latex by default under Mac OSX (I must confess that I really
>> don't understand the convolutions that Mac OSX superimposes upon
>> Unix) but it seems not.  As I said above, /sw/bin/latex seems to
>> get used and this seems to draw upon the out-of-date stuff in
>> /sw/share/texmf-dist/tex/latex.
>>
>> There is a /usr/texbin that appears automagically in my path,
>> and this seems to point at the right thing.  I tried setting
>> my path explicitly in my .cshrc file, putting /usr/texbin ahead
>> of /sw/bin.  But blow me down, when I echo my path afterwards,
>> /sw/bin and /sw/sbin are always the first two entries in the
>> path, no matter what I tell it.  (I *hate* it when computers refuse
>> to do what you tell them!)  And the wrong latex still gets
>> used.
>>
>> How can I get the /sw/bin/latex out of the way?  Does anyone out  
>> there
>> understand Mac OSX enough to help me?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> 	cheers,
>>
>> 		Rolf Turner
>>
>
> Howdy,
>
> What does
>
> echo $PATH
>
> executed in Terminal return?
>
> There is usually a problem with the PATH so that the wrong fle

Is ``fle'' a typo for ``file''?  If not, what is it?

> gets
> executed. The order of the directories in the PATH variable makes a
> difference since the first directory that has the executable is the
> one that will be used by the system.

I don't think you're telling me anything I don't already know.  But for
the record:

	echo $PATH

gives

/sw/bin:/sw/sbin:/usr/texbin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/ 
bin:/Users/rturner/.bin:/usr/X11R6/bin

which is effectively identical with the result of echo $path:

/sw/bin /sw/sbin /usr/texbin /bin /sbin /usr/bin /usr/sbin /usr/local/ 
bin /Users/rturner/.bin /usr/X11R6/bin

As I said in my original posting (did you actually read it?) I tried  
to re-order my path, and the system
refused to use the ordering specified.

> Also, what program are you using to compile; is it a GUI program

God save us!  No!

> or
> through the Terminal?

The latter of course!  I'm a ***civilized*** person! :-)

I.e. I type

	latex junk

(where junk.tex is the file that I wish to process) at the command line.

	cheers,

		Rolf Turner

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