Re: required makeinfo version

[Alexander Hansen]

On 4/26/13 7:44 AM, Ben Abbott wrote:
> On Apr 26, 2013, at 10:38 PM, Alexander Hansen wrote:
>
> > On 4/26/13 7:14 AM, Ben Abbott wrote:
> > > On Apr 26, 2013, at 10:07 PM, Leo Liu wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hello,
> > > >
> > > > On OS X makeinfo is stuck with version 4.8 which is too old but apple
> > > > isn't upgrading anything in GPL3. So this means by default octave can
> > > > give something like this:
> > > >
> > > > octave> help rand
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-g3O2JI:34: Unknown command `leq'.
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-g3O2JI:34: Misplaced {.
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-g3O2JI:34: Misplaced }.
> > > > warning: help: Texinfo formatting filter exited abnormally; raw Texinfo source 
> > > > of help text follows...
> > > > ......
> > > > ......
> > > >
> > > > octave> help randp
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-TpTbPQ:23: Unknown command `leq'.
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-TpTbPQ:23: Misplaced {.
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-TpTbPQ:23: Misplaced }.
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-TpTbPQ:31: Unknown command `leq'.
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-TpTbPQ:31: Misplaced {.
> > > > /var/tmp/octave-help-TpTbPQ:31: Misplaced }.
> > > > ......
> > > > ......
> > >
> > > For Fink and Macports, a more recent makeinfo is a dependency.  Are you 
> > > building Octave and its dependencies from scratch yourself?
> > >
> > > Using Macports, my version is 4.13
> > >
> > > $ makeinfo --version
> > > makeinfo (GNU texinfo) 4.13
> > >
> > > Ben
> >
> > I don't remember if Fink's octave* packages had a dependency on a particular 
> > version of texinfo at one point, but if so, that got dropped.  Now it's back.
> >
> > I haven't noticed any major problems with building Octave's info docs using 
> > texinfo-5.1 here, nor with opening them in Octave.
>
> Alex, are you indicating that Fink is using Apple's makeinfo to build Octave?  
> I haven't bothered to tack it down, but I'd assumed the texinfo stuff was part 
> of TeX-live.
>
> Ben

It was using whatever makeinfo was first in the PATH.  Our texinfo 
package is broken out to be separate from texlive, but the latter 
carries a dependency on the former.

--
Alexander Hansen, Ph.D.
Fink User Liaison
My package updates: http://finkakh.wordpress.com/