Using a macro makes pdfetex quits and exits with bad status

[Christopher Dimech]

> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 8:01 AM
> From: "Gavin Smith" <gavinsmith0123@gmail.com>
> To: "Christopher Dimech" <dimech@gmx.com>
> Cc: "help-texinfo gnu" <help-texinfo@gnu.org>
> Subject: Re: Using a macro makes pdfetex quits and exits with bad status
>
> On Tue, Jun 22, 2021 at 6:53 PM Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com> wrote:
> >
> > @macro usubsec {label, titl}
> >
> > @set lb \label\
> > @set tl \titl\
> > @ifclear usubsec-no-label
> >    @unnumberedsubsec @value{lb} @ @value{tl}
> > @end ifclear
> >
> > @ifset usubsec-no-label
> >   @unnumberedsubsec @value{tl}
> > @end ifset
> >
> > @end macro
> >
>
> This appears to work OK?
>
> Eli gave you good advice about putting the macro definition inside the
> conditionals rather than the other way around although I don't know if
> that is part of the problem here.

No, have not seen difficulties in the way I have done them.  Taking the
advice did not get things any better.  So I say that people can use them.

> I remember you had problems with newlines in macro arguments before
> but I thought we had fixed them. It wouldn't be surprising if there
> were still problems though.

I thought so too.  Can get the development version again' and can have
another tour to fix the last few bits.

> $ pdfetex test.texi
> This is pdfTeX, Version 3.14159265-2.6-1.40.18 (TeX Live 2017/Debian)
> (preloaded format=pdfetex)
>  restricted \write18 enabled.
> entering extended mode
> (./test.texi (./texinfo.tex Loading texinfo [version 2021-04-25.21]: pdf,
> fonts, glyphs, page headings, tables, conditionals, indexing, sectioning, toc,
> environments, defuns, macros, cross references, insertions, (./epsf.tex
> This is `epsf.tex' v2.7.4 <14 February 2011>
> ) localization, formatting, and turning on texinfo input format.) 
> [1{/var/lib/t
> exmf/fonts/map/pdftex/updmap/pdftex.map}] 
> )</usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/fonts
> /type1/public/amsfonts/cm/cmbx12.pfb>
> Output written on test.pdf (1 page, 13595 bytes).
> Transcript written on test.log.
>