[tex-live] Format generation error

[Jonathan Kew]

On 16 Jul 2008, at 11:41 AM, Zdenek Wagner wrote:

> Hello,
> I have installed TL2008 on a computer that already contains TL2007.
> Directory /usr/local/texlive is writable by me (non-root) and the bin
> directory for TL2007 was in PATH during installation of TL2008. After
> installation was finished I have put the TL2008 bin directory to the
> beginning of PATH and tried pdflatex. It failed with the following
> error:
>
> This is pdfTeXk, Version 3.1415926-1.40.8 (Web2C 7.5.7)
> %&-line parsing enabled.
> ---! /home/wagner/.texlive2008/texmf-var/web2c/pdftex/pdflatex.fmt
> doesn't match pdftex.pool
> (Fatal format file error; I'm stymied)

The problem is that you have a "personal" pdflatex.fmt in your home  
TEXMF tree (under ~/.texlive2008/) that was created by an earlier  
version. This masks the "system-wide" format that was created during  
the installation process, probably somewhere under /usr/local/texlive.

> It seems that automatic format generation during installation took
> pool files from TL2007.

No, then pdftex would have complained at fmt-generation time.

In any case, I believe the strings are now compiled into the binary at  
build time, so no actual .pool file is read during format generation.

> Xelatex used correct pool file (or they have
> not changed). After fmtutil --byfmt pdflatex and having the TL2008 bin
> directory at the beginning of PATH it works.

This updated the pdflatex.fmt file in your personal .texlive2008 tree.  
Alternatively, you should be able to remove it altogether, and  
pdflatex should find the system-wide copy that was created during  
installation.

JK