[NTG-context] How to update context modules; thank you, write-up, and a couple of questions

[Michael Ash]

 I asked how to update context modules.

Thank you very much to Marco for guidance, and I would like to write
up how I used his advice to update a module without first-setup.sh. (I
use a ubuntu/PPA installation of context and hence don't use
first-setup.sh, which would make updating easy).

1.  I downloaded the current version of the module (letter;
http://modules.contextgarden.net/dl/t-letter-2013.07.31.zip in this
case) from http://modules.contextgarden.net/

2. I already have a personal /home/me/texmf directory (or would have
created it).  I put the zipped module update in this directory and
unzipped it preserving the subdirectory structure.

3. I set the environment variable TEXMFHOME to my personal texmf
directory (export TEXMFHOME=/home/me/texmf)

4. I ran mtxrun --script update --modules=letter to tell context
where to look for the new version of the letter module.

I could now tell from the output that the updated version of the
letter module was installed, and I also confirmed from the log file:

resolversmodules  'letter' is loaded
interfacemacros  processed mkvi file
'/home/me/texmf/tex/context/third/letter/base/s-cor-01.mkvi', delta 36
interfacemacros  processed mkvi file
'/home/me/texmf/tex/context/third/letter/base/s-cor-01.mkvi', delta 0

(before the update, the lines above read /usr/share/texmf... instead
of /home/me/texmf...)

I hope that this write-up is helpful to others.  Please feel free to
comment or amend if I've misunderstood.

I have several questions:

(1) Is it possible to tell which version of a module is installed,
i.e., that  I am using the 2013.07.31 version of letter?  (The version
of context appears in the log file but not the version of the module.)
(2) After I update of the entire context installation, how will I tell
context to again use the /usr/share/texmf version instead of the
personal version?
(3) Could I have done this installation into /usr/share/texmf and used
sudo mtxrun... to make the updated module work on a multi-user
system?
(4) Where can I put personal files that I would like context to use
regularly.  For example I have three personal files:  env_letter.tex
which I include with \environment env_letter;  a pdf file with my
logo; and a pdf file with a scan of my signature.  Is there a standard
directory to hold such files, and how do I let context know where to
find them, for example, with mtxrun?  (It seems like a waste to copy
them to a new location every time I want to write a letter).

Thank you very much.

Yours,
Michael
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Re: [NTG-context] How to update context modules; thank you, write-up, and a couple of questions

[Marco Patzer]

On 2013–08–04 Michael Ash wrote:

 (1) Is it possible to tell which version of a module is installed,
 i.e., that  I am using the 2013.07.31 version of letter?  (The version
 of context appears in the log file but not the version of the module.)

Often modules contain a line like

  \writestatus{loading}{Gnuplot (ver: 2013.05.13)}

which outputs the version. But not all modules do. I don't know of
any reliable way to tell the version. Modules do not even have to be
versioned, It's up to the module writers.

 (2) After I update of the entire context installation, how will I tell
 context to again use the /usr/share/texmf version instead of the
 personal version?

There's no built-in way to achieve that. Since ConTeXt can't tell
which version of a module is installed, it can't prioritise a newer
version. You have to remember to remove your manually installed
module after it gets updated.

 (3) Could I have done this installation into /usr/share/texmf and used
 sudo mtxrun... to make the updated module work on a multi-user
 system?

You can use the texmf-local directory.

 (4) Where can I put personal files that I would like context to use
 regularly.

In the directory TEXMFHOME points to or texmf-local.

Marco


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