How do I install and--or use opmac using texlive?

Question

I wanted to give opmac a try. It is supposed to be part of csplain, which is supposed to be part of texlive.

I am running TeX, Version 3.14159265 (TeX Live 2015) using debian from ubuntu 14.04.

But when I try to compile a plain tex document using \input opmac I get the following errors:

tex opmactest.tex
This is TeX, Version 3.14159265 (TeX Live 2015) (preloaded format=tex)
(./opmactest.tex (./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex
(./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex         (./opmac.tex
(./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex (./opmac.tex
! TeX capacity exceeded, sorry [text input levels=15].
l.3 \input opmac.tex

No pages of output.

MWE:

\input opmac

\typosize[11/13] % setting the basic font size and the baselineskip
\margins/1 a4 (1,1,1,1)in % setting 1in margins for A4 paper


Help me get my feet back on the ground

\bye

I think this is how I installed my copy: http://tug.org/texlive/acquire-netinstall.html If I had installed the ubuntu package I would be 2 years behind I think, I would not have texlive 2015. — A Feldman, May 03 '16 at 23:17
Sorry. Yes. You installed from upstream. Is your installation current? This is part of TeX Live and your example compiles fine for me. — cfr, May 03 '16 at 23:17
This is the odd thing, I have absolutely never had any problems finding any package, until now. I do not know if it is current, I guess I could update it, but really it is not more than a year or so at this point. — A Feldman, May 03 '16 at 23:19
Wait! Why do you have opmac.tex in your working directory? I should have noticed this before. — cfr, May 03 '16 at 23:22
@cfr turning red here... I kind of used the wrong file name, then didn't delete it, and of course I guess the system used that instead of the right file. Thanks a bunch. — A Feldman, May 03 '16 at 23:34
Well, I guess you "helped me get my feet back on the ground" :) — A Feldman, May 03 '16 at 23:44
@AFeldman Be careful: it's difficult to happily use LaTeX again after trying OPmac :) — User, May 04 '16 at 20:32
@User I had hoped that I could happily use both, kind of the way that I can apply plain tex within latex. But I guess I'm early on my journey to wherever I'm going with this... Thanks for the warning. Nice to finally meet the User. — A Feldman, May 04 '16 at 20:52
@AFeldman I only meant that OPmac is so nice that you wouldn't come back using LaTeX again, and not that it's difficult to use both at the same time. Hey, you've already met me! http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/305383/how-to-write-macro-with-variable-amount-of-text-variables/305433?noredirect=1#comment742357_305433 — User, May 04 '16 at 20:59
@User you're that person. Thanks for pitching in on that question, and for being so kind as to try to explain it to me. Honestly, I have been getting a bit tired of the "wordiness' of how things are done using latex, at least compared to plain. Now, if I started to use plain+opmac, in Star Wars terms, would that be coming into the light, or the darkness? — A Feldman, May 04 '16 at 21:04
@AFeldman You're welcome. Sorry I don't know Star Wars, but I'd say light. Remember, "simplicity is power". — User, May 04 '16 at 21:27
@AFeldman If you don't like the wordiness of LaTeX, don't try LaTeX 3 syntax ... — cfr, May 04 '16 at 22:21
@User I just got around to fooling around with Opmac. And it made me really annoyed at how many braces I type with LaTeX and also how annoying it is to simply change a font within a document. Now I see what you mean. — A Feldman, Dec 28 '17 at 04:20

cfr · Accepted Answer · 2016-05-04T22:18:51.243

6

Based the console output from your compilation of opmactest.tex and our discussion in comments, it seems you forgot to remove an earlier test file which you had called opmac.tex from your working directory. This file presumably includes the line

\input opmac

or

\input opmac.tex

In either case, the file inputs itself and then inputs itself again and again and again. It would continue indefinitely except that TeX cuts off the nesting. That is, it limits the levels of file nesting allowed, effectively blocking the infinite regress.

Remove the spurious opmac.tex from your working directory and opmactest.tex should compile fine. It compiles OK for me with TeX, pdfTeX, XeTeX and LuaTeX.

edited May 04 '16 at 22:18

answered May 03 '16 at 23:27

cfr

198,882

1

you don't need to assume it: the log is telling you that the run is loading a ./opmac.tex at the current local directory. – jarnosc May 03 '16 at 23:48
@erreka Yes. But I'm assuming something about its contents. – cfr May 04 '16 at 00:37
I don't think you are "assuming" it either: you suspect that the file calls itself. – jarnosc May 04 '16 at 19:15
Well, at least it only called itself 15 times at a go. When I look at the log above it screams to me (preloaded format=tex) (./dummytest.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex (./dummy.tex ! TeX capacity exceeded, sorry [text input levels=15]. l.3 \input dummy.tex for leaving that file there after I realized that it would not work with opmac.tex as a filename because it would call itself. – A Feldman May 04 '16 at 20:56

How do I install and--or use opmac using texlive?

1 Answers1