1PERLTEX(1) PERLTEX(1)
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6 perltex - enable LaTeX macros to be defined in terms of Perl code
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9 perltex [--help] [--latex=program] [--[no]safe] [--permit=feature]
10 [--makesty] [latex options]
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13 LaTeX -- through the underlying TeX typesetting system -- produces
14 beautifully typeset documents but has a macro language that is
15 difficult to program. In particular, support for complex string
16 manipulation is largely lacking. Perl is a popular general-purpose
17 programming language whose forte is string manipulation. However, it
18 has no typesetting capabilities whatsoever.
19 Clearly, Perl's programmability could complement LaTeX's typesetting
21 strengths. perltex is the tool that enables a symbiosis between the
22 two systems. All a user needs to do is compile a LaTeX document using
23 perltex instead of latex. (perltex is actually a wrapper for latex, so
24 no latex functionality is lost.) If the document includes a
25 "\usepackage{perltex}" in its preamble, then "\perlnewcommand" and
26 "\perlrenewcommand" macros will be made available. These behave just
27 like LaTeX's "\newcommand" and "\renewcommand" except that the macro
28 body contains Perl code instead of LaTeX code.
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31 perltex accepts the following command-line options:
32 --help
34 Display basic usage information.
35 --latex=program
37 Specify a program to use instead of latex. For example,
38 "--latex=pdflatex" would typeset the given document using pdflatex
39 instead of ordinary latex.
40 --[no]safe
42 Enable or disable sandboxing. With the default of --safe, perltex
43 executes the code from a "\perlnewcommand" or "\perlrenewcommand"
44 macro within a protected environment that prohibits ``unsafe''
45 operations such as accessing files or executing external programs.
46 Specifying --nosafe gives the LaTeX document carte blanche to
47 execute any arbitrary Perl code, including that which can harm the
48 user's files. See Safe for more information.
49 --permit=feature
51 Permit particular Perl operations to be performed. The --permit
52 option, which can be specified more than once on the command line,
53 enables finer-grained control over the perltex sandbox. See Opcode
54 for more information.
55 --makesty
57 Generate a LaTeX style file called noperltex.sty. Replacing the
58 document's "\usepackage{perltex}" line with
59 "\usepackage{noperltex}" produces the same output but does not
60 require PerlTeX, making the document suitable for distribution to
61 people who do not have PerlTeX installed. The disadvantage is that
62 noperltex.sty is specific to the document that produced it. Any
63 changes to the document's PerlTeX macro definitions or macro
64 invocations necessitates rerunning perltex with the --makesty
65 option.
66 These options are then followed by whatever options are normally passed
68 to latex (or whatever program was specified with "--latex"), including,
69 for instance, the name of the .tex file to compile.
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72 In its simplest form, perltex is run just like latex:
73 perltex myfile.tex
75 To use pdflatex instead of regular latex, use the --latex option:
77 perltex --latex=pdflatex myfile.tex
79 If LaTeX gives a ``"trapped by operation mask"'' error and you trust
81 the .tex file you're trying to compile not to execute malicious Perl
82 code (e.g., because you wrote it yourself), you can disable perltex's
83 safety mechansisms with --nosafe:
84 perltex --nosafe myfile.tex
86 The following command gives documents only perltex's default
88 permissions (":browse") plus the ability to open files and invoke the
89 "time" command:
90 perltex --permit=:browse --permit=:filesys_open
92 --permit=time myfile.tex
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95 perltex honors the following environment variables:
96 PERLTEX
98 Specify the filename of the LaTeX compiler. The LaTeX compiler
99 defaults to ``"latex"''. The "PERLTEX" environment variable
100 overrides this default, and the --latex command-line option (see
101 "OPTIONS") overrides that.
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104 While compiling jobname.tex, perltex makes use of the following files:
105 jobname.lgpl
107 log file written by Perl; helpful for debugging Perl macros
108 jobname.topl
110 information sent from LaTeX to Perl
111 jobname.frpl
113 information sent from Perl to LaTeX
114 jobname.tfpl
116 ``flag'' file whose existence indicates that jobname.topl contains
117 valid data
118 jobname.ffpl
120 ``flag'' file whose existence indicates that jobname.frpl contains
121 valid data
122 jobname.dfpl
124 ``flag'' file whose existence indicates that jobname.ffpl has been
125 deleted
126 noperltex-#.tex
128 file generated by noperltex.sty for each PerlTeX macro invocation
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131 perltex's sandbox defaults to what Opcode calls ``":browse"''.
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134 latex(1), pdflatex(1), perl(1), Safe(3pm), Opcode(3pm)
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137 Scott Pakin, scott+pt@pakin.org
138v2.2 2019-09-15 PERLTEX(1)