perltex

PERLTEX(1)                                                          PERLTEX(1)

NAME
       perltex - enable LaTeX macros to be defined in terms of Perl code

SYNOPSIS
       perltex [--help] [--latex=program] [--[no]safe] [--permit=feature]
       [--makesty] [latex options]

DESCRIPTION
       LaTeX -- through the underlying TeX typesetting system -- produces
       beautifully typeset documents but has a macro language that is
       difficult to program.  In particular, support for complex string
       manipulation is largely lacking.  Perl is a popular general-purpose
       programming language whose forte is string manipulation.  However, it
       has no typesetting capabilities whatsoever.

       Clearly, Perl's programmability could complement LaTeX's typesetting
       strengths.  perltex is the tool that enables a symbiosis between the
       two systems.  All a user needs to do is compile a LaTeX document using
       perltex instead of latex.  (perltex is actually a wrapper for latex, so
       no latex functionality is lost.)  If the document includes a
       "\usepackage{perltex}" in its preamble, then "\perlnewcommand" and
       "\perlrenewcommand" macros will be made available.  These behave just
       like LaTeX's "\newcommand" and "\renewcommand" except that the macro
       body contains Perl code instead of LaTeX code.

OPTIONS
       perltex accepts the following command-line options:

       --help
           Display basic usage information.

       --latex=program
           Specify a program to use instead of latex.  For example,
           "--latex=pdflatex" would typeset the given document using pdflatex
           instead of ordinary latex.

       --[no]safe
           Enable or disable sandboxing.  With the default of --safe, perltex
           executes the code from a "\perlnewcommand" or "\perlrenewcommand"
           macro within a protected environment that prohibits ``unsafe''
           operations such as accessing files or executing external programs.
           Specifying --nosafe gives the LaTeX document carte blanche to
           execute any arbitrary Perl code, including that which can harm the
           user's files.  See Safe for more information.

       --permit=feature
           Permit particular Perl operations to be performed.  The --permit
           option, which can be specified more than once on the command line,
           enables finer-grained control over the perltex sandbox.  See Opcode
           for more information.

       --makesty
           Generate a LaTeX style file called noperltex.sty.  Replacing the
           document's "\usepackage{perltex}" line with
           "\usepackage{noperltex}" produces the same output but does not
           require PerlTeX, making the document suitable for distribution to
           people who do not have PerlTeX installed.  The disadvantage is that
           noperltex.sty is specific to the document that produced it.  Any
           changes to the document's PerlTeX macro definitions or macro
           invocations necessitates rerunning perltex with the --makesty
           option.

       These options are then followed by whatever options are normally passed
       to latex (or whatever program was specified with "--latex"), including,
       for instance, the name of the .tex file to compile.

EXAMPLES
       In its simplest form, perltex is run just like latex:

           perltex myfile.tex

       To use pdflatex instead of regular latex, use the --latex option:

           perltex --latex=pdflatex myfile.tex

       If LaTeX gives a ``"trapped by operation mask"'' error and you trust
       the .tex file you're trying to compile not to execute malicious Perl
       code (e.g., because you wrote it yourself), you can disable perltex's
       safety mechansisms with --nosafe:

           perltex --nosafe myfile.tex

       The following command gives documents only perltex's default
       permissions (":browse") plus the ability to open files and invoke the
       "time" command:

           perltex --permit=:browse --permit=:filesys_open
             --permit=time myfile.tex

ENVIRONMENT
       perltex honors the following environment variables:

       PERLTEX
           Specify the filename of the LaTeX compiler.  The LaTeX compiler
           defaults to ``"latex"''.  The "PERLTEX" environment variable
           overrides this default, and the --latex command-line option (see
           "OPTIONS") overrides that.

FILES
       While compiling jobname.tex, perltex makes use of the following files:

       jobname.lgpl
           log file written by Perl; helpful for debugging Perl macros

       jobname.topl
           information sent from LaTeX to Perl

       jobname.frpl
           information sent from Perl to LaTeX

       jobname.tfpl
           ``flag'' file whose existence indicates that jobname.topl contains
           valid data

       jobname.ffpl
           ``flag'' file whose existence indicates that jobname.frpl contains
           valid data

       jobname.dfpl
           ``flag'' file whose existence indicates that jobname.ffpl has been
           deleted

       noperltex-#.tex
           file generated by noperltex.sty for each PerlTeX macro invocation

NOTES
       perltex's sandbox defaults to what Opcode calls ``":browse"''.

SEE ALSO
       latex(1), pdflatex(1), perl(1), Safe(3pm), Opcode(3pm)

AUTHOR
       Scott Pakin, scott+pt@pakin.org

v2.2                              2019-09-15                        PERLTEX(1)