@c Copyright (C) 1992, 93, 94 Karl Berry.
@c This is part of the Eplain manual.
@c For copying conditions, see the file eplain.texi.

@node Installation
@chapter Installation

@cindex Eplain, installing
@ @cindex installation
The simplest way to install Eplain is simply to install the file
@file{eplain.tex} in a directory where @TeX{} will find it.  What that
directory is obviously depends on your operating system and @TeX{}
installation.  I personally install @file{eplain.tex} in
a directory @file{/usr/local/lib/texmf/tex/plain}.

If you want, you can also create a format (@file{.fmt})
@pindex .fmt @r{file}
@cindex format file
file for Eplain, which will eliminate the time spent reading the macro
source file with @code{\input}.  You do this by issuing a sequence of
Unix commands something like this:

@example
prompt$ touch eplain.aux
prompt$ initex
This is TeX, ...
**&plain eplain
(eplain.tex)
*\dump
... @var{messages} ...
@end example

@pindex eplain.aux
@cindex undefined labels, warnings about
@noindent You must make sure that @file{eplain.aux} exists @emph{before} you
run @file{initex}; otherwise, warning messages about undefined labels
will never be issued.

You then have to install the resulting @file{eplain.fmt} in some system
directory or set an environment variable to tell @TeX{} how to find it.
I install the format files in @file{/usr/local/lib/texmf/ini}; the
environment variable for the Web2C port of @TeX{} to Unix is
@code{TEXFORMATS}.

Some implementations of @TeX{} (including Web2C) use the name by which
@TeX{} is invoked to determine what format to read.  For them, you
should make a link to the @file{virtex} program named @file{etex}, and
then install the format file with the name @file{etex.fmt}.  This lets
users invoke @TeX{} as @file{etex} and get the format file read
automatically, without having to say @samp{&eplain}.

For convenience, the file @file{etex.tex} in the distribution directory
does @code{\input eplain} and then @code{\dump}, so that if you replace
@samp{eplain} with @samp{etex} in the example above, the format file
will end up with the right name.

The @code{install} target in the @file{Makefile} does all this properly
for Unix systems and Web2C.  You may have to change the pathnames.

@cindex emtex, installation under
Under emtex, @samp{eaj@@acpub.duke.edu} says that

@example
tex386 -i ^&plain eplain \dump
@end example

@noindent produces a format file.