[tex-k] Problem with latxmk

[Karl Berry]

Hi John,

    Actually mktexpk (and presumably the other mktex scripts) changes
    directory to a process-specific temporary directory

Ah! I thought so, but just couldn't find it. Thanks.

    The output directory is something that the user has 
    specified to pdflatex (etc) for the run-specific output files.

No argument, but it also seems to me that, in principle, it's
unpleasantly surprising for *anything* to be written outside of
--output-directory when it's specified.

However, since I see now that this is how things behaved for the years
prior to 2024, with the mktexpk run succeeding and using its usual
destdir, I yield.  I'll put in the unset TEXMF_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY when I
have a chance.

    TEXMF_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY is set so as to communicate the output
    directory to programs that are called by the \write18 mechanism.  

Yes.

    I think we are just seeing an unintended side effect of that.

Yes.

Thanks for persevering,
Karl