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I use org-babel-tangle to generate latex documents from org files.

These org files have the following first line:

#+PROPERTY: header-args :latex :comments org :tangle PATH/FILE_NAME.tex

I built a function to tangle to tex, compile the tex, and open the generated PDF:

  (defun mda/tangle-tex-compile-open-pdf()
    "Generate and open a PDF from an org file containing tex blocks."
    (interactive)
    (org-babel-tangle)
    (setq full-path-tex (cdr (assq :tangle (caddr (org-babel-get-src-block-info)))))
    (current-buffer)
    (cd (file-name-directory full-path-tex))
    (shell-command (concat "xelatex -interaction=nonstopmode " (file-name-nondirectory full-path-tex)))
    (shell-command (concat "evince " (file-name-base full-path-tex) ".pdf")))

I put this function in my init. When I execute it, it produces the following error :

cd: Wrong type argument: stringp, nil

What I don't understand is that when I run

    (setq full-path-tex (cdr (assq :tangle (caddr (org-babel-get-src-block-info)))))
    (current-buffer)
    (cd (file-name-directory full-path-tex))
    (shell-command (concat "xelatex -interaction=nonstopmode " (file-name-nondirectory full-path-tex)))
    (shell-command (concat "evince " (file-name-base full-path-tex) ".pdf"))

from org files, I have no errors and everything works fine...

Improve this question
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  • The error msg is telling you that (cdr (assq :tangle (caddr (org-babel-get-src-block-info)))) return nil, not an absolute file name. Why this is the case when you call the function and not when you eval the code from an Org buffer, I don't know. A guess is that in the context of Ords (org-babel-get-src-block-info) gives you something useful and outside that context it doesn't. Try M-x debug-on-entry RET mda/tangle-tex-compile-open-pdf RET, and walk through the debugger with d, to see what goes wrong. Commented Sep 15, 2023 at 20:25
  • debug-on-entry RET mda/tangle-tex-compile-open-pdf RET doesn't do anything. I don't even have an error message. And when I press d, I just see the letter d wirrtten down in the buffer. Commented Sep 15, 2023 at 23:56
  • If the debugger (buffer *Backtrace* doesn't open after you've done M-x debug-on-entry... and retried your code, then mda/tangle-tex-compile-open-pdf isn't getting called, for some reason (?). If the debugger does open, the d in the debugger window steps through the evaluation of that function call. Commented Sep 16, 2023 at 2:30
  • I managed to get the *Backtrace* buffer. After doing M-x debug-on-entry RET mda/tangle-tex-compile-open-pdf RET once, the debugger appears each time I do M-x mda/tangle-tex-compile-open-pdf RET. I now have to understand how the debugger works, I'll try to find some tutorial. Commented Sep 16, 2023 at 5:51
  • You should probably not use cd in a function: it is meant for interactively changing the currenct directory of a buffer. You are better off let-binding default-directory. See my answer to your related question which indirectly also answers this question. Commented Sep 18, 2023 at 1:33

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