keep-intermediates behavior on error

[CraftSpider]

Currently, it looks like keep-intermediates intentionally skips non-log files when an error occurs. This surprised me, since I was using it specifically because I wanted to see the resulting aux file after an error. Is there a reason this behavior was chosen? I feel keeping aux files is most useful when there are unexpected errors in them.

[kpym]

I understand that in certain specific cases, examining the aux file might offer some utility, though these instances are relatively infrequent. What specific errors are you expecting to uncover within the aux file that wouldn't typically be identifiable within the log file?

I feel keeping aux files is most useful when there are unexpected errors in them.

Auxiliary files in LaTeX play a crucial role in ensuring the seamless compilation (during the seccond pass) and generation of complex documents, especially when there aren't any apparent errors. These files contain information that enhances the overall document structure, aiding in the correct placement of references, citations, tables of contents, cross-references, and other elements.

[CraftSpider]

I'm coming out this from the perspective of a developer on tectonic itself - I was debugging #1105, which required me to see the intermediate files that were causing the error.

'Most useful' may be an exaggeration caused by my situation, I know what the files are used for but I mostly am interacting with them not as a standard user but as someone who is trying to find out why something went horribly wrong. I tend to look at them because there's a bug in tectonic, which if it was obvious from the logs likely wouldn't need such investigation.

[kpym]

@CraftSpider Sorry for the misunderstanding. I agree that if --keep-intermediates is provided, the .aux should be written to disk even on error (even if it is not complete). Perhaps you should fill an issue by providing a MWE that demonstrates the problem.

[pkgw]

I don't recall there being any principled motivation behind this choice of behavior. And I agree that it would make sense to keep these kinds of files around when errors happen!