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Since April 2019, there is a new implementation of ConTeXt, named '''ConTeXt [[LMTX]]'''. It is tuned for [[LuaMetaTeX]], the lean and mean successor of the [[LuaTeX ]] engine.
From Hans' Hans’ introductory article in TUGBoat:
: More than decade after introducing the ConTeXt version for LuaTeX, flagged [[MkIV]] (the version known as [[MkII]] ran under more traditional TeX engines), it is time for something new. As MkVI, MkIX and MkXI are already taken for special variants of MkIV files a new acronym was coined: LMTX. Such a sequence of letters must sound somewhat fancy but it actually has a meaning, or better: it has several. One is that it stands for LuaMetaTeX, an indication of an engine to be used. But one can also think of the components that make up ConTeXt code: Lua, MetaPost, TeX, and XML. But once it is clear to a user what (s)he is dealing with, it can also indicate a “Lean and Mean TeX eXperience”.
The big difference between LMTX and all previous versions of ConTeXt is that LMTX uses a compilation and scripting engine that is specifically developed with ConTeXt in mind: LuaMetaTeX (the executable is named `luametatex`). This new engine builds heavily on the LuaTeX engine, but it has been optimised heavily for ConTeXt use:
* There are no external dependencies except for thee core `libc` and `libm` runtimes.* There is no PDF backend code, all PDF generation is handled by ConTeXt's ConTeXt’s Lua code.* There is no `fontloader` lua interface library, (OpenType) font loading is handled by ConTeXt's ConTeXt’s Lua code.* There are no `img` and `pdf` (poppler-based) lua Lua interface libraries (the latter is replaced by the leaner dedicated library `epdf`).* Various extensions have been made to other lua Lua interface libraries.
When it comes to typesetting, `luametatex` is (at least for now) 100% compatible with LuaTeX > 1.0.
The new installation no longer contains the [[MkII]] source code or binaries, and is therefore unable to run it.
== How to check for newer versions? ==
You might check for newer versions with the following command (in ''Unix''):
<pre>
curl -I http://www.pragma-ade.nl/context/latest/cont-tmf.zip 2>&1 | grep Last-Modified
</pre>
Your installed version is displayed with the following commands:
<pre>
context --version && luametatex --version
</pre>
== LMTX doesn’t update? ==
The install script (`install.bat` or `install.sh`) doesn’t update itself.
This is the reason why a new version may have been released, but your installed LMTX might not update.
If the install script has been changed, you need to replace it manually with the newest version before updating your LMTX installation.
= Further reading =
* Hans' introductory [https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb40-1/tb124hagen-lmtx.pdf article] in TUGBoat 40:1.
* The official page '''[http://www.pragma-ade.comnl/install.htm Installing CONTEXT LMTX ]''' is hosted by Pragma-Ade, which also provides
** a 2 pages '''[http://lmtx.pragma-ade.nl/install-lmtx/installation.pdf installation guide]''',
** a 1 page [http://distribution.contextgarden.net/current/context/experimental/doc/context/documents/general/leaflets/leaflet-context.pdf leaflet for ConTeXt LMTX]
** a 1 page [http://distribution.contextgarden.net/current/context/experimental/doc/context/documents/general/leaflets/leaflet-luametatex.pdf leaflet for LuaMetaTeX].
