[AUCTeX-devel] Why AUCTeX passes file via \input?

[Ryszard Kubiak]

Hi,

I would like to ask if there are any serious reasons why AUCTeX passes
a file to TeX using the \input command, as in

  pdflatex "\input{file.tex}"

and not simply with

  pdflatex file.tex   ?

I am asking the question because the "\input{file.tex}" phrase becomes 
the first line that TeX receives which precludes it to react to the
parameters contained in the first line of the bare document, such as
this one:

  %& --translate-file=cp1250pl.tcx
  \documentclass[12pt]{article}
  [...]

The %& comments belong to TeX standards these days; they were
introduced a few years ago. Given this I consider not passing
them to TeX engine a buggy behaviour of AUCTeX. Of course,
one can reconfigure TeX-command-list, still -- believe me --
unexperienced users need hours to discover why TeX, as they
know it, works differently when they call it under AUCTeX
and when they issue a "pdflatex file.tex" command.

Best Regards,
Rysiek