[tex-live] Re: [tug-board] Any news of DVDs ?

[Hans Hagen]

Peter Flynn wrote:

> Volker RW Schaa wrote:
>
>> Phil,
>>
>>> Philip TAYLOR wrote:
>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Ah, I sometimes forget that not yet everyone in the world has
>>>> forsaken VMS for Windows :-)))  Windows XP/PRO, 3.2MHz, 2Gb,
>>>> unfragmented discs with 2 spindles and 8 x 32Gb partitions, all 
>>>> virtually empty.
>>>
>> I think the reason for that endless installation is the speed of
>> your computer. Nowadays 3.2MHz isn't enough to run Windows :-)
>
>
> It could also be the way Windows seems to copy files. I know it was 
> apparent in the days of MS-DOS and Win95, and I was told it had all
> changed in 2k/NT/XP, but every time I see a big install on Windows,
> it seems to spend an inordinate amount of time just copying. Is it
> still using some stupid DOS copy code underneath?

there can be several reasone:

(1) xp uses a journaling file system (and unless you use xfs or reiser 4 
on unix, journaling slows down there as well)
(2) all filenames have to be uncoded

The unicode aspect is also the reason why kpsewhich on windows is slow: 
after loading the database all names need to be converted to unicode and 
comparison be done at that level; this is why on windows kpse is a 
deamon which then makes it fly (esp when system calls are made from tex 
to other tex related programs)

Hans