[tex-live] texmf-dist -> texmf for TL'13

Zdenek Wagner zdenek.wagner at gmail.com
Fri Jan 25 23:36:02 CET 2013


2013/1/25 Reinhard Kotucha <reinhard.kotucha at web.de>:
> On 2013-01-25 at 19:58:51 +0900, Norbert Preining wrote:
>
>  > Hi Markus,
>  >
>  > On Fr, 25 Jan 2013, Markus Kohm wrote:
>  > > > For TL 2013, we have been contemplating merging texmf-dist back
>  > > > into texmf, so there would once again be a single tree.
>  > >
>  > > Good idea, but I'd have to change several scripts (e.g. scripts,
>  > > that search at TEXMFDIST only for makro names) and maybe some
>  > > docus. Maybe it would be better (for me, so it's an egoistic
>  > > suggestion) to merge texmf into texmf-dist or at least texmf and
>  > > texmf-dist into $TEXMFDIST? And maybe for users it would
>  >
>  > I guess for at least some time we will have
>  >      TEXMFDIST = TEXMF = ....
>  > so that lookups
>  >      kpsewhich -var-value
>  > etc work properly.
>
> If you set
>
>   TEXMFDIST = $TEXMF
>
> then it's advisable to remove TEXMFDIST from TEXMFDBS.  Otherwise
> mktexlsr would scan the tree twice each time it's called.  :)
>
> On the other hand I'm not sure whether it's really helpfull to keep
> TEXMFDIST when texmf-dist is removed.  If TEXMFDIST is removed now,
> people complain now. If it's supported until next year, people
> complain next year, and if it's removed in ten years, people complain
> in ten years.
>
> A hint at http://tug.org/texlive/acquire.html or so would be
> sufficient IMO.  People can then adapt their scripts before installing
> the new release.  And if they need TL-2013 immediately but don't have
> enough time to adapt their scripts, they still can set TEXMFDIST=$TEXMF
> themselves.
>
If a script has hard-wired path, then people will have to adapt it
anyway when going from 2012 to 2013. The hint may tell them how to use
kpsewhich in the scripts. Sych scripts will survive forever (I have
them since 2009 and no change was needed). I have all TL versions
since 2007 installed, I can switch between them and the same script
runs with any TL version, thus explanation of kpsewhich for finding
the path will be valuable. (People do not read manuals, otherwise they
would already know it.)

> Regards,
>   Reinhard
>
> --
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Reinhard Kotucha                                      Phone: +49-511-3373112
> Marschnerstr. 25
> D-30167 Hannover                              mailto:reinhard.kotucha at web.de
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Microsoft isn't the answer. Microsoft is the question, and the answer is NO.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------



-- 
Zdeněk Wagner
http://hroch486.icpf.cas.cz/wagner/
http://icebearsoft.euweb.cz



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