[tex-live] Updating packages over the internet a la MiKTeX

[Michael Hallgren]

RCS, CVS, Subversion, or,... straight into the package branches?

mh 

> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : tex-live-bounces at tug.org 
> [mailto:tex-live-bounces at tug.org] De la part de Sebastian Rahtz
> Envoyé : samedi 5 juin 2004 22:22
> À : Gerben Wierda
> Cc : texlive
> Objet : Re: [tex-live] Updating packages over the internet a la MiKTeX
> 
> Gerben Wierda wrote:
> 
> > MiKTeX (http://miktex.sourceforge.net) keeps a set of .cab 
> files (some 
> > sort of archive format for windows) which are submitted by a 
> > community. These archive files are on every CTAN mirror, 
> btw. There is 
> > probably also an index somewhere. A MiKTeX installation knows which 
> > versions of those archives it has installed and can thus detect if 
> > there is a newer version of a (La)TeX package available. It 
> can even 
> > install a missing package when this is detected during a 
> TeX run. It 
> > does not rely on source distribution for (La)TeX packages 
> as there is 
> > no generic way of installing these. Not all have a 
> "install.ins" file 
> > for instance and some even require some technical 
> intervention. Hence, 
> > MiKTeX lets its developer community do the install, create 
> an archive 
> > for that and distribute *that*.
> >
> > So, what is needed is a set of archives (not unpacked as 
> implementing 
> > downloading will be a problem) that can be installed in a 
> texmf tree 
> > and that have versioning.
> 
> you have the information needed for that in TL already. for 
> package X, read the corrresponding TPM file, which has the 
> dates in. Compare with your local copy of the TPM file. If 
> needed, fetch the files.
> 
> you say "not unpacked as implementing downloading will be a 
> problem"; if thats an issue, write a service on a TL mirror 
> which packages up files in a zip or cab format on demand.
> 
> Yes, I know this needs several utility packages to be 
> written, and I am not volunteering, but it strikes me as 
> fairly straightforward to implement.
> 
> Sebastian
> 
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