{\TeX\ Live 2012: Recent developments}
{Norbert Preining}
{\TeX\ Live will be released in early summer 2012 and brings a couple
changes that have been in the works for a long time: a
``multi-\code{updmap}'' that reads several \code{updmap.cfg} files, and
multi-repository support for the \TeX\ Live Manager tlmgr.

\code{updmap} is a program that generates the necessary configuration
files for \code{dvips}, \code{dvipdfm}(\code{x}), \code{pdftex}, and
\code{pxdvi} to display PostScript Type\,1 fonts.  It reads a
configuration file that lists several map files, and combines all the
font definitions from these map files. Until now local font maps had to
be integrated into this updmap.cfg file, and so could easily be
overwritten or otherwise be lost.

The new implementation has a long history. The original Perl version was
written by Fabrice Popineau for Windows, later extended by Reinhard
Kotucha and Karl Berry and used starting last year on all platforms
supported by \TeX\ Live. The code has now been extended to deal with
multiple configuration files in a transparent way.

This allows a clear separation of \code{updmap.cfg} file parts. One
\code{updmap.cfg} file now can (but does not have to) only provide
information about the \code{texmf} tree it resides in. In other words,
fonts installed into, for example, the \code{TEXMFLOCAL} tree can be
activated by an entry in the \code{updmap.cfg} file \emph{in this tree}.

We will discuss this new functionality and provide usage examples and
advise on transition from the old system.

The other big change in \TeX\ Live this year is the extension of the
\TeX\ Live Manager with the capacity of reading multiple repositories.
In recent years, a few alternative \TeX\ Live repositories have come
into existence with a wide range of usage patterns: distribution of
local packages (Japanese \TeX\ related packages in \code{tlptexlive},
Korean \TeX\ User Group repository), \TeX\ Live infrastructure testing
(in \code{tlcritical}), provision of development and nonfree packages
(in \code{tlcontrib}), etc.

Until now a user had to go through all desired repositories one by one
passing the necessary parameters for each in turn. The new \code{tlmgr}
supports use of several sources at the same time.  The selection of
packages appearing in multiple repositories is done by ``pinning''
packages to a repository.

We will present this new functionality, give usage examples, and a
guided tour through setting up and using this new feature.

We will close with an overview on other changes in \TeX\ Live 2012.
}