Re: User's thoughts about LPPL
> Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 03:41:42 +0300
> From: Richard Braakman <dark@xs4all.nl>
>
> On Tue, Jul 16, 2002 at 07:52:09PM -0400, Boris Veytsman wrote:
> > B. The *name* TeX is reserved for Knuth's program. If you program
> > is called TeX, it must satisfy triptest. You can NOT correct bugs
> > in this program, you cannot do Debian QA for it -- you either take
> > it as is or rename it.
>
> That might be why ours is called teTeX.
>
The reason is different. I'd suggest reading something first before
making statements.
>
> > A. Standardization. I want a LaTeX document to be compiled and
> > printed exactly in the same way at my desk, at my publisher's desk,
> > at my student's computers etc UNLESS I or students or publishers
> > want otherwise.
>
> The "UNLESS" part is precisely the freedom that is being discussed here.
> Do you want the freedom to change the way a LaTeX document is compiled
> and printed, or not?
>
I'm afraid you mix two different ponits here. You mix the freedom to
change the document look and the freedom to change the typesetting
engine.
I have a freedom to change the look of any LaTeX document if its
license allows me to do this (the document license has nothing to do
with the LaTeX license). I do not want my system admin to have a
freedom to change the look of all my documents without my explicit
wish.
> > Suppose a user is near blind and wants all documents to be printed
> > in a big fontsize. He can create a program (in latexese called
> > style) bigsize.sty and add to all his documents a line
> > \usepackage{bigsize}.
>
> What if the user wants this to happen automatically, without having to
> change every document he wants to print or view?
Then he can put the changes into his own format (say, newlatex.fmt),
and instead of doing
$ latex myfile.tex
do
$ newlatex myfile.tex
This is really easy to do (and does not require superuser privileges,
btw).
>
> What if the user wants to create documents that can be easily exchanged
> with others? He would have to add or remove the usepackage line at
> every exchange, and will probably forget sometimes. It would be even
> more difficult to use a shared version control system to collaborate
> on documents.
Again, for permanent change the user can create a new format and
symlink tex (the execeutable) to a new name. This can be done
completely transparent.
>
> > By doing this he makes a decision about
> > document formatting. He is free to do this under LPPL. On the other
> > hand, the authors of the documents know that the formatting of
> > their works is exactly same UNLESS a user made an explicit decision
> > to change.
>
> It should be possible to make such a decision without modifying the
> documents.
It *is* possible -- there are about 1001 way to change the way TeX and
LaTeX works without breaking lppl. Precisely because of this LaTeX3
team insists on a simple island of predictablity in this sea of
changes.
--
Good luck
-Boris
Most people are unable to write because they are unable to think, and
they are unable to think because they congenitally lack the equipment
to do so, just as they congenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon.
-- H.L. Mencken
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