Re: Bug #92562, xmltex, & texmf.conf

[Atsuhito Kohda <kohda@pm.tokushima-u.ac.jp>]

From: "C.M. Connelly" <cmc@debian.org>
Subject: Bug #92562, xmltex, & texmf.conf
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 09:40:06 -0800

> Did we know that xmltex tinkers with /etc/texmf/texmf.conf?
> Should we be concerned?

Yes, yes we should be concerned.  We (teTeX) should provide
some mechanism to handle this kind of problem.

For example, under the environment I proposed,

From: Atsuhito Kohda <kohda@pm.tokushima-u.ac.jp>
Subject: Bug#133200: tetex-bin: Please add these items to   /etc/texmf/texmf.cnf for ASCII pTeX
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 11:36:07 +0900

> Bsic idea is to separate the original texmf.cnf into several
> parts in /etc/texmf/texmf.d/ and to cat them with update-texmf 
> script.  So any TeX related package, for example ptex-bin, can 
> add appropriate settings to the generated texmf.cnf if ptex-bin
> provides /etc/texmf/texmf.d/20ptex with the appropriate settings.

it is enough for xmltex to provide /etx/texmf/texmf.d/20xmltex
with the contents

TEXINPUTS.pdfxmltex = .;$TEXMF/{pdftex,tex}/{xmltex,plain,generic,}//

and run update-texmf in its postinst.

I believe to provide this kind of mechanism is definitely
our duty.

Some comments on my proposal;

- teTeX provide files with names beginning (except nemeric) 
with upper case like 05TeXMF but TeX related package like xmltex 
should provide file(s) with name(s) beginning with lower case
like 20xmltex.  This will make it easy for a user and a maintainer 
to look through /etx/texmf/texmf.d/*

- of course, teTeX should separate texmf.cfn into files 
corresponding to their nature.  For example 45TeXinputs
contains mostly *INPUTS variables so TeX related package
can use 20ptex or 30xmltex to set up necessary *INPUTS
settings.  This will make generated texmf.cnf readable.

I am not sure when one wants to overwrite something like 
"pool_size = 125000" (in 95NonPath) to "pool_size = 250000" 
he should put it in 90foo or 96foo?

Once again, this is our duty, IMHO.

Best regards,		      2002.2.27

-- 
 Debian Developer & Debian JP Developer - much more I18N of Debian
 Atsuhito Kohda <kohda@debian.org>
 Department of Math., Tokushima Univ.