Re: Switching from teTeX to TexLive in Ubuntu
Dag Henk e.a.!
From: Ralf Stubner <Ralf.Stubner@physik.uni-erlangen.de>
> The following message is a courtesy copy of an article
> that has been posted to comp.text.tex as well.
>
> Henk Koster <H.A.J.Koster@xs4all.nl> writes:
>
[...]
> > Third observation: This update-updmap stuff is probably a result of Debian
> > TeX policy, but compared to the installation directly from the TL CD-ROM
> > no improvement IMO.
>
> It is a requirement for having different packages being able to install
> and configure fonts for TeX without modifying configuration files.
I concur with Ralf's response.
I'm the maintainer of the CJK packages, and I can assure you that the
update-updmap stuff is incredibly useful.
Fonts are a very difficult matter, especially in TeX. So why wouldn't
you want tools that simplify some of the installation steps?
I challenge you to install some Chinese or Japanese fonts for the CJK
package: you'll soon find out how difficult it can be without some
helpful tools.
On Debian I provide packages for four Chinese fonts, each having
hundreds of Type1, AFM and TFM files and with their own fontmap
files. You can't expect users to manually edit these configuration
files themselves. Besides, whenever the user decides to uninstall a
TeX package, the user has to remember that s/he modified that file.
My memory isn't that good, so as a developer and as a user I'm very
delighted that such an update program exists that does everything by
itself.
TL is just one monolithic block of files. Any additions you make, are
by default local, and therefore need to be configured manually.
Creating a more flexible TeX environment on Debian where you can add
or remove packages takes 5x more time to develop, but this way the
user can choose his own packages. And it's much easier to maintain: I
take care of the CJK packages, Florent of "lmodern" and other
packages, etc.
But having so many packages requires a common policy, and tools like
update-upmap and dh_installtex make life easier.
> > Fifth observation: what is the added value of the Debian packages over and
> > beyond the install procedure on the TL CD-ROM?
>
> Two examples: Integration with the rest of the system. Newer versions of
> things like the lmodern fonts or beamer.
TeXlive comes on *one* CD. That's why the CJK author, Werner Lemberg,
has only provided files for two Chinese fonts, and even they are not
100% complete (he does however provide adequate information on how to
install your own fonts with all the bells and whistles).
Another reason are Build-Depends: some packages provide SGML or TeX
files and need PS or PDF output. Providing TL on Debian is an
absolute requirement if you need to build-depend on it. That's they
way it works, lad. No way around that.
Cheers
Danai SAE-HAN
韓達耐
--
題目:《讀嚴子陵傳》
作者:楊萬里（１１２７－１２０６）
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