[tex-live] source changes

Olaf Weber olaf@infovore.xs4all.nl
02 Jun 2002 09:33:51 +0200


Sebastian Rahtz writes:
> On Sat, Jun 01, 2002 at 07:34:41PM +0200, Olaf Weber wrote:

>> ... these changes are localized and comparatively simple.  While I got
>> the banner change to work, the way in which I did so promises to be
>> comparatively hard to maintain.

>> Given the amount of time it took for even this case to be discovered,
>> I really prefer to make just these simple fixes now and use more time
>> (e.g., TL 8) to make definitive ones.

> You would definitely prefer the banner change *not* to be made,
> because you feel it would raise expectations about the way web2c
> is going? I don't want to do that at all. On the other hand,
> I don't want anyone to point at me and say "you broke the rules". Can
> you imagine what Jonathan Fine will say when he reads this lot?

Well, for one thing you're right that people might get funny ideas.

For another, strictly speaking we've already changed the banner, and
did so long ago: spot the alteration in 'This is TeX, Version 3.14159
(Web2C 7.3.6)'.  It is not as if the implementation in question is
hard to identify in case of trouble.

A more interesting question to pose Knuth would be what kind of banner
change would satisfy him, under the circumstances:

        This is derived from TeX, Version 3.14159 (Web2C 7.3.7)
        This is extended TeX, Version 3.14159 (Web2C 7.3.7)
        This is almost-compatible-with-TeX, Version 3.14159 (Web2C 7.3.7)
        This is web2c-TeX, Version 3.14159 (Web2C 7.3.7)
        This is TeX++, Version 3.14159 (Web2C 7.3.7)
        This is TeX/extended, Version 3.14159 (Web2C 7.3.7)

-- 
Olaf Weber

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