[tex-live] Re: context / directory structure

[Thomas Esser]

> Can we be sure that this is the final change, i.e. we now have:
>   - dvips
>   - pdftex
>   - dvipdfmx

We also have xdvik, dvipdfm, dvipng. I am not sure if other programs
also support type1 rendering based on "dvips-like map files + enc files".

> since they all seems to understand the same encoding file syntax, i wonder 
> what the encs do under /dvips/enc, unless we consider dvips to be generic 

dvips/enc? I don't know what you mean.

> my $mappath = "$fontroot/fonts/map" ;

If the map files don't use specific pdftex related features, they should go
to $fontroot/fonts/map/dvips/<package>.

> my $encpath = "$fontroot/fonts/enc" ;

That should be $fontroot/fonts/enc/dvips/<package>.

> my $mappath = "$fontroot/fonts/dvips/map" ;
> my $encpath = "$fontroot/fonts/dvips/enc" ;

We have fonts/<type>, no dvips subdirectory.

> my $mappath = "$fontroot/fonts/pdftex/map" ;
> my $encpath = "$fontroot/fonts/pdftex/enc" ;

Again, fonts/<type>, no pdftex subdirectory.

> since i need to choose, should i randomly choose between them?

Choose dvips if you don't make use of specific features.

> There is no way to ask kpsewhich 'give me the prefered pdf map file
> path for this particular kind of map file'.

The planned new TDS says:
    The \abbr{TDS} also reserves the names \path|enc|, \path|lig|,
    and \path|map| for font encoding, ligature, and mapping files,
    respectively.  All of these directories are structured the
    same way, with \replaceable{syntax} subdirectories, and then
    \replaceable{package} subsubdirectories.  Each of these file types
    is intended to be searched along a single recursively-searched path.
    The names of the actual files must be unique within their subtree,
    as usual.

So, basically, this means that you can just access map files by their
name, regardless of their precise location.

> With regards to the map file, if there are differences between 
> dvips/pdftex/dvipdfmx, i have a problem with putting the files under dvips 
> since they are actually meant for pdftex;

The first level under fonts/map describes the "syntax" of the file. pdftex
has followed dvips in map file syntax (and slightly extended it), so
I recommend that map files that don't make use of any extensions should
be put into fonts/map/dvips. This does not mean that this map file is
for exclusive use of dvips.

> i'm not sure what the difference 
> in syntax is you refer too, (maybe the missing FontNames, but dvips should 
> be able to handle this).

A map file for dvips always has the FontNames and it does not make use
of the special bits that have been introduced by pdftex.

> What is the minimal format that all those programs 
> understand?

Look at the documentation of dvips.

> Also, if there are differences, what exactly is the 'prefered search 
> structure than'?

See above. We require that all names below fonts/map are unique.

> dvips  -> first dvips  subpath, then pdftex search path, then dvipdfmx 
> subpath
> pdftex -> first pdftex subpath, then dvips  search path, then dvipdfmx 
> subpath

Just forget about subpath. There is just texmf/fonts/map//.

> (btw, the coming version of context will, more than in the past, load 
> mapfiles on demand, so in a next tex live i may as well omit the map files 
> and include them in tex directly, but that would render texfont useless for 
> other than context)

I don't make any use of the texfont utility. On the other hand, you
don't make any use of updmap :-)

Thomas