[tex-live] texdoc can't find texmf.cnf

Manuel Pégourié-Gonnard mpg at elzevir.fr
Mon Jun 23 11:14:36 CEST 2008


Greg Gamble scripsit (23.06.2008 09:30)
>> In an ideal world, we shouldn't need to bother about dvi (and ps), since every
>> documentation should be available in pdf format.  There's currently 221 dvi
>> files in texlive: all of them are on my (mid-term) to-kill list :-)
> 
> Hmm! I for one completely disagree with you. DVI files are smaller ...

... but dvi is *not* a document exchange format, eg because it doesn't embed
fonts.  While this can work for most dvi if the font is widely spread (say,
cm) this can also make some documents totally unusable.  Just for this, dvi
shouldn't be the standard format.

Also, when I read a big documentation, I really appreciate things like pdf
bookmarks, that no dvi viewer that I know can use.

> particular, if I want to get to page 34, I type: 34g in the window ...

With xpdf: g34<enter> :-) But I agree with you that there is no really good
pdf viewer atm.  xpdf is the less bad imo.  Anyway, I don't like xdvi either :-)

> For texdoc, I would much rather have my system find a DVI file and render
> it with xdvi than it find a PDF file. Admittedly, most of what I want
> to read is just text, with the occasional monochromatic diagram.
> 
Well, we provide sources: you can always compile dvi versions of your
favourite documentations for your own use :-)

> The only advantage of PDF is its universality ... every OS these days
> has a reader, generally already installed ... 

You make the real point here.  TeX Live is not only for geeks and hackers,
it's also for "normal" users, and those want to see pdf, because it's a
standard, they already have a reader and are used to it.  Dvi and ps look like
strange formats to them and it's yet another barrier to enter the TeX world.
We should get rid of it.

By the way, a similar choice has been made on CTAN, which favour pdf
documentation.  Since we try not to process documentation ourselves, but
rather use the version on CTAN, it's another point for pdf doc in TL.

Manuel.



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