[tex-live] interactiveplot

Werner LEMBERG wl at gnu.org
Thu Nov 27 18:21:43 CET 2014


> >> This has come up before and the position seems to be clear. If a
> >> package produces output that can *only* be used with a
> >> commercial/closed source piece of software then it doesn't go in
> >> TL even if the package itself is open source. That's true for
> >> code that relies absolutely on Adobe Reader to view the results
> >> but also in the case of for example support for commercial fonts.
>
> I suggest the following change: a package belongs to TL if, besides
> being a free software, it EITHER produces an output useful for a
> free system OR produces an output conforming to published and free
> standards, which can be implemented in free software.
>
> Right now certain features of PDF are implemented in Adobe Acrobat
> only.  However, these features are open, so authors of free viewers
> can implement them at any time.  I think that by making software
> producing output that uses these features we actually encourage the
> authors of free viewers to implement them.

To be more precise: PDF became an ISO standard.  In case the
`interactiveplot' bundle relies on extensions specific to Adobe
Reader, it should be rejected.  If it relies on the ISO standard only,
it should be part of TeXLive.


    Werner


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