[texworks] Message from TeXworks user

[Philip TAYLOR]

Herbert Schulz wrote:
>
> On Nov 13, 2011, at 3:28 PM, Philip TAYLOR wrote:

>> I wasn't suggesting that it necessarily try to identify
>> which distribution (if any) was installed; rather, it
>> should try to see whether the basic commands, stored
>> in and visible from the default drop-down "Typeset"
>> list, exist, and, if they do, whether they process
>> a basic test document compatible with that typesetting
>> engine and produce output files of the names expected.
>>
>> ** Phil.

> How is that different from what I said?

Well, for a start, it doesn't require any text-to-speech
or speech-to-text functionality :

> While we're at it why not have TeXworks translate spoken word in viable
> (La)TeX? That would be part of ``the works'' wouldn't it?

Then you suggested :

> It seems to me that it does detect if there is a viable TeX
> distribution. If the engine doesn't run an error message is generated!
> :-)

by which I understand you mean "When a user tries to use that
engine", whereas my suggestion was referring to "at install
time" for TeXworks.

And finally you wrote :
>
> There are multiple TeX distributions available in many cases I don't
> think it's the job of TeXworks to check all possibilities since even
> those change with time.

and I can see nowhere that I suggested anything even vaguely
similar to that.  TeXworks offers a number of pre-defined
typesetting actions (see below); it should (IMHO), on installation,
verify that those actions will take place as expected if
invoked by the user.

> Or do you expect TeXworks to include a (La)TeX interpreter?

I cannot see how you could possibly arrive at that conclusion.

I was suggesting that :

	For %x in (LaTeXmk, PdfTeX, PdfLaTeX, XeTeX, XeLaTeX,
			Context (LuaTeX), Context (PdfTeX), Context (XeTeX),
				BibTeX, MakeIndex)

(or whatever the current set of typesetting engines is in
the release of TeXworks in question)

TeXworks checks whether the command exists, and if it does,
whether, when it is invoked against a known good test file
for that engine, it produces output files of the names
expected (without checking their contents).

Philip Taylor