[twg-tds] storing scripts in the texmf tree

[Paul Vojta]

On Fri, Feb 13, 2004 at 09:43:41PM +0100, Olaf Weber wrote:
> Paul Vojta writes:
> > Of course, the logical next step would be a file system (kpsefs).
> 
> > :-)
> 
> :-P
> 
> One possibility I'm exploring is using a 'texmf.zip' for the texmf
> tree.  We have again the issue that (like building the hash table from
> the ls-R file) building the index into the zip will be a fairly
> expensive operation, which could conceivably benefit from things like
> daemonizing or sharing.

Actually, when I wrote :-) I didn't mean that I was happy at the idea
of a kpsefs; what I really meant was that I was joking.

> It is also interesting to see just how large the datastructures have
> become.  Take the ls-R file in texmf-dist of TeX-live:
> 
> texmf-dist$ wc ls-R
>  53964  50188 643296 ls-R
> 
> (That's lines, words, and bytes)

I'm continually dismayed at the amount of effort that goes into opening
a few files.  (I'm one who likes short wide trees, not wide narrow ones.)

--Paul Vojta, vojta at math.berkeley.edu