[OS X TeX] question about fontspec/manually installing packages

[Philipp Mathey]

Ok, that  was very clear. I think I get the idea.
Thanks a lot.
On 24-Apr-06, at 8:34 PM, Ross Moore wrote:

> Hello Philipp,
>
> On 25/04/2006, at 4:10 AM, Philipp Mathey wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I recently looked at xetex, together with fontspec, because I  
>> wanted to use a font other than the
>> standard computer fonts. It is really impressive.
>>
>> I need the latest version of the fontspec package - v1.9- which  
>> comes with
>> some new \special{} -commands. The latest version in gwtex is v1.8  
>> so I downloaded
>> the new version 1.9 and put in ~/Library/texmf/tex/xelatex. I also  
>> had to update the xkeyval
>> package and put the latest version in ~/Library/texmf/tex/latex/
>>
>> Everything works fine. I didn't do " sudo texhash".
>>
>> My question is this : could someone on this list explain/recap  
>> what the
>> recommended procedure in cases like this one is, i.e. if there is  
>> a need
>> to install a package which is not part of Gerben Wierda' tetex or  
>> an existing package
>> has not been updated yet, where should one place the (new version  
>> of the) package ? What is the
>> difference between placing a package in ~/Library/texmf/ and  
>> placing it somewhere
>> in /Library/teTeX/share/texmf.local/ ?
>
> The main difference, for a single user, is the lack of need
> to do  "sudo texhash" as you have discovered already.
> This would be required if you use the .../texmf.local/  tree.
>
> If you have a multi-user setup, then there's a *big* difference.
> Now with ~/Library/texmf/  only the single user, whose account you
> have used, can see these packages.
>
>>
>> Of course, the most important aspect is : what happens when gwtex  
>> is being updated ?
>
> Neither  of these locations is supposed to be touched during
> an update or re-install.
> (Well, maybe  .../texmf.local/  gets moved or renamed,
> then its contents copied back at the end, or somesuch procedure,
> to ensure that there is a consistent working installation.)
> If this isn't true, someone will quickly say so.  :-)
>
>> How can one ensure the update is compatible with the manually  
>> installed packages?
>
> That should be up to you to check manually.
> It is quite possible that a package you installed
> a few years back prevents the system seeing the newest
> version that came with your latest update.
>
> This is a *feature*, not a defect.
>
> Otherwise it's possible that old documents may cease
> to work, when they were written with packages that have
> since been updated without backwards-compatibility.
>
> Maybe bugs have been found and fixed, or the syntax
> modified, but the old document was written before the
> need for the change was recognised.
>
> There is a definite need to be able to override what
> the system provides. Testing for the latest version
> is not always going to be appropriate.
>
>
>> Of course, if, for example, the update installs fontspec v.1.9  
>> there would be no need for a manually
>> installed fontspec v1.9 in ~/Library/texmf/  anymore.
>>
>> Maybe this has been explained countless times but I would be  
>> grateful if someone could
>> summarize what the recommended procedure is.
>
> Check the versions, from time-to-time,
> of the packages that you have manually installed.
> Compare them to what is in system locations.
>
> Rename, but don't remove, something that previously
> was useful to you but has now been updated.
> Who knows, you may find a need to go back!
>
>
> Use 'locate' to find all files having similar names.
>
> For example, (in a Terminal window):
>
> [glenlivet:] rossmoor% locate ps4pdf | grep ".sty"
> /Users/rossmoor/Fermat/FERMAT-BOOK/MasterFiles/ps4pdf.sty
> /Users/rossmoor/texmf/doc/ps4pdf/ps4pdf.sty
> /Users/rossmoor/texmf/tex/latex/ps4pdf/ps4pdf-06h.sty
> /Users/rossmoor/texmf/tex/latex/ps4pdf/ps4pdf.sty
> /usr/TeX/texmf/tex/latex/ps4pdf/ps4pdf.sty
>
> The version that is normally used is the 2nd last in this list,
> which is version 0.6i ; most of the others are 0.6h.
> The /usr/TeX/texmf  tree is from an old TeX installation
>  --- it's version of this package is  0.6f .
>
> To get all the versions in one go, try this command:
>
>   grep ProvidesPackage `locate ps4pdf | grep ".sty"`
>
>
> Being more adventurous, you might consider doing the following.
>
> If it's a standard package, that you can be *sure* will be
> updated at the next major opportunity, then you could put it
> in a system location --- using  sudo .
>
> Of course this risks your *sureness* being not as reliable
> as you think.
>
>
>>
>> Thanks.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> 	Ross
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> --
> Ross Moore                                          
> ross at maths.mq.edu.au
> Mathematics Department                             office: E7A-419
> Macquarie University                               tel: +61 +2 9850  
> 8955
> Sydney, Australia  2109                            fax: +61 +2 9850  
> 8114
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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>
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