[OS X TeX] Finally we are grown up

[Claus Gerhardt]

Norman,

I only know texlive 2005 and cannot speak for prior distributions.  
However, installing and configuring (the install location) of that  
distribution was a pleasure, using it was as painless as using the  
old Gerben installations with the added bonus that I made a full  
install, i.e., almost all packages available on CTAN are included.

Moreover, because the installation process is so transparent and  
because old texlive installations can be kept, I am feeling much more  
at ease and for the first time capable of handling the tex  
distributions myself: I moved from the passenger's seat to the  
driver's seat. If, e.g., I have written an important book with the  
help of a particular distribution using a multitude of packages, I  
might want to keep that distribution around for later editing.  
Switching between different distributions, making one the default,  
will be as easy as clicking a button. Try switching between Gerben's  
tetex and his TeXLive, cumbersome.

I certainly don't want to be uncharitable to Gerben, and my remarks  
about the virtues of texlive and its advantages simply compare the  
pros and cons of using the out of the box texlive installation or  
having it rearranged and redistributed by Gerben or anyone else.

Maybe I started this discussion too early, since most of you didn't  
have the pleasure of installing and using texlive 2005. Of course you  
could install it yourself; or let us wait till Richard Koch will  
offer a MacTeX solution. Then let us compare the old installations  
with the new one again.

Claus


On 17.11.2006, at 15:48, Norman Gray wrote:

>
> Claus, hello.
>
> While it's good that you've reminded us that the TeXLive  
> distribution is available and pretty reliable, I think you're being  
> uncharitable about the value of Gerben's distribution, and probably  
> optimistic about the support load required.
>
> I've fiddled with multiple TeX distributions in my time, and if I  
> recall correctly TeXLive was one of the best, in that it got  
> everything 99% correct, and required very little tweaking  
> afterwards.  Gerben's, however, got everything 100% right, as far  
> as I was concerned; and that's impressive, as that last 1% is the  
> really hard one.
>
> The novelty of tweaking my TeX distribution has long passed me by,  
> thank heaven.
>
> On 2006 Nov 17 , at 12.28, Claus Gerhardt wrote:
>
>> even a fairly skilled tex literate, as I consider myself, feels as  
>> being treated like a child who can only accept what is offered
>
> Gerben's distribution didn't treat me like a child.  It treated me  
> as something who had other things to think about.  And if I want  
> more, or want it arranged differently, I can just rewrite texmf.cnf  
> -- what's the problem?
>
> On top of that, Gerben's distribution wasn't just the TeX tree --  
> more than half the value was a set of other utilities which  
> installed painlessly (that is, in under two blasted wasted days)  
> and worked together transparently.  I do _not_ want the hassle of  
> working that out for myself.
>
>> Regarding your P.S., I am sure that texlive will require no  
>> support for the average user
>
> Hmmm.  Would you lay money on that?
>
> All the best,
>
> Norman
>
>
> -- 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> ------
> Norman Gray  /  http://nxg.me.uk
> eurovotech.org  /  University of Leicester, UK
>
>
>
> ------------------------- Info --------------------------
> Mac-TeX Website: http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/
>          & FAQ: http://latex.yauh.de/faq/
> TeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
> List Archive: http://tug.org/pipermail/macostex-archives/
>

------------------------- Info --------------------------
Mac-TeX Website: http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/
          & FAQ: http://latex.yauh.de/faq/
TeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
List Archive: http://tug.org/pipermail/macostex-archives/