[pdftex] TeX updating

[Siebenmann Laurent]

was:- Re: [pdftex] How to get pdflatex to embed and subset ALL fonts?

Thomas Esser <te at dbs.uni-hannover.de> wrote

> There should be absolutely no reason to keep an old version 
> of teTeX.  If I'm wrong, let me know.

While I do not have occasion to use teTeX I feel it might be
worthwhile to explain a few reasons why this is very wrong for the
several TeX implementations I use.

(1)  TeX implementations are usually vast and changing. It is not
for every task and every user that the inevitable period of
reinstallation reparametrization and reacclimatization is a
worthwhile investment.  On the contrary, I feel that updating, on
the part of an individual, should ideally be purely
feature-driven.  

For example, updating to get pdf output that permits "fit
visible" viewing is feature driven.  Downdating to acquire pdf
encoding is also feature driven.

(2)  Most TeX implementations distinctly excell in some domain.
Since I am feature hungry I often find it more profitable to
install an alternative implementation than to keep absolutely
up-to-date with any one implementation.

Comments: 

(a)  My guess is that, far from being unaware of (1) and (2),
many implementors are so aware of their logic that they fear
updating will become extremely sluggish.  Thus, to my ears, the
quotation sounds like propaganda.

(b)  Updating certainly simplifies support.  On the other hand,
user awareness of bugfixes and improvements in many a TeX
implementation could be greatly enhanced by more detailed
bulletins on the CTAN list and on the "comp.text.tex" newsgroup.
The BaKoMa distribution is exemplary in this educational area,
where 'factual advertising' is distinctly a public service.

(c)  The danger that one big TeX implementation will physically
block another for lack of space is ebbing with rising disk
capacities.  Thus, implementors should maximize, and verify, and
advertize, the compatibility of their implementation with all
other TeX implementations for the same platform.  Admittedly this
can be hard, but the payoff for users is great. 

 > You can install teTeX into any directory
 > that you are allowed to write into.

Excellent!

(d) It is nice when backward compatibility and progress are
happily united.  When updating is potentially destructive, it is
vital to know *before* updating the extent to which this goal
will be achieved. In most cases I imagine that an intact
functioning copy of the earlier implementation should be
maintained if only for the sake of verification.


Laurent S.