[tex-live] Re: pdftex collection incomplete?

[Hans Hagen]

At 03:58 AM 6/2/2002 +0200, Staszek Wawrykiewicz wrote:

>I found on TUG changed `Basic TeX' scheme (texlive-basic.tpm)
>with added context and etex collections. It seems to me that people
>no more can have really *basic* installation (tex, latex, pdftex,
>metapost) ;-))
>All that mess is because pdftex needs 2 files to work, borrowed from
>ConTeXt. Last year (TL6) `pdftex collection' contained
>those macros and I think the standalone pdftex still has them.

(1) it is a bad idea to have multiple copies of those files, esp since i 
hate to answer mails regarding out of sync files
(2) some more files that come with context can be used in latex; for 
instance the ppchtex macros (has more latex than context users), these 
depend on a few more context files
(3) when one wants to use texexec (for instance in order to manipulate pdf 
files produced by latex) one needs a full context anyway

actually, in that case context has the advantage that it need one format 
for dvi/pdf/etc, so that lessens ths pain

>As ConTeXt depends on installing also eTeX, the `basic' (???)
>installation contains now:
>  texmf/tex/contex/ ~5.2mb

I could strip embedded documentation if paid a fortune -)

[well, texutil --tes *.tex will give you 3,833,045 bytes in 324 files, but 
given what i have in progress, i fear that in a few years the other Meg is 
also taken]

>  texmf/tex/latex/  ~4.8mb ;-)
>not counting additional binaries, etex macros, doc files, etc.
>[it is nothing against ConTeXt, I really appreciate Hans' work!
>And I use ConTeXt from time to time. I'd only like to find any
>consent for all, maily beginners.]
>What can happen if the user will tune only needed `basic' scheme,
>e.g. removing context (at the moment of installation he/she knows
>quite nothing about that)?
>Please, consider the simplest LaTeX example without *full* context
>(and etex) installed:
>\begin{figure}
>\hbox to\textwidth{\hss\includegraphics{foo.mps}\hss}
>\end{figure}

why not make a fake latex style that fakes supp-pdf, something

\def\convertMPtoPDF#1#2%
   {Now it's time to install context!}

[btw, for using metafun one needs a few more files also, like mptopdf]

>You'll get:
>! Undefined control sequence.
>\Ginclude@mps ...y \fi \fi \hbox {\convertMPtoPDF
>because of missing 2 files: supp-mis.tex and supp.pdf.tex.
>
>So the main question (mostly to Hans): are those 2 files still can
>belong to *standard* pdftex stuff (as well to ConTeXt)?

no, since then we get conflicts in versions; imagine that the old copies 
are located by kpse before the real ones

>If so, can tex-pdftex.tpm contain 2 more lines:
>  texmf/tex/context/base/supp-mis.tex
>  texmf/tex/context/base/supp-pdf.tex
>to make happy LaTeX users? [I'm not LaTeX user ;-)]

as long as the files go to the context/base path it's ok for me

[i always wondered why on linux, when i choose context, i get latex as well 
-)]

[since then i just copy the whole tex live cd to disk]

Hans
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