[tex-live] TeX install CD vs. DVD

[George N. White III]

On Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 8:25 AM, Gianluca Gorni
<gianluca.gorni at dimi.uniud.it> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I am a long-time user of TeX and LaTeX, and I promote it
> among the students of Udine University, in Italy.
>
> Until TeXLive 2007 there used to be a ProTeXt install CD.
> I used to hand out copies of the CD to my students.
>
> With TeXLive 2008 we only got one double-layer DVD.
> Unfortunately, I have not been able to duplicate it.
> I am still distributing the 07 CD, because I don't
> like giving away my only precious DVD.
>
> So, please, this year make *CD* install disks, beside the
> all-inclusive DVD!

TeX Live is designed to minimize side effects on the OS,
so you can "clone" TL to another machine by just copying
the directory tree and adjusting the PATH variable.  I
have been installing TL on a linux system but with
binaries for multiple platforms, and copying the resulting
tree to install TL on other machines.

Since you will know what parts of TL are needed by your
students, you should be able to configure a stripped-down
TL with just what they need, create an archive, and then put
that on a CD.

If some students find the need for additional packages
they can use tlmgr to install them, in which case you might
consider making a local mirror of the TL directory on CTAN
so they don't encounter network problems.  There are
tools that can be used to maintain a mirror site with the
data transfers done at, say between 5am and 9am, while
students are asleep.

> Thank you for all your great work!
>
> Yours sincerely,
> Gianluca Gorni
>



-- 
George N. White III <aa056 at chebucto.ns.ca>
Head of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia