[tex-live] textlive seems to ignore top of home tree

[hometreetexlive.9.virgilinux at dfgh.net]

--- On Sat, 7/17/10, Reinhard Kotucha - reinhard.kotucha at web.de <+hometreetexlive+virgilinux+e9c78de28a.reinhard.kotucha#web.de at spamgourmet.com> wrote:

> From: Reinhard Kotucha - reinhard.kotucha at web.de <+hometreetexlive+virgilinux+e9c78de28a.reinhard.kotucha#web.de at spamgourmet.com>
> Subject: Re: [tex-live] textlive seems to ignore top of home tree (hometreetexlive: message 6 of 9)
> To: hometreetexlive.9.virgilinux at dfgh.net
> Cc: tex-live at tug.org
> Date: Saturday, July 17, 2010, 12:56 AM
> On 16 July 2010 hometreetexlive.9.virgilinux at dfgh.net
> wrote:
> 
>  > > I am sympathetic to these views for a small
> TEXMFHOME where you
>  > > can just dump everything into the top-level
> directory (or
>  > > arbitrary subdirectories).
>  > > 
>  > > However, TEXMFHOME itself is already being used
> by other people
>  > > for very large trees.  We can't just change
> the way it's defined
>  > > without messing them up.
>  > 
>  > Sorry, but I am unable to follow you.
>  > 
>  > What I have in mind is to _optionally_ (if the
> administrator wants)
>  > configure the system so that it finds stuff at the
> top (root) of
>  > the home tree, *as well as* in the subdirectories.
> 
> Sure, but it's easier said than done.
> 
> It won't work anyway.  TL depends on the directory
> structure.  

Maybe. But then again, at present TL routinely searches whichever directory that contains the user's source tex file.

In fact, a common "workaround" when LaTeX is having difficulties to find a user-installed package is for the user to place the corresponding cls or sty file in the same directory as the source tex file... this seems to work always.
 
This directory could be very large, and have a mix of all types of files (even if not recommended, it is under the sole control of the end user, and could be a (very large) "mess")... TL would find cls/sty files there anyhow. 

The above suggests that making LaTeX treat the top (root) of TEXMFHOME in the exact same way it presently treats the directory where the source tex file resides may be as easy to do as to say it (or only slightly less so).

Virgil