[tex-live] installing parallel (by year) versions

[Karl Berry]

    to advise him that it's possible to install
    parallel (by year) versions of tex live

Not only is it possible, it is the default.

    in section 2.3, "overview of the predefined texmf trees", but this
    too assumes an existing setup.

As the intro text in that section says, it describes the default setup
that is created for you when you install TL, not an "existing" setup.
It is not expected (or desired) that users create any directories in
advance of installation.

    adding a few sentences about setting up
    multiple, parallel, year-specific structures
    would be useful, i think.

The problem is not so much the "setting up", which will happen by
default (as of the last several years), but rather finding and
downloading the TL release in question and then running the install-tl
included inside it.  (The answer is what I just replied to Zdenek,
ftp://tug.org/historic.)

Anyway, I agree some words could/should be added, but I don't want to
try to rush it, and I just asked (begged) the TL translators to start
working, so I don't want to touch the manual again for this year except
to fix outright errors.  I'll do something after the release, though.

    here, sledgehammer ... a nice nut for you.

For you and me and probably everyone on this list, yes.  For people who
just want to typeset their papers, maybe not.  Extracting files from an
individual .dtx and putting them in the "right place" is a different
kind of operation from installing software.  I am not surprised some
users would rather install a whole different version of the software, or
a VM with the right version -- if they are familiar with one process and
not the other.  I don't even see anything especially wrong with it.
Whatever works.

Thanks,
Karl