[tex-live] install-tl-windows.bat unavailable in Microsoft Store

[David Carlisle]

I'd strongly urge that we send no such letter.

In particular you should not send any letter that says

> Now it is not entirely clear what the *technical* requirements are in
order for a program to be eligible for inclusion in the Store's portfolio,

You should do that technical work _before_ any such letter is sent.

David


On Mon, 10 Dec 2018 at 21:59, Philip Taylor <P.Taylor at rhul.ac.uk> wrote:

> Draft letter; comments welcomed.
>
> Dear <whoever> —
>
> I write on behalf of the TeX User Group, and on behalf of (literally)
> millions of TeX users worldwide.  TeX  is a typesetting system without
> equal, created by Professor Donald E. Knuth in 1978 in order to allow him
> to re-typeset *The Art of Computer Programming *to the same standards as
> those achieved when the first edition was published using traditional
> hot-lead technology.  Over the next four years Professor Knuth re-wrote
> substantial parts of TeX and released TeX version 2, to be followed about a
> decade later by version 3, the version almost universally used today.
> Almost since its inception, TeX has run on Microsoft platforms — Eberhard
> Mattes wrote emTeX for MS/DOS, others developed versions for Microsoft
> Windows, and until now there have been no significant difficulties in
> supporting each new version of Windows as it was released.
>
> But recently, an *impasse* has been reached, with the announcement of
> Windows 10 "S-mode".  As you know, far better than we, S-mode is intended
> to lock down Windows such that no program that does not come directly from
> the Microsoft Store can be installed and run.  Now it is not entirely clear
> what the *technical* requirements are in order for a program to be
> eligible for inclusion in the Store's portfolio, but TeX's
> development/implementation team are very concerned that because (for
> example) TeX makes widespread use of CMD.exe, that in itself would be
> sufficient reason for TeX to be disbarred.
>
> We would therefore be very grateful if you could nominate someone within
> Microsoft with whom we could liaise directly, with a view to ascertaining
> what obstacles there are to including TeX (and its adjunct programs) in the
> Microsoft Store portfolio, and how these might best be overcome.
>
> Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer :
> Philip Taylor
> for and on behalf of the TeX User Group.
>
> Boris Veytsman wrote:
>
> PT> From: Philip Taylor <P.Taylor at Rhul.Ac.Uk> <P.Taylor at Rhul.Ac.Uk>
> PT> Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2018 18:59:45 +0000
>
> PT> Maybe if we [we]re to ask someone with a little tact and diplomacy to write
> PT> the letter we might have a better chance.
>
>
> Philip,
>
> As the President of TUG I hereby designate you my representative
> responsible for contacts with Microsoft.  If you need my signature on
> any document, let me know.
>
>
> --
> [image: <Signature>]
> Philip Taylor
>
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