[OS X TeX] updated packages

[Gerben Wierda]

> On 2/6/06, Bruno Voisin <bvoisin at mac.com> wrote:
>> Le 6 févr. 06 à 22:07, Victor Ivrii a écrit :
>>
>> > I see a problem with you installing into texmf.local: who normally
>> > should uninstall?
>> > If I intall some package into texmf.local, I am aware of this and if
>> > it becomes outdated
>> > I either replace it by a new version or just simply delete it if the
>> > new version comes
>> > to texfm.tetex or texfm.gwtex. However if i-installer puts some staff
>> > here, I am not aware and it will take precedence over newer packages
>> > installed later by i-installer into  texfm.tetex or texfm.gwtex.
>>
>> I think you're mistaken: the TeX i-Package doesn't put stuff normally
>> inside texmf.local, apart from the files created during the install
>> process of gwTeX (.fmt and .log files, etc.).
>>
>> It's the additional i-Packages (CM-Super, XeTeX, MusixTeX, ConTeXt
>> updater, possibly others) which put stuff inside texmf.local. In this
>> case, there's no problem cos' you're necessarily aware of what you've
>> done.
>
> Not really: if some package i-installer puts staff in my local tree it
> does not
> advise me about this.

Well, it says so in the install location of the i-Package which you can
inspect, but for the rest you are right.

I could let i-Packages like CM-Super install in texmf.gwtex instead, but
that has the disadvantage that reinstalling gwTeX would silently uninstall
CM-Super. Or gwTeX installation would have to become very complex,
checking for a formally unknown set of other stuff installed on top of it
(I consider this option undoable/unmaintainable). It is a choice between
evils here.

You can change the install location of CM-Super and like to install in
texmf.gwtex instead, of course.

>> Plus, you can put there all your personal additions (in my case
>> journal style files, Lucida, MathTime, Mathematica and Adobe Euro
>> fonts), and be sure they won't be touched by any update of the TeX i-
>> Package.
>
> Assume that Gerben decided to put some such files (say utthesis.sty
> where ut=univerity of texas) into my local tree where there is already
> (utthesis.sty where ut=university of toronto). What then?
> [actually long ago there was a little newsgroup ownership war between
> these two universities]

Here you encounter something which is essentially not risk-free. However,
what I do offer for installation is generally some very well known and
very generic stuff (like CM-SUper, CB-Greek, MusixTeX) and this is not
likely to crash with other stuff.

Basically, I might create another tree for the CM-Super and like stuff,
e.g. texmf.extras and have that between texmf.gwtex and texmf.local in
priority. I'll think about that one. Probably at the same time I'll have
to drop teTeX as a source.

G

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