[OS X TeX] Re: Alpha availability [was: A question from a new member]

[jkock]

Hello Bruno,

thanks for the pin-pointing further the miserable state of affairs.
I have filed a bug report about it, and I will try to improve the
wiki pages if I can.

> As for where and how to get the CVS version, I've no idea. At  
> AlphaTcl there's a dedicated page
> 
> <http://alphatcl.sourceforge.net/wiki/pmwiki.php/CVS/ 
> CvsUpdatesAlpha8XMacos>
> 
> but the screenshots it contains are from MacOS Classic (!), which  
> makes them look obsolete.

I think the info is in fact up to date.  Although the screenshots are from
OS9, they don't look that different in OSX. (A note to this effect is
certainly due on the page.)  The MacCVS Pro application is distributed with
Alpha.
 
> I'm not sure at which part of the documentation of Alpha 8.0.2 you're  
> referring to, when you mention instructions for getting the CVS version.

I have looked through the 8.0.2 documentation, and you are right: no hint!

The 8.1a7 documentation reads:

       Updating AlphaTcl from CVS and beta testing development versions

   As explained above, most of Alpha's functionality is implemented in the
   AlphaTcl library.  This library is open source and is hosted at a CVS
   repository with SourceForge, to which the AlphaTcl developers daily commit
   their improvements and bug fixes -- and occasionally introduce a new bug,
   which is then hopefully detected quickly and fixed before the next release.

   An expert Alpha user might wish to upgrade to the latest version of this
   library, to get access to the latest developments and help beta testing new
   features.  It is very easy to upgrade.  The recommended way is first to turn
   on the AlphaDevelopers Menu (in "Config > Global Setup > Menus").  Once this
   menu is active, choose "AlphaTcl CVS > AlphaTcl Checkout" in it, and the
   library should be updated automatically via the external application MacCVS
   Pro distributed with Alpha (or similar).  The version of the library obtained
   in this way is the latest 'stable' version.  You might be more interested in
   the cutting edge development, called HEAD, in which case you should rather
   use "AlphaTcl CVS > AlphaTcl Devel Checkout".  WARNING! By checking out from
   CVS in this way, you are implicitly accepting a higher risk of new bugs, and
   you are morally obliged to report any anomalies or shortcomings you might
   encounter.  Please read the help document "Debugging Help" for more
   information.  Be warned that there is no easy way to revert to the previous
   state of the library (although of course it is possible).  The easiest remedy
   in case you get enough of the development version will probably be to
   reinstall Alpha.


Just next to the Alpha icon (inside the Alpha Folder) there is an
alias called "Update AlphaTcl" which opens MacCVS Pro directed at the
SourceForge repository.  Unfortunately, SourceForge has changed the
server name (from cvs.sourceforge.net to alphatcl.cvs.sourceforge.net),
so the alias doesn't work, and you have to manually go into the settings
of MacCVS Pro to change this :-(

In my bug report I plead for a quick 8.0.3 release, at least to supply a
proper MacCVS file, and to include better CVS instructions.

I think a key step towards the long-awaited 8.1 release would be to get
more beta testers!

Cheers,
Joachim.


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