[OS X TeX] Installing "MacTeXtras" using MacPorts

[Bruno Voisin]

Le 2 mars 07 à 10:54, Peter Dyballa a écrit :

> I-Installer uses or used (I am not using it anymore since I do not  
> want a geek TeX and unwanted preference panes, disk space abuse,  
> and ability to switch between coarse TeX distributions) [...]

In my opinion gwTeX is all but a geek TeX. It has allowed people with  
no Unix expertise to use TeX on OS X for years, especially in  
conjunction with TeXShop. And it is remarkably consistent, reliable  
and bug-free, with great awareness of user needs and response to user  
requests.

MacTeX goes one step further, by providing really a one-click  
installation of TeX, hence providing for the first time a true MacOS  
TeX experience. However, because it is based on TeXLive, which -- due  
to huge size and less strict control from the developers -- is not as  
reliable as teTeX which used to form the core of gwTeX, MacTeX is my  
experience not as reliable as gwTeX, though in daily use most users  
won't ever meet the occasional bugs.

> I also do not use Mac TeX (why should I download a set of CDs or a  
> whole DVD to update some 10 MB?). I don't remember for sure whether  
> Mac TeX did similiar things with gs as i-Installer did one year ago  
> (I assume it did not, it rather would have installed the product of  
> this conversion since it's basically a copy of a TeX installation  
> done with i-Installer in its basic mode), I remember a discussion  
> to install a version of gs that is X11 enabled, that could be used  
> in xdvi to render PostScript inclusions on screen.

AFAIK both i-Installer and MacTeX check at install time whether X11  
is already available, and if so install an X11-enabled version of  
GhostScript; if not, they install a not-X11-enabled version.

Pete, though we have a few things in common (like taste in music) and  
I do enjoy the quotations at the end of your messages, I must admit  
that I do not understand why you answer questions related to gwTeX  
and MacTeX, given you use neither of them and your instructions  
generally do not apply to the configuration mentioned by the original  
poster (or do not apply at all, owing to changes in gwTeX and MacTeX  
since you last used them). I must also admit that your answers are  
often so allusive that I simply can't understand them.

Generally I just keep quiet, but right now I don't understand the  
acrimony in your message.

Bruno


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