[OS X TeX] Keeping TeX installations synchronized between machines

[Alain Schremmer]

On Jan 5, 2010, at 6:24 PM, Chris Goedde wrote:

> On Jan 5, 2010, at 5:15 PM, M. Tamer Özsu wrote:
>
>> But you are assuming that everyone is using TeXShop as their front- 
>> end for latex processing and Bibtex for managing their  
>> bibliographies. This is not the case; there are many who use emacs  
>> or other front-ends and for them, ~/Library/TeXShop or ~/Library/ 
>> Application Support/BibDesk. What you are proposing would require  
>> all tex and related software developers to agree to a single  
>> location, which is unlikely.
>
> Actually, I'm assuming the opposite, which is why I think it would  
> be great for the user if the MacTeX people and the developers of  
> various tex-related apps agreed on a common location for support  
> files. Do people really think the current situation is better than  
> having all the support files in subfolders of ~/Library/Application  
> Support/TeX? Why?
>
> Anyway, it's not worth arguing about, it's just a suggestion.

But I think it is worth arguing about.

Back when I started on this list, I got nearly flamed (I am  
exaggerating a bit for the sake of . . . the argument) for saying  
that the LaTeX experience should be made for the "faint of heart".

Now we have the one-button-click. It makes me want to upgrade. Well  
almost.

I am not quite fatuous enough to think that I had anything to do with  
any of it but if nobody had said anything about it, I don't think  
that we would have the one-click. Or at least not that soon.

And there are plenty of other examples, e.g. features that were  
deemed cases of featuritis that eventually turned out for real.

So, while I am totally at sea in what you all are discussing here---I  
sort of look at it, just to see if there might be anything in it for  
me, I think you all ought to keep arguing about it. Argument is what  
things come out of.

Best regards
--schremmer