[OS X TeX] A couple of things about TeX Live 2012

[Frank STENGEL]

Le 5 juin 2012 à 14:06, Herbert Schulz a écrit :

> Howdy,
> 
> There are a couple of things that have to do with TeX Live 2012 (installed by MacTeX-2012), which is coming out soon, that may make you change the way you do some things.
> 
> FIRST: shell-escape vs restricted-shell-escape
> 

As long as the mechanism to extend the ``trusted'' list survives in the long term, good idea...

<snip>


> SECOND: Personal fonts must be installed in the texmf-local tree for updmap-sys to ``see'' the map files.

This is likely to become a major gripe. Correct me if I'm wrong ; basically one *has* to share fonts with every other user of the same machine or one has to perform extra actions if one wants to update one's system on a regular basis.

<rant and rave class="not directed at Herb ;-)">
Furthermore, users like me, who had just got used to the current hoops one had to jump through, will have to learn a whole new set of arcane things... Font management in TeX was a pain, it is now a root canal with a hammer and a chisel.

While I understand the the emphasis on security, should it transform an already complex process into a rube goldberg machine? Isn't there something inherently flawed in the way TeX handles fonts and multiple user systems?
</rant and rave>

<snip>

> Good Luck,

Indeed. Sorry for the blast of hot air, it's just frustration and it is more directed at the ever more complex font handling system. As a matter of fact, I have to thank people like Herb who try, as much as they can to make things easy and painless.

I'll go now and don my riot gear to prepare for the onslaught of flame. I did ask for it didn't I ;-)

-- 
Frank STENGEL (fstengel<at>mac.com)