Dear fink users,
For some time, I've been considering removing the system-tetex and
system-ghostscript packages from fink. These packages were created
in August, 2001 (as the version number of system-tetex indicates) in
order to accomodate users who had installed TeX and/or ghostscript
via the only alternative method then available: Gerben Wierda's
distribution. However, as the message forwarded below indicates,
there are now a number of alternatives available (including different
versions of Wierda's distribution, over time) which install things in
different places. System-tetex/system-ghostscript as originally
designed are essentially unmaintainable.
If system-tetex and system-ghostscript are removed, it will simply
mean that fink users who wish to use one of the other TeX and
ghostscript installations for daily use will be forced to download
and install a second copy of TeX (namely fink's copy).
My action is prompted by the message I just received, forwarded
below, which is advocating scrapping system-tetex. You'll see a
detailed analysis of the current situation if you read it.
If there are questions about or objections to the removal, I'd like
to hear them soon, as I'd like to act on this in the near future.
Thanks,
Dave
Begin forwarded message:
From: Peter Dyballa
Date: December 16, 2006 6:47:20 AM PST
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: system-tetex-20010808-14
Hello!
This package really needs a big fat update!
Now the standard install place for TeX on Mac OS X is not that
stable as it was when teTeX was still alive. If a user decides to
install from any TeX Live DVD, it will happen in /usr/local/texlive-
<the year>. If a user decides to install from Gerben Wierda's TeX
Live i-Package, it will happen in /usr/local/gwTeX. If a user
decides to install from Gerben Wierda an old teTeX i-Package, it
will happen in /usr/local/teTeX – just as known. The giant MacTeX
packages (http://www.tug.org/~koch/) will probably mimic the
corresponding i-Package's behaviour they are based on.
The directories texmf.macosx and texmf.os do not exist in recent
TeX i-Packages.
Recently I am trying to live with a Geek TeX installation of the
TeX Live 2006 based i-Package. It also installs a hierarchy of sym-
links in /Library/TeX. Because of this useless stuff I am planning
to compile TeX myself, optimised for speed, and install with mpm,
the MiKTeX Package Manager (http://dojo.miktex.org/blogs/
christian_schenk/articles/mpmunix.aspx). And of course there is the
fact that Gerber Wierda retired from active development. It might
be as good to give up the system-tetex package ...
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