[tex-live] Removing the biber package from CTAN

[Philip Kime]

Well, I didn't realise that this would raise such issues. If you think it's a good idea, I can put it back but the issue for me was that we have moved pretty much to a binary distribution and almost nobody tries to use the perl install version any more. It's not clear to me how we can distribute this via CTAN. If you all think it's for the best to leave it on CTAN, I will upload a new version and make it part of my release procedure but very few people will ever use it in this way until it's part of the TL install and can be updated/fetched in binary format.

PK

On 19 Nov 2010, at 4:50 PM, Robin Fairbairns wrote:

> Zdenek Wagner <zdenek.wagner at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Remember there are other distributions e.g. MiKTeX. They certainly
>> take packaes from CTAN. I am afraid they will not take SW from
>> TLcontrib. Out-of-date is often better than nothing.
> 
> while this is indeed true, i've seen no sign yet of miktex distribution
> of biber.
> 
> i don't know if christian schenk reads the tex live list, but he
> definitely does read ctan-ann, so he knows now to put any ambitions of
> packaging on the back burner.  (he's got plenty to do, anyway.)
> 
> i'm pleased i'm not alone in being sad that the package has gone: i
> often wonder whether my pleasure at the appearance of a new package is
> nothing more than my old stamp-collecting instinct coming out...
> 
> robin

--
Dr Philip Kime