[tex-live] texlive 2014 Comments. -- Overly complex and difficult to install on RedHat/Fedora !! -- A long answer --

[Zdenek Wagner]

2014-08-07 2:10 GMT+02:00 Norbert Preining <preining at logic.at>:
> Hi Andre
>
> (please leave the mailing list in Cc!!!)
>
> On Wed, 06 Aug 2014, Andre Gompel wrote:
>> now does not work anymore "out of the box" and therefore need fixes.
>
> Again, wrong.
>
>> could better use your volunteer time , by just installing "texlive 2014"
>> on Fedora 20 x86_64, (latest)
>
> Done that:
> * installed fedora 20 into a virtual machine with all defaults, nothing
>   changed at all
> * installed texlive with default settings as root
> * set
>         PATH=/usr/local/texlive/2014/bin/x86_64-linux:$PATH
>   in my .bashrc as user
> * run latex on a sample document, and dvips, and pdflatex, all fine.
>
As advise, I do just two operatins as root:
1. Create /usr/local/texlive
2. Change its ownership to me as an ordinary user

Afterwards I install it as a user. In the past I followed the same
procedure as Norbert described, sometimes from a DVD, sometimes from
an ISO image mounted via a loop device, sometimes using the network
installation. I did it many times on CentOS 4 and 5, on several
versions of Fedora starting from FC2, on several versions of Debian
and a colleague of mine on SUSE. If there were problems, I would have
reported them but the procedure always worked.

> So what do you tell me is not working out of the box?
>
>> broken with the paths, or perhaps the softlinks... and it really does
>> not work "out of the box".
>>
>> And yes, I can fix, and do not need help, but this was not my point.
>
> You still did not specify *what* is broken besides unclear
> insinuations.
>
>> And what is this *more*?   MORE IS PROBABLY softlinks broken,
>
> Which soft links?
>
> By default the installer does *not* create any links into
> the binary directories.
>
>>  because of the (not so new) FEDORA/RED_HAT directory tree structure, where almost everything now is on top of /usr.
>
> Irrelevant, I have installed everything into /usr/local/texlive/2014
> as by default, and added the path, all works.
>
>> >    Now I am in "environment variables hell"
>>
>> No need for environment variables besides adjustment of the PATH.
>> Please be a bit more specific.
>
> You still did not explain what is the problem.
>
>> It is there, it has been followed many many times, and it has proven
>> quite stable over the last N years (for N >= 10)
>>
>> HERE, I just cannot agree, and what you write suggest that you did not do any testing with Fedora 20, or RHLE, or CentOS (recent versions).
>
> Are you telling me, who has written most of the code, that it is not
> working without providing any proof?
>
> I have made exactely what you told me, see above, with the expected
> result, that everything works.
>
>> FURTHERMORE, I stopped using the "standard RPM Latex packages" on Fedora, because they are broken:
>
> THey are from 2013, but they are fine.
>
>>> THere are hardly any differences between Win and Unix in terms of the
>>> actual installer, besides that there are a few different options.
>>
>> If you suggest Windows and Linux are the same system, you must either be joking... or may have to do some reading...
>
> Aehm, I never suggested that. Please stay at the facts and read what
> I wrote.
>
> Do you really believe *I* don't know the difference between the systems?
>
>> I do suggest that if the Red-Hat derivatives standard packages (RPM) have been now broken for about two years, it is because the proper information to fix them is missing.
>
> What are you talking? Fedore20 ships telxive 2013, thus, it cannot be
> two years broken.
>
>> So a few people (including me) who may fix them, did not even try because what is needed for TEXLIVE to work, is not so obvious.
>
> Instead of whining, what about actually *saying* what is broken?
> And even better, *fixing* it if you are so capable!
>
>> >    But for many non-technical Latex users, a seamless and simple install
>> > which works "straight out of the box" would be great, GUI or NOT.
>>
>> It does.    SORRY NOT FOR ME, DID YOU REALLY TRY THIS ON FEDORA 20 X86_64  ?????
>
> Done that, succeeded without a single hinch. Enjoy.
>
>> I explained that I used Linux/Texlive for a long time, so you would not suspect a beginner's mistake.
>
> I still *do* suspect this. Or better, a long term user who believes
> who knows around the system, in thus messes it up.
>
>> 1) I explained it did not work, "out of the box" (unfound files etc...).
>
> No, you didn't: Not one line of terminal output or which file
> has not been found.
>
>> warning: kpathsea: configuration file texmf.cnf not found in these directories: /usr/bin:/usr/bin/share/texmf-local/web2c:/usr/bin/share/texmf-dist/web2c:/usr/bin/share/texmf/web2c:/usr/bin/texmf-local/web2c:/usr/bin/texmf-dist/web2c:/usr/bin/texmf/web2c:/usr:/usr/share/texmf-local/web2c:/usr/share/texmf-dist/web2c:/usr/share/texmf/web2c:/usr/texmf-local/web2c:/usr/texmf-dist/web2c:/usr/texmf/web2c:/usr/share/texmf-local/web2c:/usr/share/texlive:/usr/share/texlive/share/texmf-local/web2c:/usr/share/texlive/share/texmf-dist/web2c:/usr/share/texlive/share/texmf/web2c:/usr/share/texlive/texmf-local/web2c:/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/web2c:/usr/share/texlive/texmf/web2c.
>
> Output of
>         which tex
> please
>
> Norbert
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> PREINING, Norbert                               http://www.preining.info
> JAIST, Japan                                 TeX Live & Debian Developer
> GPG: 0x860CDC13   fp: F7D8 A928 26E3 16A1 9FA0  ACF0 6CAC A448 860C DC13
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>



-- 
Zdeněk Wagner
http://hroch486.icpf.cas.cz/wagner/
http://icebearsoft.euweb.cz