TeTeX and TeXLive

[Bakul Shah]

>  It is because we cannot make a port of software that is not in
>  TeXLive.  Some localized TeX variants use non-standard software and
>  sometimes it conflicts ones in TeXLive for example, so a TeXLive port
>  as it is does not work there (the current teTeX port and the related
>  ports work, btw).  Also, I do not want to bother people who are not
>  interested in using TeX itself but need to install software which
>  depends on TeX (not related TeX and just for typesetting a document
>  during the building stage, for example).  I do not like an >500MB
>  package will be installed when I just want to install a small piece
>  of software.
> 
>  Supporting minimal installation is needed for these reasons.  One
>  large package of TeXLive would make people happy for the moment, but
>  they would notice and suffer from issues of integration with other
>  ports and consistent upgrading.

Thanks for your explanation.

>  Do you think splitting it to small packages will be a big problem?  I
>  realize it takes additional time, but considering pros and cons I
>  think it is better to do so.  If you have any ideas that points to a
>  bad scenario, please let me know more specific.

I don't have a specific example except that xorg is more
painful to build and debug now if something goes wrong on my
system.  On one machine I have about 500 ports installed and
over half of them are X related: xorg-*, x libraries, fonts
etc.  So the thought of 1000 additional port is quite scary!

I understand you have a tough problem to solve.  I just
wondered if there is a simpler alternative, a way to balance
flexibility with simplicity.

Thanks!