[tex-live] updmap.cfg query

[Norbert Preining]

On Fri, 24 Jul 2009, Rowland McDonnell wrote:
> (can someone tell me if I'm doing the wrong thing by emailing this to
> multiple recipients directly rather than to the tex-live mailing list
> only?)

It normally depends on the original posters preferences and what he
puts into the headers. Generally replying only to the list is fine.

> For example: I cannot find anything which tells me that updmap-sys
> --enable and updmap-sys --disable are the mechanisms whereby tlmgr
> changes the file <your-texlive-root>/texmf-config/web2c/updmap.cfg (path
> specified by TEXMFSYSVAR).  It's small missing details like that leave
> me stuck.

Wrong. tlmgr help gives you:
   generate [option]... what
       generate language
       generate language.dat
       generate language.def
       generate fmtutil
       generate updmap

       The "generate" action overwrites any manual changes made in the
       respective files: it recreates them from scratch.

       For "fmtutil" and the language files, this is normal, and both the TeX
       Live installer and "tlmgr" routinely call generate for them.

       For "updmap", however, neither the installer nor "tlmgr" use
       "generate", because the result would be to disable all maps which have
       been manually installed via "updmap-sys --enable", e.g., for
       proprietary or local fonts.  Only the changes in the "--localcfg" file
       mentioned below are incorporated by generate.  Furthermore, "tlmgr"
       updates and maintains the final "updmap.cfg" in "TEXMFSYSCONFIG" (the
       others use "TEXMFSYSVAR") because that is the location that
       "updmap-sys" (via "tcfmgr") uses.

The last paragraph says exactely that tlmgr will not overwrite things 
you have put into updmap.cfg with --enable or --disable.

Isn't that enough for you?

We could use a different technique then updmap-sys --enable if it is
intelligent enough. THe only important thing is that user settings for
maps are not overwritten.

> tcfmgr gets referred to - I can't find anything to tell me what tcfmgr
> might be.

Forget it, it is written in paranthesis. Those knowing the internals of
updmap(-sys) know what is written there.

> Most of that man page is - for me - impossible to understand without a
> little help to explain things properly.  So much is assumed by way of
> reader understanding, so much is missing.

Right. tlmgr help is NOT an introduction to each and every program in
the TeX world. We assume knowledge. And you seem to be the only one
not managing to call
	tlmgr update ...
	tlmgr install ...
	tlmgr remove ...
;-) And that is in fact what most people need.

> `What is a collection?  What is a package?  What is a dependency?  What
> does `installed' mean?'

Ok. Here I finish my contribution. If you still don't get what I am
talking about, so it be. 

> understand due to the swamp of unfamiliar terms.  I've tried to find
> definitions for the above terms and failed.

If you need definitions for each and everything and your common sense is
not enough developed to understand the word "collection", "package" 
(already explained in the last email), "dependency" and "installed"
(aren't all those normal English words?) thenI cannot help.

"collection" is a collection of packages.
"package" is already explained in the last email
"installed" means that you have that package on your computer installed
  in your texlive installation
"dependency" describes a relation between two objects, normally a
  collection depends on many single packages.

> Do you begin to understand the problem?  btw, I'm used to this very slow

No, because nobody else has this problem.



Best wishes

Norbert

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Norbert Preining <preining at logic.at>        Vienna University of Technology
Debian Developer <preining at debian.org>                         Debian TeX Group
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