[tex-live] Feature request for TL 2014 (or later): Easier?installation of local/experimental packages

[Siep Kroonenberg]

On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 02:03:08PM +0100, Ulrike Fischer wrote:
> Am Wed, 12 Feb 2014 21:13:43 +0900 schrieb Norbert Preining:
> 
>  
> > Wait, I am thinking about a better way that is easier to do.
>  
> > What are the necessary steps?
> > * get the package in TDS format. Here we cannot help, although
> >   the ctan2tds script might be used?!
> 
> That's not really a problem: As I wrote it is quite ok to require
> that package has a certain structure. Most development package offer
> a tds anyway, and when I write  a package I set up the tree anyway
> and only have to zip it. 
>  
> 
> > * add another directory entry TEXMFPROJECT or so the thexmf tree.
> > 	(texmf-dist/web2c/texmf.cnf)
> >   that should be done from *our* side.
> > * use
> > 	tlmgr conf texmf TEXMFPROJECT /my/path/foo/bar
> > * if necessary, use updmap-sys (since updmap.cfg files are local
> >   you can have /my/path/foo/bar/web2c/updmap.cfg!!!)
> > * simply use it
> > 
> > Remove:
> > * remove TEXMFPROJECT setting
> > 	(not implemented) tlmgr conf texmf TEXMFPROJECT --clear
> > * if it was run first, rerun updmap-sys
> > 
> > I think this would quite easy, right?
> > 
> > Ulrike, would this qualify for your solution?
> 
> This is more or less what I know do manually: I have a TEXMFUF
> variable that I have prepended to the TEXMF-variable. 
> 
> The main question is with the --clear option:
> 
> If I did add two roots or more to TEXMFPROJECT e.g. pgf and
> luaotfload, how can I remove only one? 

That would require parsing TEXMFPROJECT, but there is nothing
difficult about that. You would need commands to add and to remove
paths from TEXMFPROJECT, and preferably also to list them.

-- 
Siep Kroonenberg