[tex-live] Problem with pax.win32

[Philip Taylor]

[Sanitised version, for public distribution]

Robin Fairbairns wrote:

> long ago, i installed active perl.  it didn't contain all the
> libraries (or whatever they're called) that i needed.  does active
> perl, now, come with all that tex live needs?  if not, i would
> suggest the discussion is moot.

I do not know, because I have neither a comprehensive list of the Perl
scripts in the current TeX Live, nor do I have a regression-test
framework with which to ensure that all work with Active Perl as
required. All I can say is that I have never used any Perl other
than Active Perl, and I have never had occasion to find fault with it.

> personally, i'm willing to accept the assertion of the people who
> actually do the work, that bundling a perl distro isn't "on".  (the
> last time i worked on preparing a tl release, it was with seb rahtz.
> it's a bigger operation now...)

It is indeed.  But the development is, in the main, carried out by
those who use an *X-derivative as their primary platform.  I think
it is therefore reasonable to challenge such assertions on the basis
that, if the primary developers were Windows-oriented rather than
*X-oriented, those assertions might be very different.

** Phil.