Difference between revisions of "TeX Distributions"

From Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (enhanced metaTeX line)
(Added link to XeTeX)
Line 36: Line 36:
 
<tr><td>ExTeX</td><td>Java</td><td>[http://www.extex.org/ extex.org]</td><td>merger of NTS with eTeX, pdfTeX and Omega (pre-alpha state)</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>ExTeX</td><td>Java</td><td>[http://www.extex.org/ extex.org]</td><td>merger of NTS with eTeX, pdfTeX and Omega (pre-alpha state)</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>Aleph</td><td>"all"?</td><td>[http://www.dante.de/CTAN//systems/aleph/ CTAN]</td><td>Omega/eTeX merge (former eOmega) by Giuseppe Bilotta (beta state)</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>Aleph</td><td>"all"?</td><td>[http://www.dante.de/CTAN//systems/aleph/ CTAN]</td><td>Omega/eTeX merge (former eOmega) by Giuseppe Bilotta (beta state)</td></tr>
<tr><td>XeTeX</td><td>MacOS X</td><td>[http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=xetex sil.org]</td><td>uses Mac special features; bidirectional typesetting; supported by ConTeXt since [[Context 2004.10.7]]</td></tr>
+
<tr><td>[[XeTeX]]</td><td>MacOS X</td><td>[http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=xetex sil.org]</td><td>uses Mac special features; bidirectional typesetting; supported by ConTeXt since [[Context 2004.10.7]]</td></tr>
 
<!-- <tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> -->
 
<!-- <tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> -->
 
</table>
 
</table>

Revision as of 00:23, 26 November 2004

< Installation hints | Linux Installation >

Historically there were a lot of different TeX distributions. Nowadays there are only a few wide spread. We mention only those that are free and support ConTeXt:

NameOSHomepageRemarks
TeX Livea lottug.org/texliveweb2c, based on teTeX and fpTeX
teTeXLinux, Unixtug.org/tetexweb2c
fpTeXWin32fptex.orgweb2c, based on teTeX
MikTeXWinmiktex.orgwith GUI
gwTeXMacOS Xrna.nlweb2c, based on TeX Live, comfortable install and update GUI
minimal ConTeXtWin, Lin, Macpragma-ade.comweb2c
  • web2c is a common base for TeX distributions, see tug.org/web2c. It uses the kpathsea tool and its ls-R database for file searches.

web2c hints

  • use mktexlsr (same as texhash) to rebuild the file database after every install or change!
  • Beware, older web2c distributions keep ConTeXt’s (Perl/Ruby) scripts at .../context/perltk, newer at .../scripts/Perl/context! Make sure to delete the older ones!

MikTeX hints

  • MikTeX has a "rebuild database" menu entry; use it after every install or change!
  • You should enable write18 in miktex.ini (MikTeX's counterpart to texmf.cnf) to get MetaPost support working.

alternative TeX processors

TeX the program writes only DVI output; with ConTeXt we normally use pdfeTeX, a merger of eTeX and pdfTeX &#150; it's nowadays probably the most used TeX processor and part of all(?) distributions. But there are more...

NameOSHomepageRemarks
pdf(e)TeX"all"pdftex.orglatest version at freshmeat or sarovar
MetaTeXPOSIXmetatex.orgtries to provide a fast pdfTeX, MetaPost etc. and kpathsea relacement as C libraries (pre-alpha state)
NTSJavaCTANOO re-implementation of TeX in Java as a base for further enhancements
ExTeXJavaextex.orgmerger of NTS with eTeX, pdfTeX and Omega (pre-alpha state)
Aleph"all"?CTANOmega/eTeX merge (former eOmega) by Giuseppe Bilotta (beta state)
XeTeXMacOS Xsil.orguses Mac special features; bidirectional typesetting; supported by ConTeXt since Context 2004.10.7