Which LaTeX distribution in Fedora 10?

[fcc]

By default Fedora 10 comes with LaTeX already installed.
I am not sure whether it comes from TeXlive, anyhow it is a somewhat old version. For instance it has the 3.0k version of the caption package, as in TeXlive 2007, instead of the newer version 3.1j.
The v3.0k has problems with the * in the \caption*{your caption} command inside the {SCfigure} environment.
I have upgraded, but the log of my upgraded LaTeX is still not satisfactory. I bet that I can do more whenever I know which LaTeX distribution is used.
Someone can help?
fcc

[kalwisti]

Hi, fcc,

I first tried searching the Fedora Package Database ( https://admin.fedoraproject.org/pkgdb/ ) but it does not clearly state which version of TeX Live is used in Fedora 10.

A search of the Fedora User Forums turns up a thread which indicates that Fedora 10 is still using TeX Live 2007 (rather than 2008), and that 2007 does not have the tlmgr [package manager feature]:

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?p=1188444
"Does Fedora's TexLive comes with tlmgr?"
(scroll down to responses # 3 and 4)

http://www.tug.org/texlive/tlmgr.html
Description of TeX Live's tlmgr
(shipped with TeX Live 2008)

So my best guess is that you will have to manually install the more recent version of the caption package you're interested in ... I hope other, more knowlegeable LaTeX and Fedora users will chime in and suggest better solutions if I have overlooked something. HTH,

=david

P.S.
Here's another suggestion you might want to try: deleting your current TeX Live 2007 installation and then installing the "plain vanilla" release of TeX Live 2008 from scratch (by downloading it from TUG's website: http://www.tug.org/texlive/acquire.html ). This info came to me via e-mail from Karl Berry, the co-editor of TeX Live, so it is authoritative:

And therefore the standard TL install (from, e.g., the DVD) does not affect any system TeX installation or interact with the system packaging in any way whatsoever. It is completely independent. It installs itself by default under /usr/local.

As for being skilled enough [to install TeX Live from scratch], the defaults should work fine, so if you have about ~1GB free disk (it installs everything by default), all you have to type is one character: i (for install) . . . . If you install the "native" TL, you can have exactly the same TeX installation, distro-independent.

[fcc]

Thank you, Kalwisti, you confirm my suspicion.
Yes, what I have to do is deleting the current LaTeX without caring whether it is TeXLive or anything else, and install TeXLive 2008. I'll download it tonight.
TeXLive 2008 has the brand new software manager, and this is a great idea. Moreover it is not based anymore on TeTeX, which is now unsupported.
Have a nice weekend
fcc

[kalwisti]

You're welcome, fcc. I wish you lots of luck, as I haven't been brave enough to try this myself. (Plus TeX Live 2007 works great for me in Fedora 9, so I'm not highly motivated to switch).

When you get 2008 up and running, maybe you can post back and give us a brief report on how tlmgr works. It sounds like a great concept.

Happy Easter / Buona Pasqua!

[fcc]

The problem of newer TexLive versions on Fedora has been discussed in August 2009 by Jindrich Novy and others:
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/piper...st/037049.html
and following messages.
Looking at the .log file obtained a few says ago with Fedora 13, it can be seen that
This is pdfTeXk, Version 3.141592-1.40.3 (Web2C 7.5.6)
lower version # than 3.1415926-1.40.10 (Web2C 2009) quoted by Martin Sourada, August 20 2009 (same thread as above).
Then
Package: caption3 2007/01/07 v3.0k
same version as in TexLive 2007.
So when we were wondering which TexLive was on Fedora, the 2009 version was already on its way, and I gave up the idea to upgrade to 2008.
Now version 2010 is coming, but I will remain with the one provided by Fedora 13, althoug it shows the same glitches as TexLive 2007.
fcc

[glennzo]

Moved to EOL (End Of Life) Versions.

[fcc]

I do not understand, Glennzo.
WHAT is EOL?
Fabrizio

[glennzo]

EOL is End Of Life, https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/Schedule. Read up on EOL there please.

You did nothing wrong. We move all threads dealing with EOL releases to this forum.

[fcc]

Ok, Fedora 10 is EOL
I'll soon open another thread about LaTeX in Fedora 13, after searching on the subject.
Good bye
fcc

[glennzo]

You don't need to open another thread if you want help with Fedora 10. The thread wasn't moved to EOL for any reason other than F10 is EOL. This is where all EOL threads go. The EOL forum isn't some sort of trash bin.

[fcc]

Understood.
Many are still happy with Fedora 10, and lower.
But now I jumped on Fedora 13, and I am unhappy to see that the TexLive version is not well identifiable, and all of the glitches that made me unhappy with TexLive 2007 are still there.
Fabrizio

[glennzo]

Well, it is Fedora after all, which is a bleeding edge distribution in most cases. Maybe you need to find a distribution that uses the version of TexLive that you need or figure out how to install the version you need in Fedora and lock it down so it doesn't get upgraded. For what it's worth, I thought TexLive was another live Linux distribution.

[MitraMai]

I might not understand the question/post correctly. But you may add a repo, and install TexLive 2010 in F13. See this page:http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/TeXLive

[fcc]

TexLive IS another Linux distribution. You can download it from the TeX site.
But, as proved by the thread http://lists.fedoraproject.org/piper...st/037049.html, quoted above, it appears that it is hacked by the Fedora people, in order to include it in the Fedora distributions.
For sure it changes somewhat in the different Fedora releases, but it appears to trail backwards.
It's a pity, because the TexLive installation, although straightforward, is painfully long. For total completeness it installs plenty of not necessary packages. Having it installed on the fly together with the rest of Linux is a good thing.
Since the Stone Age Red Hat, and then Fedora, has been the leader in acadamic world, where almost all use Latex. The tradition should be continued.
Fabrizio

---------- Post added at 10:30 AM CDT ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 AM CDT ----------

To MitraMai and Glennzo
I have answered to you, in part, in my reply to Glennzo.
The problem with installing new versions over the Latex installed by default in Fedora is that the latter should be first removed, something that you can not do by finding the packages and deleting.
If you search the Fedora package installer for "latex" you find several installed packages, but no upgrades.
Yes, I can uninstall these packages, but how can I be sure that the COMPLETE job is done? The same doubt was implicitly expressed by kalwisti in his last post above.
Fabrizio

[MitraMai]

Ok, didn't get that you had already installed TexLive. I thought you had recently made a new instlall of F13, wihout any LaTex installation whatsoever