2011/10/20 Zdenek Wagner <zdenek.wag...@gmail.com>: > 2011/10/20 Petr Tomasek <toma...@etf.cuni.cz>: >> On Tue, Oct 18, 2011 at 03:14:56PM +0200, Ulrike Fischer wrote: >>> Am Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:43:57 -0700 schrieb Chris Travers: >>> >>> > This has all been very helpful. At least I have things narrowed down >>> > a bit here: >>> > >>> > >>> > # fmtutil-sys --byfmt xelatex >>> > >>> >>> > ! LaTeX source files more than 5 years old!. >>> > l.545 ...aTeX source files more than 5 years old!} >>> >>> > >>> > Any idea of what I do about this? >>> >>> The best is to get and install a new TeXLive 2011 with newer latex >>> sources. You can also try to fool latex by changing your pc date. >> >> No, it is actually the worst thing to do. Most Linux distributions have their >> own packaging system and using alien blob (like the TeXLive) has all >> the disadvantages it can: possbily breaking compatibility if some system >> library is updated, not upgrading this blob using system tools if >> securty vulnerabilities are found can lead to serious security problems, >> etc... >> > That's why TL is linked statically with the exception of tools > dependent on fontconfig (xetex, luatex, xdvipdfmx).
I think Petr overstates the case a bit. I can think of plenty of disadvantages that using a blob doesn't have. But it has enough that for software that needs to be stable, it's worth avoiding. However, statically linking things strikes me as even worse from a stability/security perspective (which is what is critical with server software). It means that if there is a bug in any of the libraries you have possibly linked to, you have to upgrade everything. I am remembering a certain double free bug in zlib a number of years ago that resulted in security advisories and patches for a huge swath of software because everything had statically linked to zlib and derivatives. Certainly something like isn't a reason to update everything in CTAN...... Best Wishes, Chris Travers -------------------------------------------------- Subscriptions, Archive, and List information, etc.: http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo/xetex