1 `unixtex.ftp': Obtaining TeX
2 ============================
4 This is `ftp://ftp.tug.org/tex/unixtex.ftp', last updated 26 December
5 2003. Also available as `http://www.tug.org/unixtex.ftp'. The IP
6 address is currently `[130.225.2.178]'. It is also in Kpathsea source
7 distributions as `etc/unixtex.ftp' (although the network version is
8 usually newer). Mail <tex-k@mail.tug.org> with comments or questions.
10 Following are general instructions for Unix or other sites who wish to
11 acquire the Web2c distribution, (plain) TeX, LaTeX (2e), BibTeX,
12 Metafont, MetaPost, DVI processors for the X window system, PostScript,
13 the PCL language in the HP LaserJet, and related programs. They are
14 oriented towards building from the original sources, though some
15 information on alternative packages is included in the last section.
16 See also `http://www.tug.org/web2c/', the Web2c and Kpathsea home page.
18 Please note that the Web2c distribution is a bare-bones distribution
19 in source form, and building a complete installation from it is a
20 non-trivial matter. For most uses, it is a better idea to install a
21 distribution with pre-packaged binaries for your platform. The
22 principal example of such a distribution is TeX Live
23 (`http://www.tug.org/texlive/'), which is based on the Web2c sources.
25 Please consider joining the TeX Users Group (TUG) or another user
26 group of your choice to help support the maintenance and development of
27 the programs you retrieve. See `http://www.tug.org/join.html' for
28 information and the membership registration form, and
29 `http://www.tug.org/usergroups.html' for a listing of all user groups.
31 For actual installation instructions after obtaining the necessary
32 sources, see *Note Installation::. A copy is in the distribution file
35 Electronic distribution
36 -----------------------
38 In many places we refer to CTAN:. This is _both_ a host name and a
39 directory name. Here are the primary locations:
41 `ftp://ctan.tug.org/tex-archive/' (Vermont, USA)
42 `ftp://ftp.dante.de/tex-archive/' (Germany)
43 `ftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/' (England)
45 CTAN has many mirrors worldwide; see the top-level file
46 `README.mirrors' from one of the sites above or see
47 `http://www.tug.org/CTAN.sites'.
49 You can also access CTAN via the World Wide Web, electronic mail, or
50 NFS. The same `README.mirrors' file explains how.
52 You will need to retrieve some or all of the following archives,
53 depending on your needs (don't forget to set binary mode for file
56 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/web.tar.gz'
57 The original WEB source files, written primarily by Don Knuth.
58 Required unless you already have this `web' version. (The WEB
59 sources change irregularly with respect to Web2c itself.) Unpacks
62 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/web2c.tar.gz'
63 The Web2c system. Required. Also unpacks into `web2c-VERSION'.
65 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/web2c-etex.tar.gz'
66 Additions to the Web2c system for building e-TeX. Optional.
67 Unpacks into `web2c-VERSION'.
69 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/etexlib.tar.gz'
70 Additions to the texmf tree needed to build e-TeX. Optional.
71 Unpacks into `texmf/'.
73 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/etexdoc.tar.gz'
74 Documentation for e-TeX as an addition to the texmf tree.
75 Optional. Unpacks into `texmf/'.
77 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/web2c-omega.tar.gz'
78 Additions to the Web2c system for building Omega. Optional.
79 Unpacks into `web2c-VERSION'.
81 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/omegalib.tar.gz'
82 Additions to the texmf tree needed to build Omega. Optional.
83 Unpacks into `texmf/'.
85 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/omegadoc.tar.gz'
86 Documentation for Omega as an addition to the texmf tree.
87 Optional. Unpacks into `texmf/'.
89 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/web2c-pdftex.tar.gz'
90 Additions to the Web2c system for building pdfTeX. Optional.
91 Unpacks into `web2c-VERSION'.
93 `CTAN:/systems/web2c/pdftexlib.tar.gz'
94 Additions to the texmf tree needed to build pdfTeX. Optional.
95 Unpacks into `texmf/'.
97 `CTAN:/dviware/xdvik/xdvik.tar.gz'
98 X window system DVI previewer. Unpacks into `xdvik-VERSION'.
101 Additional drivers, macro files, and other support are needed to build
102 a working system. These are available in teTeX.
104 All that said, the originating host for the software above is
105 `ftp.tug.org'. You can retrieve these distributions (but not much
106 else) from the `tex/' directory on that host.
111 Numerous organizations distribute various TeX CD-ROM's (and DVD's):
113 * Virtually all the TeX user groups collaborate to produce the `TeX
114 Live' distribution once a year; see `http://www.tug.org/texlive/'
115 for more information.
117 * The Free Software Foundation's `Source Code CD-ROM' contains the
118 minimal TeX source distribution described in the previous section
119 (i.e., enough to print GNU documentation); email <gnu@gnu.org>.
121 * Most Linux distributions include some TeX package based on Web2c;
122 see the Linux documentation file `Distribution-HOWTO' for a
123 comparison of Linux distributions, available (for example) via
124 `http://www.linux.org'.
126 If you know of additional TeX distributions to add to this list,
127 please inform <tex-k@mail.tug.org>.
132 Many other TeX implementations are available in `CTAN:/systems',
133 including ready-to-run distributions for Unix, Amiga, Acorn, VMS,
134 Macintosh, DOS, and Windows (in various forms). Although Web2c has
135 support in the source code for many operating systems, and in fact some
136 of the other distributions are based on it, it's unlikely to work as
137 distributed on anything but Unix. (Please contribute improvements!)
139 The principal user-oriented Unix distribution based on Web2c is the
140 teTeX distribution. It includes complete sources, and runs on all
141 modern Unix variants, including Linux. It contains many TeX-related
142 programs besides those in the core Web2c.
144 The host labrea.stanford.edu is the original source for the files for
145 which Donald Knuth is directly responsible: `tex.web', `plain.tex',
146 etc. However, unless you want to build your TeX library tree ab initio,
147 it is more reliable and less work to retrieve these files as part of
148 the above packages. In any case, labrea is not the canonical source for
149 anything except what was created by Stanford TeX project, so do not
150 rely on all the files available at that ftp site being up-to-date.