Message-ID:  <98111109410187@man.ac.uk>
Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
Date:         Wed, 11 Nov 1998 09:41:01 GMT
From: Phillip Helbig <helbig@MAN.AC.UK>
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project
              <LATEX-L@URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L
              <LATEX-L@URZ.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE>
Subject:      Re: What is "base" LaTeX
Status: R

> None of the above is intended to argue in favour of any particular >
set-up for handling LaTeX but just to indicate that it needs its own >
solution, not that which works for a different system. > > > chris

I agree.  With regard to the comparison between LaTeX and OS's, Linux
etc. I think it's fair to point out that there are OS's which are
produced in cathedrals (or by the Pope himself) and those cobbled
together at bazaars and in each category there are better and worse
examples.  There is also a selection effect in that a lot of people talk
about linux since it was something of a surprise that it worked out so
well---we probably don't hear much about failed bazaar projects.  Never
having used any microsoft stuff(!) I'm not that competent to comment,
but probably one reason one hears so many complaints about it is because
one expects more from a cathedral (well, someone said His Billness is
the Antichrist, but you get the idea[1]).  In other words, people don't
hear much about either failed bazaars or good cathedrals, since that's
what's expected, but hear about successful bazaars and failed cathedrals.
There are a lot of very good cathedral products out there which are very
good and chugging away and are very successful but one never hears
anything about them.  Imagine if one judged countries of the world by
how often they appear on the news!


--
Phillip Helbig                          Email ......... p.helbig@jb.man.ac.uk
Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories   Tel. .... +44 1477 571 321 (ext. 297)
Jodrell Bank                            Fax ................ +44 1477 571 618
Macclesfield                            Telex ................ 36149 JODREL G
UK-Cheshire SK11 9DL                    Web ... http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/~pjh/

My opinions are not necessarily those of NRAL or the University of Manchester.