On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 1:02 AM, Bill Meahan <subscribed_lists@meahan.net>wrote:

>  On 6/26/2013 6:24 PM, Hans Hagen wrote:
>  ........................[snip].........................
>
> If there is one thing I have learned in developing software since 1965
> (not a typo), it is to never depend on *any *third-party application
> being present. If it is not part of the base system install, it probably
> won't be there. I've even met Unix systems without *make*. Requiring the
> user to use some flag or other seldom flies and results in many nastygrams
> and late-night phone calls. If you need it, include it.
>
> yes , this is how currently the standalone core  context --- and in the
end, also the texlive -- works, with the constrain that
it has to work with the same results on several different platforms.
This means that the viewer cannot be part of the core -- it's the same
situation of inkscape for svg.
But instead of give no support at all sometime is better to give some
support, if possibile -- for example if it's easy to install a pdf viewer
or inkscape.


-- 
luigi