Update Latex distribution on JASMIN

[agstephens]

The Latex distribution on JASMIN is outdated and the graphics-def needs to be installed. It seems that the file pdftex.def which provides device-specific definitions for colour and graphics support when running pdf(LA)TEX. is now distributed as part of the graphics-def bundle. The utility pdflatex fails to convert a Latex file into a pdf. Can the Latex distribution on JASMIN be updated or added to the JASPY?

[dch1fc]

A use case of pdflatex on JASMIN:
The Met Office code that uses pdflatex is InTEM for volcanic ash (see https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/12/1573).
It has a Fortran core and Python is used to control the different components. As part of this, the Python code generates a number of plots which are combined into a pdf results document using LaTeX. Met office users use InTEM on JASMIN with their collaborators (these currently are collaborators on a NERC project at Reading University and an MSc student currently using it for his research project at Exeter University).

[alaniwi]

We are using a number of "texlive" RPMs from CentOS as part of jasmin-sci, so we are tied into the versions that CentOS support. Due to the large number of such packages, we are not installing every available texlive-* package, but have the following dependencies on the top-level meta RPM:

texlive-dvipng
texlive-pdftex
texlive-type1cm
texlive-latex-bin
texlive-cm-super
texlive-cm

(including dependencies, these result in currently 106 packages being installed whos names contain texlive)

In any case, pdflatex is already working for me, with the following test:

test.tex contains:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Hello world
\end{document}

On sci1:

$ pdflatex test.tex 
This is pdfTeX, Version 3.1415926-2.5-1.40.14 (TeX Live 2013)
 restricted \write18 enabled.
entering extended mode
(./test.tex
LaTeX2e <2011/06/27>
Babel <v3.8m> and hyphenation patterns for english, dumylang, nohyphenation, lo
aded.
(/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/base/article.cls
Document Class: article 2007/10/19 v1.4h Standard LaTeX document class
(/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/base/size10.clo))
No file test.aux.
[1{/usr/share/texlive/texmf/fonts/map/pdftex/updmap/pdftex.map}] (./test.aux) )
</usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/fonts/type1/public/amsfonts/cm/cmr10.pfb>
Output written on test.pdf (1 page, 11541 bytes).
Transcript written on test.log.

xpdf test.pdf shows the expected document.

As part of what we currently install, we already have an RPM package installed called texlive-graphics, which contains the following:

/usr/share/doc/texlive-graphics-svn25405.1.0o
/usr/share/doc/texlive-graphics-svn25405.1.0o/lppl1.txt
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/color.sty
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/dvipdf.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/dvips.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/dvipsnam.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/dvipsone.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/dviwin.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/emtex.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/epsfig.sty
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/graphics.sty
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/graphicx.sty
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/keyval.sty
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/lscape.sty
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/pctex32.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/pctexhp.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/pctexps.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/pctexwin.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/tcidvi.def
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/trig.sty
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/graphics/truetex.def

although not pdftex.def

Putting on hold until we have a test case of something that currently should work but doesn't, but I will also move this ticket to the extra-sci-packages repo on the assumption that if there are some important components that we should be installing then it is nonetheless still likely to be in the form of RPMs.

[alaniwi]

(no specific "hold" label currently exists in this repo, but I suggest that before taking further action, an example of breakage is needed, so that we can then retest it with the necessary additional packages installed)