Re: suggestion to change default org-latex-pdf-process to latexmk

[Scott Randby <srandby@gmail.com>]

On 6/1/21 8:00 PM, Tim Cross wrote:
> 
> "Bruce D'Arcus" <bdarcus@gmail.com> writes:
> 
>> While testing org-cite a few weeks ago, I noticed by default bibtex
>> won't run with natbib export, or biblatex with biblatex export.
>>
>> Since org has not had native citations, this is not surprising.
>>
>> But with org-cite coming soon, this will change.
>>
>> At the time I suggested changing default to use latexmk, which will
>> handle both bibtex and biblatex runs.
>>
>> https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-orgmode/2021-05/msg00486.html
>>
>> So what do LaTeX users think about changing the default for
>> "org-latex-pdf-process" to "latexmk"?
>>
>> Is there any reason not to do this?
>>
> 
> One reason is that latexmk is not installed on some systems. This means
> it will require users to install an additional package not previously
> required. It is also a perl script, so will need perl installed - not
> sure what sort of overhead this might represent for Windows and Mac
> users? Does latexmk work on all the platforms Emacs+org is supported on?
> 
> It isn't hard for users who want to use latexmk to set the value and as
> it will break the installation for many existing users, I think we need
> to be careful about changing this default. For many users who don't use
> bibtex, this change could mean they have to install additional
> software with little other observable benefit or change the default back
> to what it is.
> 
> If we do make this change, it will be necessary to update any docs to
> add details about the additional dependncy and how to resolve it (for
> all supported platforms).
> 
> 

As a constant user of Org's LaTeX export capability, this change would break my ability to export to PDF, and it would be difficult for me to fix. I don't support this change.

Scott Randby