TL;DR
A PDF titled "LaTeX Coffee Stains" appears on CTAN with a 2021 date, but the source indicates the full article text is not available. Only the listing and filename are accessible via the provided URL; details about authorship and content are not confirmed in the source.
What happened
A document listed as "LaTeX Coffee Stains" (file name coffeestains-en.pdf) is hosted on the CTAN mirror at the University of Illinois site under graphics/pgf/contrib/coffeestains and is dated 2021. The publicly available entry includes a brief comments note stating that the full article text is not available and advises relying only on the title and excerpt. Beyond that listing and the link to the PDF, the source does not provide the document’s text, authorship, abstract, examples, or any supporting materials. There is no accessible content in the source that allows verification of what the PDF contains or how it relates to the PGF/graphics contribution area on CTAN.
Why it matters
- CTAN entries often serve as the canonical distribution point for LaTeX packages and their documentation; missing documentation can impede users who rely on those resources.
- When a listed document lacks accessible text, users and package maintainers cannot verify examples, usage instructions, or licensing from the entry alone.
- Researchers and developers who depend on package documentation for reproducibility or porting work may face delays if source files are incomplete or not hosted.
- The presence of an entry with no available full text highlights the importance of complete archival practices for open-source documentation.
Key facts
- Document title listed: "LaTeX Coffee Stains".
- File indicated on the CTAN mirror: coffeestains-en.pdf.
- Repository path on CTAN: graphics/pgf/contrib/coffeestains (as shown in the URL).
- Date associated with the file in the source: 2021.
- Host: CTAN mirror at ctan.math.illinois.edu (link provided).
- Source excerpt includes a note stating the full article text is not available and to rely on the title and excerpt only.
- No authorship, abstract, or content of the PDF is present in the provided source.
What to watch next
- not confirmed in the source
- not confirmed in the source
- not confirmed in the source
Quick glossary
- CTAN: Comprehensive TeX Archive Network; a central repository for LaTeX packages, documentation, and related files.
- LaTeX: A typesetting system commonly used for technical and scientific documents, built on top of TeX.
- PDF: Portable Document Format, a file format for presenting documents independent of software, hardware, or operating systems.
- PGF/TikZ: A pair of TeX packages used for creating graphics programmatically in LaTeX.
Reader FAQ
What is contained in the "LaTeX Coffee Stains" PDF?
Not confirmed in the source.
Where can I access the file?
The file is listed at https://ctan.math.illinois.edu/graphics/pgf/contrib/coffeestains/coffeestains-en.pdf according to the provided source; the source notes the full article text is not available there.
Who authored the document?
Not confirmed in the source.
Is this an official CTAN package or documentation?
The listing appears under a CTAN contrib path for graphics/pgf, but whether it is official package documentation or ancillary material is not confirmed in the source.
Comments
Sources
- LaTeX Coffee Stains [pdf] (2021)
- Package coffeestains
- What is the most bizarre thing you have seen done with TeX
- LaTeX Coffee Stains
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