\hyphenation{Peter}
\title{Requiem for Aston}
\author[Malcolm Clark \& Chris Rowley]{Malcolm Clark\\Chris Rowley}

\begin{Article}

\noindent The recent move of the UK~CTAN node from Aston University to Cambridge
University brings to the end a very long relationship between \TeX{}
and Aston---a relationship that brought great benefits to both the
University and the \TeX{} world.

The beginnings of this association go back to~1987 when, with the
active support of the Vice Chancellor, Peter Abbott established
a \TeX{} archive based on the VAX systems at Aston---it then
amounted to~200MBytes of data.

He also organised experts on various aspects of maintaining such a
system into a volunteer group of `archivists'---and made Aston a
thriving and friendly focus for their activity.  These volunteers came
from around the UK and, later, also from `mainland Europe', whilst
knowledge of the archive and its benefits rapidly spread throughout
the world.  Thus the university became, in a very real sense, the
centre of a world-wide effort to produce and distribute high quality
software that was greatly needed and appreciated throughout that
world.

Within a few years, the collection of software, together with the
traffic created by users, had grown to such a size that it was no
longer possible to host it on the existing equipment.  To solve this
problem of being `too good', Peter successfully negotiated the donation
of equipment by~DEC and other suppliers.  This  enabled the Aston Archive
to continue its rapid growth and thus to evolve into a mature, well-managed
system.
%note: sparc was departmental, not gift
%maybe bhk would know dec details?
% add bits re papers for VCs version

A significant development was the arrival on Peter's desk
of a Sun Sparc in mid-1992.
This was quickly put to use as a fully (archive-) functional second
platform and proved to be well suited to further development of the
service; thus it was that Aston became the first site in the world to
implement the then on-going discussions of the TUG Technical Working Group
on Archives.  During 1992--1993, first George Greenwade implemented this
same TWG structure at Sam Houston State University, Texas and then
Rainer Sch\"opf implemented it for DANTE at Universit\"at Stuttgart,
Germany (and subsequently on DANTE'S own machine).
This pioneering work resulted in the first multi-site archive of this
size to be successfully implemented anywhere; it was especially
appropriate that the announcement of the completion of this major
technical achievement could be made at Aston University, during the
international TUG conference in July 1993.  Thus the project started
by Peter as a service to the UK community had become, in six hectic
years, the internationally-acclaimed, state-of-the-art Comprehensive
\TeX{} Archive Network~(CTAN).

Access to the archive has been further enhanced, and gained a
completely new public, through cooperation with Prime Time Freeware,
who regularly produce CD-ROMs containing the contents of the
archive---or to be precise, almost all: it's now too big to fit on
one~CD!

Peter was, of course, also involved in many other aspects of making
this vast range of high-quality software easily available to as wide a
range of people as possible.  In particular, he was one of the
founders of the UK \TeX{} Users Group and, here again, the reputation of
Aston University was enhanced by the many ways in which he was able to
support and guide the fledgling organisation.  His valuable activities
on behalf of the group have, of course, not been diminished at all by
his retirement.

Both the archive, in its new role as a CTAN node, and Peter Abbott
will continue to provide a large range of services to promote the
rapidly growing use of \TeX{} throughout the world but, regrettably,
Aston University will no longer be part of this important hub of
expertise and service which over many years contributed so much to its
reputation as an international centre of academic and technical
excellence.

\end{Article}
