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Subject: June 1992 GNU's Bulletin
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Here is the ascii version of the latest GNU's Bulletin, which was first
distributed at the June 92 Usenix in San Antonio, TC. This info-ized version
is essentially the same as the printed version except for typography, a few
graphics, a few corrections and a few additions.
Please freely redistribute this text to other forums under the term of the
Copyright Notice below.
If you would like a hardcopy, send your request to the FSF address below
(including a small donation to cover copying costs is appreciated, but is not
required). If you live in an area served by the US Post Office, please also
include a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Number 10 or A5 sized Envelope).
thanx -len
---------------------------------------------------------------------
GNU's Bulletin June, 1992
The GNU's Bulletin is the semi-annual newsletter of the
Free Software Foundation, bringing you news about the GNU Project.
Free Software Foundation, Inc. Telephone: (617) 876-3296
675 Massachusetts Avenue Electronic mail: g...@prep.ai.mit.edu
Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
Contents
--------
GNU's Who
What Is the Free Software Foundation?
What Is Copyleft?
Free Software Support
GNUs Flashes
Patent Reform Is Not Enough
What Is the LPF?
LPF Ends Ashton-Tate Boycott
U.S. Federal Database Bill
Another Free Software Support Business
The Hurd: the GNU Kernel Advances
A Small Way to Help Free Software
Project GNU Status Report
A GNU Standard on Suns?
Andrew Toolkit Stays Free
GNU in Japan
GNU Software Support Company in Japan
GNU Documentation
Project Gutenberg Looks for Volunteers
Project GNU Wish List
Please Support Free Software
How to Get GNU Software
GNU Software Available Now
Contents of the Emacs Tape
Contents of the Languages Tape
Contents of the Utilities Tape
Contents of the Experimental Tape
Contents of the X11 Tapes
Berkeley Networking 2 Tape
VMS Emacs and Compiler Tapes
Free Software for Microcomputers
Thank GNUs
Free Software Foundation Order Form
GNU's Who
*********
Michael Bushnell is working on the GNU operating system and maintains GNU
`tar'. Jim Blandy is preparing GNU Emacs 19, and Joseph Arceneaux is
implementing active regions for a future GNU Emacs release. Roland McGrath is
polishing the C library and maintains GNU `make'.
Tom Lord is writing a graphics library and working on Oleo, the GNU
spreadsheet. Brian Fox is improving various programs that he has written
including `makeinfo', `info', the `readline' library, BASH, and is writing the
`BASH Manual'. Jan Brittenson is working on the C interpreter and maintaining
`finger'. Mike Haertel is making GNU `grep' POSIX compliant and beginning work
on optical character recognition. David MacKenzie maintains most of GNU's small
utilities--more programs than nearly everyone else combined.
Kathy Hargreaves and Karl Berry are making fonts (and coordinating volunteers
making fonts), developing utilities for dealing with them, and working on
Ghostscript. Melissa Weisshaus is editing documentation and will work on the
`GNU Utilities Manual'.
Noah Friedman is our system administrator. Lisa `Opus' Goldstein continues to
run the business end of FSF, with Gena Lynne Bean assisting in the office.
Spike MacPhee assists RMS with legal assignments of software and other
administrative tasks. Robert J. Chassell, our Secretary/Treasurer, also handles
our publishing and is working on an introduction to programming in Emacs Lisp,
in addition to many other tasks.
Richard Stallman continues as a volunteer who does countless tasks, such as C
compiler maintenance and finishing the `C Library Manual'.
Volunteer Len Tower remains our on-line JOAT (jack-of-all-trades), handling
mailing lists and gnUSENET, information requests, etc.
GNU's Bulletin
**************
Written and Edited by: Jan Brittenson, Noah S. Friedman,
Robert J. Chassell, Melissa Weisshaus, Richard Stallman,
and Leonard H. Tower Jr.
Illustrations: Etienne Suvasa
Japanese Edition: Mieko Hikichi and Nobuyuki Hikichi
The GNU's Bulletin is published twice annually. To get a copy, send your
request to the address on the first page. If you live in an area served by the
US Post Office, please also send a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Number 10
Envelope), otherwise please include a preprinted mailing label. A small
donation to cover copying costs is appreciated but not required.
Copyright (C) 1992 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies of this
document as received, in any medium, provided that the copyright notice and
permission notice are preserved, and that the distributor grants the recipient
permission for further redistribution as permitted by this notice.
What Is the Free Software Foundation?
*************************************
The Free Software Foundation is dedicated to eliminating restrictions on
copying, redistribution, understanding, and modification of computer programs.
We do this by promoting the development and use of free software in all areas
of computer use. Specifically, we are putting together a complete integrated
software system named "GNU" (GNU's Not Unix) that will be upwardly compatible
with Unix. Some large parts of this system are already working, and we are
distributing them now.
The word "free" in our name pertains to freedom, not price. You may or may not
pay a price to get GNU software. Either way, you have two specific freedoms
once you have the software: first, the freedom to copy the program and give it
away to your friends and co-workers; and second, the freedom to change the
program as you wish, by having full access to source code. Furthermore, you can
study the source and learn how such programs are written. You may then be able
to port it, improve it, and share your changes with others. (If you
redistribute GNU software, you may charge a fee for the physical act of
transferring a copy, or you may give away copies.)
Other organizations distribute whatever free software happens to be available.
By contrast, the Free Software Foundation concentrates on development of new
free software, working towards a GNU system complete enough to eliminate the
need for you to purchase a proprietary system.
Besides developing GNU, FSF distributes copies of GNU software and manuals for
a distribution fee, and accepts tax-deductible gifts to support GNU
development. Most of FSF's funds come from its distribution service.
The Board of the Foundation is: Richard M. Stallman, President;
Robert J. Chassell, Secretary/Treasurer; Gerald J. Sussman, Harold Abelson, and
Leonard H. Tower Jr., Directors.
What Is Copyleft?
*****************
The simplest way to make a program free is to put it in the public domain,
uncopyrighted. But this allows anyone to copyright and restrict its use
against the author's wishes, thus denying others the right to access and freely
redistribute it. This completely perverts the original intent.
To prevent this, we copyright our software in a novel manner. Typical software
companies use copyrights to take away your freedoms. We use the "copyleft" to
preserve them. It is a legal instrument that requires those who pass on the
program to include the rights to further redistribute it, and to see and change
the code; the code and rights become legally inseparable.
The copyleft used by the GNU Project is made from a combination of a regular
copyright notice and the "GNU General Public License" (GPL). The GPL is a
copying license which basically says that you have the freedoms discussed
above. An alternate form, the "GNU Library General Public License" (LGPL),
applies to certain GNU Libraries. This license permits linking the libraries
into proprietary executables under certain conditions. The appropriate license
is included in all GNU source code distributions and in many of our manuals.
We will also send you a printed copy upon request.
Note that the library license actually represents a strategic retreat. We would
prefer to insist as much as possible that programs based on GNU software must
themselves be free. However, in the case of libraries, we found that insisting
they be used only in free software appeared to discourage use of the libraries
rather than encouraging free applications.
If the library license does promote the further use and development of free
libraries by the developers of proprietary applications, we may consider
putting more of the GNU Project libraries under it.
We strongly encourage you to copyleft your programs and documentation, and we
have made it as simple as possible for you to do so. The details on how to
apply the GPL appear at the end of the GPL.
Free Software Support
*********************
The Free Software Foundation does not provide any technical support. Although
we create software, we leave it to others to earn a living providing support
because we would rather concentrate on the former task. We see programmers as
providing a service, much as doctors and lawyers now do; both medical and legal
knowledge are freely redistributable entities for which the practitioners
charge a distribution and service fee.
We maintain a list of people who offer support and other consulting services,
called the GNU Service Directory. It is in the file `etc/SERVICE' in the GNU
Emacs distribution and `SERVICE' in the GCC distribution. Contact us if you
would like a printed copy or wish to be listed in it.
If you find a deficiency in any GNU software, we want to know. We have many
Internet mailing lists for announcements, bug reports, and questions. They are
also gatewayed into USENET news as the `gnu.*' newsgroups.
If you have no Internet access, you can get mail and USENET news via UUCP.
Contact a local UUCP site, or a commercial UUCP site such as:
Anterior Technology,
P.O. Box 1206,
Menlo Park, CA 94026-1206
USA
Phone: (415) 328-5615 or Fax: (415) 322-1753
E-mail: `...@fernwood.mpk.ca.us'
UUNET Communications Services,
3110 Fairview Park Drive - Suite 570,
Falls Church, VA 22042
USA
Phone: (703) 876-5050
E-mail: `...@ftp.uu.net'
When we receive a bug report, we usually try to fix the problem. While our bug
fixes may seem like individual assistance, they are not. Our task is so large
that we must focus on that which helps the community as a whole, such as
developing and maintaining software and documentation. We do not have the
resources to help individuals. If your bug report does not evoke a solution
from us, you may still get one from the many other users who read our bug
report mailing lists. Otherwise, use the Service Directory.
So, please do not ask us to help you install the software or figure out how to
use it--but do tell us how an installation script does not work or where the
documentation is unclear.
*"If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."*
-Isaac Newton
GNUs Flashes
************
* Free Unix Emulator for Mach
Randall Dean at CMU is finishing up a free BSD-based Unix emulator for
Mach. It does not yet run reliably, but if it does become robust well
before the Hurd is ready we will probably use it to create an early,
completely free GNU system. We do not expect tape distribution of this
emulator before the next issue of the GNUs Bulletin. Please don't ask us
about this project; we will make an announcement when it is ready.
Roland McGrath is porting the GNU C library to work with this emulator.
* Berkeley Networking 2 Release
The FSF now offers the BSD Networking 2 release on tape (see "Berkeley
Networking 2 Tape" under "GNU Software Available Now").
* Distribution Tapes Reorganized
Our software distribution has been reorganized. The old Compiler tape has
been split into a Languages and a Utilities tape. Some software has also
moved from the Emacs tape to the other two tapes. In addition, we have a
temporary Experimental tape. See "GNU Software Available Now."
* FSF Distributing on Exabyte Cassettes
We are now offering our software on 8mm Exabyte cassettes. For more
information, see "FSF Order Form".
* New Binding for GNU Manuals
Several GNU manuals are now bound as soft cover books with a new
"lay-flat" binding technology. This allows you to open them so they "lie
flat" on a table without creasing the binding. Each book has an inner
cloth spine and an outer cardboard cover that will not break or crease as
an ordinary paperback will. Currently, the `GAWK', `Bison', `GDB', and
`Emacs Lisp Reference' manuals have this binding. All other GNU manuals
are also bound so they lie flat when opened, using other technologies.
* GNU Fortran Mailing List
A mailing list exists for those interested in the Fortran front end for
GCC. To subscribe, ask: `info-gnu-fortran-requ...@prep.ai.mit.edu'.
Meanwhile, the front end itself is rapidly approaching an alpha test state.
* GNU in Russia Moves Forward
Progress is being made on the GNU Project in Russia. The "Center for GNU
Development" is translating GNU documentation into Russian. Recently, they
finished the first version of a Modula-2-to-C translator. They are also
working on an SQL database management system and on other projects.
*"If I have not seen farther, it is because giants were standing on my
shoulders."*
-anonymous
Patent Reform Is Not Enough
***************************
by Richard Stallman
When people first learn about the problem of software patents, their attention
is often drawn to the egregious examples: patents that cover techniques already
widely known. These techniques include sorting a collection of formulae so
that no variable is used before it is calculated (called "natural order
recalculation" in spreadsheets), and the use of exclusive-or to modify the
contents of a bit-map display.
Focusing on these examples can lead some people to ignore the rest of the
problem. They are attracted to the position that the patent system is
basically correct and needs only "reforms" to carry out its own rules properly.
But would correct implementation really solve the problem of software patents?
Let's consider an example.
In April 1991, software developer Ross Williams began publishing a series of
data compression programs using new algorithms of his own devising. Their
superior speed and compression quality soon attracted users.
The following September, when the FSF was about a week away from releasing one
of them as the new choice for compressing our distribution files, use of these
programs in the United States was halted by a newly issued patent, number
5,049,881.
Under the current patent rules, whether the public is allowed to use these
programs (i.e., whether the patent is invalid) depends on whether there is
"prior art": whether the basic idea was published before the patent
application, which was on June 18, 1990. Williams' publication in April 1991
came after that date, so it does not count.
A student described a similar algorithm in 1988--1989 in a class paper at the
University of San Francisco, but the paper was not published. So it does not
count as prior art under the current rules.
Reforms to make the patent system work "properly" would be no help here. Under
the rules of the patent system, this patent seems valid. There is no prior art
for it. It is not close to obvious, as the patent system interprets the term.
(Like most patents, it is neither worldshaking nor trivial, but somewhere in
between.) The fault is in the rules themselves, not their execution.
In the US legal system, patents are intended as a bargain between society and
individuals; society is supposed to gain through the disclosure of techniques
that would otherwise never be available. It is clear that society has gained
nothing by issuing patent number 5,049,881.
Under current rules, our ability to use Williams's programs depends on whether
anyone happened to publish the same idea before June 18, 1990. That is to say,
it depends on luck. This system is good for promoting the practice of law, but
not progress in software.
Teaching the Patent Office to look at more of the existing prior art might
prevent some outrageous mistakes. It will not cure the greater problem, which
is the patenting of every *new* wrinkle in the use of computers, like the one
that Williams and others independently developed.
This will turn software into a quagmire. Even an innovative program typically
uses dozens of not-quite-new techniques and features, each of which might have
been patented. Our ability to use each wrinkle will depend on luck, and if we
are unlucky half the time, few programs will escape infringing a large number
of patents. Navigating the maze of patents will be harder than writing
software. As `The Economist' says, software patents are simply bad for
business.
If you'd like to do something, the easiest thing to do is to join the
League for Programming Freedom.
What Is the LPF?
****************
The League for Programming Freedom (LPF) aims to protect the freedom to write
software. This freedom is threatened by "look-and-feel" interface copyright
lawsuits, and by software patents. The LPF does not endorse free software or
the FSF.
The League's members include programmers, entrepreneurs, students, professors,
the FSF, and even some software companies.
From the League membership form:
The League for Programming Freedom is a grass-roots organization of
professors, students, business people, programmers, and users dedicated to
bringing back the freedom to write programs. The League is not opposed to
the legal system that Congress intended--copyright on individual programs.
Our aim is to reverse the recent changes made by judges in response to
special interests.
Membership dues in the League are $42 per year for programmers, managers
and professionals; $10.50 for students; $21 for others.
To join, please send a check and the following information:
* Your name and phone numbers (home, work or both).
* The address to use for League mailings, a few each year (please
indicate whether it is your home address or your work address).
* The company you work for, and your position.
* Your email address, so the League can contact you for political
action. (If you don't want to be contacted for this, please say so,
but please give your email address anyway.)
* Please mention anything about you which would enable your
endorsement of the LPF to impress the public.
* Please say whether you would like to help with LPF activities.
The address is:
League for Programming Freedom
1 Kendall Square - #143
P.O. Box 9171
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
Phone: (617) 243-4091
Email: `lea...@prep.ai.mit.edu'
If you haven't made up your mind yet, write to LPF for more information, or
send Internet mail to `lea...@prep.ai.mit.edu'.
LPF Ends Ashton-Tate Boycott
****************************
Ashton-Tate (now a subsidiary of Borland) has offered to drop its
"look-and-feel" lawsuit against Fox. In response, the League for Programming
Freedom has dropped its boycott of Ashton-Tate products.
U.S. Federal Database Bill
**************************
A bill before Congress, H.R. 2772, would have the Government Printing
Office (GPO) create a Wide Information Network for Data Online (WINDO),
allowing individual users to subscribe to a number of Federal databases,
including: the FDA Bulletin Board, the Economic Bulletin Board, the SEC's EDGAR
database of corporate disclosure filings, the Patent and Trademark Office's
Automated Patent System, the "Federal Register," the "Congressional Record,"
the House of Representatives' LEGIS system, the Library of Congress' SCORPIO
system, the Department of State press briefings and Congressional Testimonies,
and many other U.S. Federal government information systems.
The GPO would administer the service for a low user dissemination-based charge,
providing access through most common access methods, including by dial-up modem
and over the Internet. User feedback would be greatly encouraged. Bill H.R.
2772 was introduced by Rep. Charlie Rose (D-NC) in June 1991. To support the
bill, write or call your congressman. Also write or call Rep. Rose to show
your support and send a copy to the Taxpayer Assets Project. For more
information on WINDO, you can contact:
American Library Association Taxpayer Assets Project
Washington Office P.O. Box 19367
110 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20036
Washington, DC 20002-5675 USA
USA Tel: (202) 387-8030
Tel: (202) 547-4440 Fax: (202) 234-5176
Fax: (202) 547-7363 Bitnet: `love@pucc'
Internet: `508-0...@mcimail.com'
Joint Committee on Printing
818 Hart Senate Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
USA
Tel: (202) 224-5241
Fax: (202) 224-1176
Another Free Software Support Business
**************************************
by Russ Nelson, Crynwr Software, `nel...@crynwr.com'
The Crynwr packet driver collection, a finalist in PC Magazine's 1991 Awards
for Technical Excellence, is copylefted software. The packet drivers are a mix
of PC Ethernet drivers and shims to other driver software. Packet drivers are
used natively by nearly all TCP/IP software and can also be used with Novell's
NetWare, Banyan Vines, and Performance Technology's PowerLAN. After nearly
four years, the list of contributors stretches almost two pages. My firm,
Crynwr Software, six months old, is the sole support for my family, selling
packet driver support. Crynwr Software is another example of a successful
business venture based on copylefted software.
*"In the sciences, we are now uniquely privileged to sit side by side with
the giants on whose shoulders we stand."*
-anonymous
The Hurd: the GNU Kernel Advances
*********************************
Development is continuing on the kernel-related aspects of the GNU Operating
System. This job consists of writing a set of servers, called the GNU Hurd,
that run on top of the Mach 3 microkernel from CMU. The Mach microkernel
provides a task abstraction with multiple threads within a single task and
powerful IPC and virtual memory systems. Work is proceeding well on our
implementation of the BSD Fast Filesystem, and we hope to be able to bootstrap
a minimal system this summer.
One of the advantages to the GNU Hurd is that it allows ordinary users to write
programs which insert themselves into the directory hierarchy in a secure
fashion. Using this idea, we will eventually implement a variety of
interesting "filesystems." A simple example is transparent FTP, but there are
also ideas like a transparent tar archive. (Just think, all you will need do
is `cd' into a tar archive and do an `ls', instead of remembering incantations
like `tar tfv foo.tar'.) There are even stranger ideas people have thought up;
this design choice turns out to be surprisingly fruitful. This is a
characteristic of the Hurd which is not supported by any other free or
nearly-free operating systems, and only a very few commercial systems (none of
which look anything like Unix).
We are not sure at this point whether the initial alpha test release will have
network support in it; this will depend on staffing considerations. If it does
not, then implementing the network will be the top priority after the alpha
release. The plan is to write a library which will enable network modules from
a BSD kernel (many of which are now free) to be "dropped in" and used with only
minimal modification, though more work would be needed to enable such a network
server to get maximal performance.
Source compatibility with 4.4 BSD and POSIX.1 will be provided by the GNU C
Library. In addition, binary compatibility will be provided on some machines
using the system call emulation facilities of Mach. Further, a great number of
functions, done in Unix by the kernel, will be done in the C library. This
allows users who dislike some of the precise semantics of a system call to
easily replace it in their programs. Calls such as those which change signal
state can be implemented entirely in the library and become much faster as well.
We have a mailing list to discuss the design of Hurd. Experts in OS design and
seasoned Unix wizards are welcome to help hash out the details of the
interface.
A Small Way to Help Free Software
*********************************
If you find that GNU software has been helpful to you, and in particular if you
have benefitted from having sources freely available, please help support the
spread of free software by telling others. For example, you might say in
published papers and internal project reports:
"We were able to modify the `fubar' utility to serve our particular needs
because it is free software. As a result, we were able to finish the XYZ
project six months earlier."
Let users, management, and friends know! And send us a copy. Thanks!
Project GNU Status Report
*************************
* GNU Software Configuration Scheme
To allow GNU software to compile and run on a large number of platforms,
it is often necessary to include platform-specific code to handle
different situations. It is then useful to know the type of platform on
which you are going to build the software. We are now ironing out the
details of a uniform scheme for configuring GNU software packages in order
to compile them. This will make it possible to configure any and all GNU
software in the same way. In particular, all GNU software will support
the same naming scheme for machine types and system types.
The configuration scheme will enable you to configure a directory
containing several GNU packages with one command. When we have a complete
system, it will be possible to configure everything at once, eliminating
the need to learn how to configure each of the individual programs that
make up the GNU system.
For tools used in development, the configuration scheme lets you specify
both the host system and the target system, so you can configure and build
cross-development tools easily.
GCC Version 2 and GDB Version 4 support the new configuration scheme, as
do many of the smaller programs and collections. Over the coming year, we
will change our other software to support it.
* GNU Emacs
Version 19 will enter beta test late this year. Among its new features
are: `before' and `after change hooks', source-level debugging of Emacs
Lisp programs, X selection processing (including clipboard selections),
scrollbars, support for European character sets, floating point numbers,
per-buffer mouse commands, X resource manager interfacing, mouse-tracking,
Lisp-level binding of function keys, multiple X windows (`screens' to
Emacs), a new input system, and buffer allocation, which uses a new
mechanism capable of returning storage to the system when a buffer is
killed.
The input stream is now a sequence of Lisp objects, instead of a sequence
of characters. This allows a reasonable representation for mouse clicks,
function keys, menu selections, etc.
Thanks go to Alan Carroll and the people who worked on Epoch for
generating initial feedback to a multi-windowed Emacs, and to Eric Raymond
for help in polishing the Emacs 19 Lisp libraries.
Emacs 18 maintenance continues for simple bug fixes.
* C Compiler
The GNU C compiler (GCC) version 1.40 is current; 1.41 is expected soon.
GCC supports both ANSI standard and traditional C, as well as the GNU
extensions to C.
Version 1 is stable, but still maintained with bug fixes. It supports
these CPU types: 680x0, VAX, 32x32, 80[34]86, SPARC (Sun-4), SPUR, Convex,
MIPS, Tahoe, Pyramid, and Alliant. It supports both `a.out' and COFF
format object files when used with a suitable assembler.
Version 2 of GCC is in beta test (see "Contents of the Experimental Tape")
and includes front-ends for C++ and Objective-C. New front ends are being
developed, but they are not part of GCC yet. A front end for Ada is being
funded through the Ada 9X standards committee. Since it is a quite
complex language, we expect completion to take a while. A front end for
Fortran is now being integrated, but this will also not be available soon.
Volunteers are developing front ends for Modula-3 and Pascal. There are
mumblings about other languages, but no one has volunteered to do Cobol
yet.
* Binutils
Steve Chamberlain and others at Cygnus Support have rewritten the binary
utilities (including the linker). These are now based on the same Binary
File Descriptor library used by GDB. All the tools can be run on a host
that differs from the target (e.g. cross-linking is supported).
Furthermore, various forms of COFF and other object file formats are
supported. A tool can deal with object files in multiple forms at once.
For example, the linker can read object files using two different formats,
and write the output in a third format. The linker interprets a superset
of the AT&T Linker Command Language, which allows very general control
over where segments are placed in memory.
Version 1.94 is currently in beta test. Major changes are not expected.
Per Bothner, `both...@cygnus.com', coordinates the release.
* C Library
Roland McGrath continues to work on the C Library. It now conforms to
ANSI C-1989 and POSIX.1-1990, and work is in progress on POSIX.2 and Unix
functions (BSD and System V). In the Hurd, it will do much of what the
system calls do in Unix. Roland is working on this code and has written
alot of it already. Mike Haertel has written a fast `malloc' which wastes
less memory than the old GNU `malloc'. The GNU regular-expression
functions (`regex') now mostly conform to the POSIX.2 standard. A manual
for the library (including the "system calls") is mostly written.
GNU `stdio' lets you define new kinds of streams, just by writing a few C
functions. The `fmemopen' function uses this to open a stream on a
string, which can grow as necessary. You can define your own `printf'
formats to use a C function you write; and there is a way to safely use
format strings from user input, for example to implement a `printf'-like
function for another programming language. Extended `getopt' functions
are already used to parse options, including long options, in many GNU
utilities.
Version 1.03 runs on Sun-3 & Sun-4 (SunOS 4.1) and HP 9000/300 (4.3 BSD).
Version 1.04 will include a complete port for MIPS DECstations (Ultrix
4.2), and improved support for the i386/i486 (System V & BSD).
* GNU Debugger
The GNU source-level C and C++ debugger, GDB, is now being distributed
along with the GNU C Compiler.
GDB Version 4.5 is in beta test. New machine ports include the IBM
RS/6000, AMD 29000, and Intel 960. Object files and symbol tables are now
read via a Binary File Descriptor library, which allows a single copy of
GDB to debug programs of multiple object file types such as `a.out' and
COFF. Other new features include improvements to the command language,
watchpoints (breakpoints triggered when the value of an expression
changes), exception handling (when used with GCC version 2) and support
for SunOS shared libraries and C++ multiple inheritance.
* JACAL
Aubrey Jaffer is preparing a new release of JACAL, a symbolic mathematics
system for the simplification and manipulation of equations and
single-and-multiple-valued algebraic expressions constructed of numbers,
variables, radicals, and algebraic functions, differential and finite
differential operators, and holonomic functions. In addition, vectors and
matrices of the above objects are included.
JACAL runs under either Common Lisp or Scheme. A version of Scheme (IEEE
P1178 and R4RS compliant) written in C comes with JACAL. It runs under
VMS, MS-DOS, Unix, and similar systems. Pre-release source is available
for anonymous FTP from `martigny.ai.mit.edu' under `/archive/scm' in
`jacal0-4.tar.Z' and `scm3c13.tar.Z'.
The FSF is not distributing JACAL on tape yet. To receive an IBM PC
floppy disk with the source and executable files, send $60.00 ($65.00 for
i386) to: Aubrey Jaffer, 84 Pleasant St., Wakefield MA 01880 USA.
* Ghostscript
The current version of Ghostscript is 2.4.1. Features include: the
ability to specify device resolution and output file (including piping)
from the command line; many new output devices and file formats, including
PBM/PGM/PPM, GIF, and PCX; many more Postscript Level 2 facilities;
improved character rendering; and incorporation of the standard Adobe font
metrics into the Ghostscript fonts.
Ghostscript 2.4.1 accepts commands in Postscript and executes them by
drawing on an X window, writing a file that you can print directly, or
writing directly to a printer. GNU volunteer Tim Theisen,
`ghostv...@cs.wisc.edu', has created a previewer for multi-page files,
called Ghostview, on top of Ghostscript.
Ghostscript includes a C-callable graphics library (for client programs
that do not want to deal with the Postscript language). It also supports
IBM PCs and compatibles with EGA, VGA, or SuperVGA graphics (but do not
ask the FSF staff any questions about this; we do not use PCs).
* groff
James Clark has completed `groff' (GNU `troff' and related programs).
Version 1.05 is now available (see "Contents of Utilities Tape"). `groff'
is written in C++. It can be compiled with GNU C++ Version 1.40.3 or
later.
Future bugs in `groff' will be fixed, but no new development is currently
planned. However, `groff' users are encouraged to continue to contribute
enhancements. Most needed are complete Texinfo documentation, a `grap'
emulation (a `pic' preprocessor for typesetting graphs), a page-makeup
postprocessor similar to `pm' (see `Computing Systems', Vol 2, No. 2), and
an ASCII output class for `pic' so that `pic' can be integrated with
Texinfo.
James would like to thank everybody who has contributed bug reports.
Please continue to send them to `bug-gr...@prep.ai.mit.edu'
* GNU Graphics
GNU Graphics is a set of programs which produce plots from ASCII or binary
data. It supports output to Tektronix 4010, Postscript, and the X Window
System or compatible devices.
A new version of GNU Graphics has begun alpha testing. Improvements
include: a revised manual; new features in `graph', `xplot' and `plot2ps';
support for output in ln03 and TekniCAD TDA file formats; a replacement
for the `spline' program; examples of shell scripts using `graph' and
`plot'; the addition of a statistics toolkit; and the use of `configure'
for installation.
Existing ports need retesting. Contact Rich Murphey, `...@rice.edu', if
you can help test/port it to anything other than a SPARCstation.
* Texinfo 2
The Texinfo 2 package includes an enhanced Texinfo mode for GNU Emacs, new
versions of the formatting utilities, and the second edition of the
`Texinfo Manual' (which is more complete than the first edition and
describes over 50 new commands). Texinfo mode now includes commands for
automatically creating and updating nodes and menus, a tedious task when
done by hand. New utilities include `makeinfo', a standalone formatter,
and `info', a standalone Info reader. Both are written in C and are
independent of GNU Emacs. Texinfo 2 is in late beta test.
A GNU Standard on Suns?
***********************
Sun Microsystems was one of the pioneers of so-called "open systems". They are
now leading the industry in a new way: they are the first major Unix
workstation vendor to announce that they will not ship a C compiler with their
Unix operating system. Other Unix workstation vendors have announced that they
will follow suit.
Sun's decision to remove their compiler has created a unique opportunity to
make GNU C the new standard C compiler for Sun workstations. Cygnus Support, in
cooperation with the Free Software Foundation and other free software
developers, has announced plans to port GNU C and other required software (GNU
`as', `gdb', and possibly `ld') to the Solaris platform.
Cygnus is looking for 150 subscribers, each of them to contribute $2000 (about
the cost of a compiler license from Sun for three CPUs), to fund the necessary
work. (Subscribers will also get commercial support for a year.) The results,
when completed, will be free software like the rest of the GNU system. Also,
$75,000 of the funds raised is to be donated to the FSF.
This is the first attempt to raise funds for free software development by
asking for users to subscribe in advance. For more info, contact Cygnus
Support at (415) 322-3811 or send mail to `solaris-compi...@cygnus.com'.
Andrew Toolkit Stays Free
*************************
The Andrew Toolkit is both an extensible, object-oriented toolkit for graphical
user interfaces and a package of applications. The most widely-used
application is the Andrew Message System (AMS). The Toolkit is distributed on
FSF's `optional' X Windows tape.
Not long ago, several people asked whether the Toolkit would stay free. It
will. The Andrew Toolkit Consortium plans to continue to make versions of the
Toolkit and the AMS freely usable and distributable. However, there is (as
there has always been) a catch: members of the Consortium get updates sooner
and more frequently than the rest of us. This provides Consortium members with
another incentive to continue as members.
GNU in Japan
************
Mieko, `h-mi...@sra.co.jp', and Nobuyuki Hikichi, `hiki...@sra.co.jp', continue
to work on the GNU Project in Japan. They translate GNU information, write
columns, request donations, and consult about GNU. They have translated
Version 1 of the GNU General Public License into Japanese.
Japanese versions of Emacs and Epoch are available. Both of them, `nemacs'
(Nihongo Emacs) and `nepoch' (Nihongo Epoch), are widely used in Japan.
Mule (the MULtilingual Enhancement of GNU Emacs) is a version of Emacs that can
handle many character sets at once. Eventually, the features it provides will
be merged into the FSF version of Emacs. Ken'ichi Handa, `ha...@etl.go.jp', is
beta testing MULE; you can FTP sources from `sh.wide.ad.jp:/JAPAN/mule' or
`etlport.etl.go.jp:/pub/mule'.
If you can, please order GNU software directly from the FSF; every 150 tape
orders allows FSF to hire a programmer for a year to create more free software.
Otherwise, many groups in Japan are distributing GNU software, including JUG (a
PC user group), Nikkei Business Publications and ASCII (publishers), and the
Fujitsu FM Towns users group. Anonymous UUCP is also now available in Japan;
for more information contact `...@dit.co.jp'. The FSF does not distribute
`nemacs' or `nepoch'.
The Village Center, Inc. has printed a Japanese translation of the `GNU Emacs
Lisp Reference Manual' and also uploaded the Texinfo source to various bulletin
boards. They are donating part of the revenue generated by distributing the
manual to FSF. Their address is: Kanda Amerex Bldg. 2F 1-16, 3-Chome,
Misaki-Cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101.
A group connected with the commercial personal computer network in Japan is
writing and distributing a copylefted hardware (circuit diagram) design and
associated software that uses a MIPS-architecture based CPU. The OS, called
`t2', is a subset of Unix using GCC and GDB as the system's compiler and
debugger.
GNU Software Support Company in Japan
-------------------------------------
People in Japan can now contact a company for GNU software support; the company
is named Wingnut (Fax only: +81-3-3954-5174). The organizers were inspired by
the GNU Manifesto. Wingnut will provide two services: porting and customizing
GNU software, and answering technical questions (including how to install the
software).
*"In computer science, we stand on each other's feet."*
-anonymous
GNU Documentation
*****************
GNU manuals are intended to explain the underlying concepts, describe how to
use all the features of each program, and give examples of command use. GNU
documentation is distributed as Texinfo source files, which yield both typeset
hardcopy and on-line hypertext-like presentation via the menu-driven Info
system. The manuals, provided with our software, are also available in
hardcopy; see the "FSF Order Form" inside the back cover.
The Emacs Manual describes the use of GNU Emacs. It also explains advanced
features, such as outline mode and regular expression search, and how to use
special modes for programming in languages like C and Lisp.
The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual covers the GNU Emacs Lisp programming language
in great depth, including data types, control structures, functions, macros,
syntax tables, searching and matching, modes, windows, keymaps, byte
compilation, markers, and the operating system interface.
The Emacs Calc Manual includes both a tutorial and a reference manual for Calc.
It describes how to do ordinary arithmetic, how to use Calc for algebra,
calculus, and other forms of mathematics, and how to extend Calc.
The Texinfo Manual explains the markup language used to generate both the
online Info documentation and hardcopies. It tells you how to make tables,
lists, chapters, nodes, indexes, cross references, how to use Texinfo mode in
GNU Emacs, and how to catch mistakes.
The GDB Manual explains how to use the GNU Debugger, including how to run your
program under debugger control, how to examine and alter data, how to modify
the flow of control within the program, and how to use GDB through GNU Emacs.
The GAWK Manual describes how to use the GNU implementation of `awk'. It is
written for someone who has never used `awk' and describes all the features of
this powerful string manipulation language.
The Bison Manual teaches how to write context-free grammars that convert into
C-coded parsers. You need no prior knowledge of parser generators.
The Make Manual describes GNU `make', a program used to rebuild parts of other
programs. The manual covers writing `makefile's, which specifies how a program
is to be compiled and its dependencies.
The Termcap Manual, often described as "Twice as much as you ever wanted to
know about Termcap," details the format of the `termcap' database, the
definitions of terminal capabilities, and the process of interrogating a
terminal description. This manual is primarily for programmers.
Project Gutenberg Looks for Volunteers
**************************************
Project Gutenberg encourages the creation and distribution of English language
electronic texts. Their goal is to provide a collection of 10,000 of the most
used books by 2001. They need a few volunteers to help find copyright
information about the books they wish to use as sources for electronic editions.
If you want to help with this (or in any other way), please contact Mary Brandt
Jensen at `mjen...@charlie.usd.EDU' or (605) 677-6363.
Project GNU Wish List
*********************
Wishes for this issue are for:
* Volunteers to distribute this Bulletin at trade shows and technical
conferences. Please call the phone number on the front cover to make
arrangements.
* Disk drives to give us more space to develop our software.
* One 386 or 486 PC-AT compatible with at least 200 meg of hard disk and an
Ethernet card.
* The following equipment:
* Sun QIC-150 cartridge tape drive.
* 300+ meg SCSI disk(s) for a Sun-3.
* 300+ meg SCSI disk(s) for a SONY News workstation.
* a floppy disk copying and verification machine.
* a 19" equipment rack.
* an Exabyte tape drive.
* Sun-3 workstations.
* Core memory for and a board to add a monochrome monitor alongside
a color monitor for a Sun-4/110 workstation.
* Hard disks for IBM RTs.
* Companies to lend us capable programmers and technical writers for at
least six months. True wizards may be welcome for shorter periods, but we
have found that six months is the minimum time for a good programmer to
finish a worthwhile project.
* Professors who might be interested in sponsoring or hosting research
assistants to do GNU development, with FSF support.
* Volunteers to help write programs and documentation. Send mail to
`...@prep.ai.mit.edu' for the task list and coding standards.
* Speech and character recognition software and systems (if the devices
aren't too weird), with the device drivers if possible. This would help
the productivity of a few partially disabled programmers we know.
* New quotes and ideas for articles in the GNU's Bulletin. We particularly
like to highlight organizations involved with free information exchange.
* Copies of newspaper and journal articles mentioning the GNU Project or GNU
software. Send these to the address on the front cover, or send a
citation to `...@prep.ai.mit.edu'.
* Money, as always. Please remember, donations are tax-deductible. With
the latest donations, we have been able to expand our staff again. With
the increased staff we have an even greater need for donations.
One way to give us a small amount of money is to order a distribution tape
or two. This may not count as a donation for tax purposes, but it can
qualify as a business expense.
Please Support Free Software
****************************
If you believe in free software and you want to make sure there is more in the
future--please support the efforts of the FSF with a donation!
Your tax-deductible donation will greatly help us reach our goals.
$500 $250 $100 $50 other $______
Foreign currency:______
Circle the amount you are donating, tear off this page, and send it with your
donation to:
Free Software Foundation, 675 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
How to Get GNU Software
***********************
All the software and publications from the Free Software Foundation are
distributed with permission to copy and redistribute. The easiest way to get
GNU software is to copy it from someone else who has it.
If you have Internet access, you can get the latest software via anonymous FTP
from the host `prep.ai.mit.edu' (the IP address is `18.71.0.38'). Get file
`/pub/gnu/GETTING.GNU.SOFTWARE' for more information.
If you cannot get the software one of these ways, or would like to contribute
some funds to our efforts and receive the latest versions, we distribute tapes
for a copying and distribution fee (see the "FSF Order Form").
There are also third party groups that distribute our software; they do not
work with us, but have our software in other forms. For your convenience we
list some of them here (also see "Free Software for Microcomputers"). Please
note that the Free Software Foundation is not affiliated with them in any way
and is not responsible for either the currency of their versions or the
swiftness of their responses.
These TCP/IP Internet sites provide GNU software via anonymous FTP (program:
`ftp', user: `anonymous', password: YOUR NAME, mode: `binary'):
archie.au, ftp.eu.net, wuarchive.wustl.edu, uxc.cso.uiuc.edu,
ftp.stacken.kth.se, sunic.sunet.se, isy.liu.se, ugle.unit.no,
ftp.win.tue.nl, ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de, ftp.diku.dk,
utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, labrea.stanford.edu, jaguar.cs.utah.edu,
cc.utah.edu (VMS GNU Emacs), ftp.eunet.ch, nic.funet.fi,
gatekeeper.dec.com, mango.rsmas.miami.edu (VMS GCC),
ftp.cs.titech.ac.jp, and ftp.uu.net (under `/packages/gnu').
Those on the SPAN network can ask rdss::corbet.
Those on JANET can look under `src.doc.ic.ac.uk:/gnu'.
You can get some GNU programs via UUCP. Ohio State University posts their UUCP
instructions regularly to newsgroup `comp.sources.d' on USENET. The following
people will send you information via electronic mail:
hao!scicom!qetzal!upba!ugn!nepa!denny, uunet!hutch!barber,
s...@contrib.de, j...@bigtex.cactus.org, acornrc!bob,
u...@cis.ohio-state.edu, and i...@ftp.uu.net
For those without Internet access, see the section entitled "Free Software
Support" for information on receiving electronic mail via UUCP.
GNU Software Available Now
**************************
We offer Unix software source distribution tapes in `tar' format on the
following media: 1600 bpi 9-track reel tape, 8mm Exabyte cartridges, Sun QIC-24
cartridges, Hewlett-Packard 16-track cartridges, and IBM RS/6000 1/4"
cartridges (an Emacs binary is also on the RS/6000 tape). We also offer VMS
tapes for GNU Emacs and the GNU C compiler that include sources and VMS
executables.
The contents of the various 9-track and cartridge tapes for Unix systems are
the same (except for the RS/6000 Emacs tape). Only the media are different
(see the "FSF Order Form"). Documentation comes in Texinfo format. The GNU
software tapes include both `texinfo.tex' and `texi2roff'.
Version numbers listed by program names were current at the time this Bulletin
was published. When you order a distribution tape, some of the programs might
be newer, and therefore the version number higher.
Contents of the Emacs Tape
--------------------------
The software on this release tape is considered fairly stable, but as always,
we welcome your bug reports. Some of the software that has been on this tape
in the past has moved to the Languages and Utilities tapes.
* GNU Emacs 18.58
In 1975, Richard Stallman developed the first Emacs, an extensible,
customizable real-time display editor. GNU Emacs is his second
implementation. It's the first Emacs for Unix systems that offers true
Lisp--smoothly integrated into the editor--for writing extensions, and
provides a special interface to MIT's X Window System. In addition to its
powerful native command set, extensions which emulate other popular
editors are distributed: vi, EDT (DEC VMS editor), and Gosling (aka
Unipress) Emacs. It is described by the `GNU Emacs Manual' and the `GNU
Emacs Lisp Reference Manual', which come with the software. A reference
card is available.
GNU Emacs 18.58 runs on many Unix systems: Alliant, Altos 3068, Amdahl
(UTS), Apollo, AT&T (3B machines & 7300 PC), Aviion, CCI 5/32 & 6/32,
Celerity, Convex, Digital (DECstation 3100 & 5000 (Pmaxes), VAX (BSD,
System V, or VMS)), Motorola Delta (System V/68 release 3), Dual, Elxsi
6400, Encore (DPC, APC, & XPC), Gould, HP (9000 series 200, 300, 700, &
800, but not series 500), HLH Orion 1/05, IBM (RT/PC (4.2 & AIX), PS/2
(AIX (386 only)) & RS/6000 (AIX)), Integrated Solutions (Optimum V with
68020 & VMEbus), Intel 80386 (BSD, Microport, System V, Xenix & PS/2 (for
MS-DOS see "Free Software for Microcomputers")), Iris (2500, 2500 Turbo, &
4D), LMI (Nu), Masscomp, MIPS, National Semiconductor 32000, NCR (Tower
32), Nixdorf Targon 31, Plexus, Prime EXL, Sequent (Balance & Symmetry),
SONY News, Stride (system release 2), all Suns (including 386i), Stardent
1500 & 3000, Tahoe, Tandem Integrity S2, Tektronix (NS32000 & 4300), Texas
Instruments (Nu), Titan P2 & P3, Ustation E30 (SS5E), & Whitechapel (MG1).
* GNU Calc 2.02
Calc (written by Dave Gillespie in Emacs Lisp) is an extensible, advanced
desk calculator and mathematical tool that runs as part of GNU Emacs. It
comes with the `Calc Manual', which serves as a tutorial and reference.
If you wish, you can use Calc only as a simple four-function calculator,
but it provides additional features including choice of algebraic or RPN
(stack-based) entry, logarithms, trigonometric and financial functions,
arbitrary precision, complex numbers, vectors, matrices, dates, times,
infinities, sets, algebraic simplification, differentiation, and
integration.
* MIT Scheme 7.0 and Yale T 3.1
Scheme is a simplified, lexically-scoped dialect of Lisp. It was designed
at MIT and other universities to teach students the art of programming and
to research new parallel programming constructs and compilation
techniques. MIT Scheme is written in C and the interpreter runs on many
Unix systems. It conforms to the "Revised^3 Report On the Algorithmic
Language Scheme" (MIT AI Lab Memo 848a), for which TeX source is included.
T is a variant of Scheme developed at Yale University; it is intended for
production use in program development. T contains a native-code
optimizing compiler that produces code that runs at speeds comparable to
the speeds of programs written in conventional languages. It runs on BSD
VAXen, 680x0 systems, SPARCs, and MIPS R2000 workstations (including the
DECstation 3100), & NS32000 machines (including the Encore Multimax). T
is written in itself and cannot be bootstrapped without a binary
(included), but it is great if you can use it. Some documentation is
included.
* Texinfo 2.14, `texi2roff' 2.0
Texinfo is a set of utilities that generate printed manuals and online
hypertext-style manuals (called `Info'). The late beta-test Texinfo 2
package contains enhancements to the current suite and a manual.
`texi2roff', written by Beverly Erlebacher, translates GNU Texinfo files
so that they can be printed by the `[gnt]roff' programs utilizing the
`-mm', `-ms', or `-me' macro packages. It is included on all Unix tapes
so people without TeX (but who have `[gnt]roff') can print out GNU
documentation.
* Data Compression Software
Some of the contents of our tape distribution are compressed, which is
currently indicated by a `.Z' suffix. We include software on the tapes to
compress/decompress these files. Due to patent troubles with `compress',
we will be switching to another compression algorithm--as soon as we find
one that is safe. The online distribution on `prep.ai.mit.edu' will be
changed first to give the new program a trial period. Each tape includes
the program that will uncompress the compressed files on it.
Contents of the Languages Tape
------------------------------
This tape contains programming language tools: compilers, interpreters, and
related programs (parsers, conversion programs, debuggers, etc.). Many of these
programs were on the Compiler tape, which no longer exists.
* GCC 1.40
The GNU C compiler is a fairly portable optimizing compiler which performs
automatic register allocation, common sub-expression elimination,
invariant code motion from loops, induction variable optimizations,
constant propagation and copy propagation, delayed popping of function
call arguments, tail recursion elimination, integration of inline
functions, and frame pointer elimination, plus many local optimizations
that are automatically deduced from the machine description.
GCC supports full ANSI C, traditional C, and the GNU C extensions. It
generates good code for the 32000, 680x0, 80386, Alliant, Convex, Tahoe &
VAX CPUs, and for these RISC CPUs: i860, Pyramid, SPARC, & SPUR. The MIPS
RISC CPU is also supported. Other supported systems include: 386 (AIX),
Alliant FX/8, Altos 3068, Apollo 68000/68020 (Aegis), AT&T 3B1, Convex C1
& C2, DECstation 3100 & 5000, DEC VAX, Encore MultiMax (NS32000), Genix
NS32000, Harris HCX-7 & HCX-9, HP-UX 68000/68020, HP (BSD), IBM PS/2
(AIX), Intel 386 (System V, Xenix, BSD, but not MS-DOS), Iris MIPS
machine, ISI 68000/68020, MIPS, NeXT, Pyramid, Sequent Balance (NS32000),
Sequent Symmetry (i386), SONY News, Sun (2, 3 (optionally with FPA), 4,
SPARCstation, & Sun-386i). See "Project GNU Status Report" for more
details.
A good programmer will be able to make a cross compiler on most of these
systems to cross-compile to most of these architectures. Most of the work
will be with the compiler support tools, not GCC itself.
The `GCC Manual' is included with the compiler. The manual (not yet on
our order form) describes how to run and install the GNU C compiler, and
how to port it to new processors. It describes new features and
incompatibilities of the compiler, but people not familiar with C will
also need a good book on the C programming language.
* G++ 1.40.3, `libg++' 1.39.0, and NIH Class Library 2.204a
G++ is a set of changes for GCC that compiles C++, the well-known
object-oriented language. As far as possible, G++ is kept compatible with
the evolving draft ANSI standard, but not with `cfront' (the AT&T
compiler), as `cfront' has been diverging from ANSI. G++ comes with the
`GNU G++ User's Guide' (not yet published on paper). G++ compiles source
quickly, provides good error messages, and works well with GDB. As G++
depends on GCC, it must be used with a specific numbered version of GCC.
The GNU C++ library, `libg'++, is an extensive, documented collection of
C++ classes and support tools for use with G++.
The NIH Class Library (formerly known as "OOPS", Object-Oriented Program
Support) is a portable collection of classes similar to those in
Smalltalk-80 that has been developed by Keith Gorlen of NIH, using the C++
programming language.
* GAS 1.38.1, binutils 1.9, `dld' 3.2.3, and COFF Support
The GNU assembler (GAS) is a fairly portable, one pass assembler that is
almost twice as fast as Unix `as' and works for 32x32, 680x0, 80386, SPARC
(Sun-4), and VAXen.
We have free versions of `ar', `gprof', `ld', `nm', `ranlib', `size', and
`strip'. The GNU linker `ld' is fast, and is the only linker with
source-line numbered error messages for multiply-defined symbols and
undefined references.
`dld' is a dynamic linker written by W. Wilson Ho. Linking your program
with the `dld' library allows you to dynamically load object files into
the running binary.
The entire suite of GNU software tools can be run on System V, replacing
COFF entirely. The GNU tools can operate on BSD object files with a COFF
header the System V kernel will accept. `robotussin' is supplied for
converting standard libraries to this format.
* `flex' 2.3.7 and Bison 1.18
`flex' is a mostly-compatible replacement for the Unix `lex' scanner
generator, written by Vern Paxson of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
`flex' generates far more efficient scanners than `lex' does.
Bison is an upwardly compatible replacement for the parser generator
`yacc', with additional features. The `Bison Manual' comes with the
software.
* `make' 3.62, GDB 3.5, and `indent' 1.2
GNU `make' has most of the features of the BSD and System V versions of
`make' as well as many of our own extensions, and complies with POSIX.2.
GNU extensions include parallelism, conditional execution, and text
manipulation. Version 3.62 of GNU `make' is fairly stable. The `Make
Manual' comes with the source.
GDB 3.5, the GNU debugger, runs under BSD 4.2/4.3 on VAXen and Suns (2, 3,
4, & SPARCstation), Altos, Convex, HP 9000/370 (BSD), HP 9000/320 (HP/UX),
System V 386 systems (with either GNU or native object file format), ISI
Optimum V, Merlin under Utek 2.1, SONY News, Gould NPL & PN machines,
Pyramid, Sequent Symmetry (a 386-based machine), and Encore MultiMax under
Umax 4.2.
GDB features incremental reading of symbol tables (for fast startup and
less memory use), command-line editing, interactive function calling in
the program being debugged, remote debugging over a serial line, a value
history, and user-defined commands. It can be used to debug C, C++, and
Fortran programs. The `GDB Manual' includes a reference card.
`indent' is the GNU-modified version of the freely-redistributable BSD
program. It formats C source according to GNU coding standards by
default, though the original default and other formats are available as
options.
* GAWK 2.13.2, Smalltalk 1.1.1, and `perl' 4.019
GAWK is upwardly compatible with the System V Release 4 version of `awk'.
The `GAWK Manual' comes with the software.
GNU Smalltalk is an interpreted object-oriented programming language
system written in portable C. Features include an incremental garbage
collector, a binary image save capability, the ability to invoke
user-written C code and pass parameters to it, a GNU Emacs editing mode,
optional byte-code compilation tracing and byte-code execution tracing,
and automatically loaded per-user initialization files.
Larry Wall has written a fast interpreter named `perl', which combines the
features of `sed', `awk', `sh', and C. It has all of the capabilities of
the these programs, as well interfaces to many system calls and C library
routines (including the TCP/IP socket-manipulation facilities).
* `gperf' 2.1, `ae', and `f2c' 3.2.90
`gperf' is a "perfect" hash-table generation utility. There are actually
two versions of `gperf', one written in C and one in C++. Both will
produce hash functions in either C or C++.
`ae' works with GCC to produce more complete profiling information.
`f2c' converts Fortran--77 source files into C or C++.
* `gdbm' 1.5 and `gmp' 1.2
The `gdbm' library is the GNU replacement for the standard `dbm' and
`ndbm' libraries. `gdbm' supports both styles but does not need sparse
database formats (unlike its Unix counterparts).
GNU MP (`gmp') is a library for arbitrary precision arithmetic, operating
on signed integers and rational numbers. It has a rich set of functions,
all with a regular interface.
* `texi2roff' 2.0 and Texinfo 2.14
These packages are the same as the ones on the Emacs tape.
Contents of the Utilities Tape
------------------------------
This tape includes the programs written by the GNU Project (as well as some
third-party software) that are not on the other two tapes. For the most part,
they consist of smaller utilities and miscellaneous applications. As usual,
bug reports are welcome. Many of these programs were on the old Emacs tape and
the now defunct Compiler tape.
* BASH 1.12, `groff' 1.05, and `gptx' 0.2
The GNU Shell, BASH (for Bourne Again SHell), is compatible with the Unix
`sh' and offers many extensions found in `csh' and `ksh'. BASH has job
control, `csh'-style command history, and command-line editing (with Emacs
and `vi' modes built-in and the ability to rebind keys). BASH should
compile on most systems.
`groff' is a document formatting system, which includes implementations of
`troff', `pic', `eqn', `tbl', `refer', the `-man', `-ms', and `-mm'
macros, as well as drivers for Postscript, TeX dvi format, and
typewriter-like devices. Also included is a modified version of the
Berkeley `-me' macros and an enhanced version of the `X11' `xditview'
previewer.
`gptx' is the GNU version of `ptx', a permuted index generator. Among
other things, it can produce readable "KWIC" (KeyWords In their Context)
without the need of `nroff', and there is an option to produce
TeX-compatible output.
* `tar' 1.10 and `cpio' 1.5
GNU `tar' includes multivolume support, the ability to archive sparse
files, automatic archive compression/decompression, remote archives, and
special features to allow `tar' to be used for incremental and full
backups.
`cpio' is an alternative archive format to `tar'.
* `diff' 1.15, `grep'/`egrep' 1.5, `fgrep' 1.1, and `patch' 2.0.12u6
The `diff' and `[ef]grep' programs are GNU's versions of the Unix programs
of the same name. They are much faster than the traditional Unix
versions. `patch' is Larry Wall's program to take `diff''s output and
apply those differences to an original file to generate the patched
version.
* RCS 5.6 and CVS 1.3
The Revision Control System, RCS, is used for version control and
management of software projects. When used with GNU `diff', later
versions of RCS can handle binary files (executables, object files, 8-bit
data, etc). The Concurrent Version System, CVS, manages software revision
and release control in a multi-developer, multi-directory, multi-group
environment. It works best on top of RCS Versions 4 and above, but will
parse older RCS formats with the loss of CVS's fancier features. See
Berliner, Brian, "CVS-II: Parallelizing Software Development,"
`Proceedings of the Winter 1990 USENIX Association Conference.'
* `find' 3.5, fileutils 3.2, shellutils 1.6, and textutils 1.3
`find' is used frequently both interactively and in shell scripts to find
files that match certain criteria and perform arbitrary operations on them.
The "fileutils" are file manipulation utilities: `chgrp', `chmod', `chown',
`cp', `dd', `df', `du', `install', `ln', `ls', `mkdir', `mkfifo', `mknod',
`mv', `mvdir', `rm', `rmdir', and `touch'. The "shellutils" are small
commands used on the command line or in shell scripts: `basename', `date',
`dirname', `env', `expr', `groups', `id', `logname', `nice', `nohup',
`pathchk', `printenv', `printf', `sleep', `stty', `tee', `test', `tty',
`uname', `whoami', and `yes'. The "textutils" programs manipulate textual
data: `cat', `cmp', `comm', `csplit', `cut', `expand', `fold', `head',
`join', `nl', `paste', `pr', `sort', `split', `sum', `tac', `tail', `tr',
`unexpand', `uniq', and `wc'.
* Ghostscript 2.4.1, Ghostview 1.3, fontutils 0.4, and `gnuplot' 3.1
Ghostscript is GNU's graphics language that is almost fully compatible
with Postscript (see "Project GNU Status Report"). Ghostview provides an
X11 user interface for the Ghostscript interpreter. Ghostview and
Ghostscript function as two cooperating programs, Ghostview creates the
viewing window and Ghostscript draws in it.
The "fontutils" can create fonts for use with Ghostscript or TeX, starting
with a scanned type image and converting the bitmaps to outlines. They
also contain general conversion programs and other utilities.
`gnuplot' is an interactive program for plotting mathematical expressions
and data. Oddly enough, the program was neither written nor named for the
GNU Project, the name is a coincidence.
* `m4' 1.0, `sed' 1.08, and `bc' 1.02
GNU `m4' is an implementation of the traditional Unix macro processor and
is mostly System V Release 4 compatible, although it has some extensions
(for example, it handles more than 9 positional parameters to macros).
`m4' also has built-in functions for including files, running shell
commands, doing arithmetic, etc.
`sed' is a stream-oriented version of `ed', used to manipulate text.
`bc' is an interactive algebraic language with arbitrary precision. GNU
`bc' was implemented from the POSIX P1003.2 draft standard, but it has
several extensions including multi-character variable names, an `else'
statement, and full Boolean expressions.
* `elvis' 1.5, `screen' 2.1c, and `less' 177
`elvis' is a clone of the `vi'/`ex' Unix editor. It supports nearly all
of the `vi'/`ex' commands in both visual and line mode. `elvis' runs
under BSD, System V, Xenix, Minix, MS-DOS, and Atari TOS. It should be
easy to port to many other systems.
`screen' is a terminal multiplexor that allows you to handle several
independent "screens" (ttys) on a single physical terminal. Each virtual
terminal emulates a DEC VT100 plus several ANSI X3.64 and ISO 2022
functions.
`less' is a paginator similar to `more' and `pg' but with various features
(such as the ability to scroll backwards) that most pagers lack.
* `time' 1.3, `tput' 1.0, and Termcap 1.0
`time' is used to report statistics (usually from a shell) about the
amount of user, system, and real time used by a process.
`tput' is a portable way to allow shell scripts to use special terminal
capabilities. It uses the `termcap' database, rather than the usual
`terminfo'.
The GNU Termcap library is a drop-in replacement for `libtermcap.a' on any
system. It does not place an arbitrary limit on the size of `termcap'
entries, unlike most other `termcap' libraries. Included is extensive
documentation in Texinfo format.
* MandelSpawn 0.06, GNU Chess 3.1, NetHack 3.0, and GnuGo 1.1
MandelSpawn is a parallel Mandelbrot program for the MIT X Window System.
GNU Chess has text and X display interfaces. NetHack is a
display-oriented adventure game similar to Rogue. GnuGo plays the game of
Go (Wei-Chi); it is not yet very sophisticated.
* `texi2roff' 2.0, Texinfo 2.14, and `make' 3.62
`texi2roff' and Texinfo are the same as the ones on the Emacs tape.
`make' is the same as the one on the Languages tape.
Contents of the Experimental Tape
---------------------------------
This tape includes software that is currently in beta test and is available for
people who are feeling adventurous. Some of the software already has released
versions on the distribution tapes. This tape is being offered for a limited
time; as the programs become stable, they will replace older versions on other
tapes. Please send bug reports to the appropriate addresses (listed on the
tape in the notes for each program).
* GCC 2.1
New features in GCC Version 2 include instruction scheduling, loop
unrolling, filling of delay slots, leaf function optimization, optimized
multiplication by constants, and a certain amount of common subexpression
elimination (CSE) between basic blocks. (Not all of the supported machine
descriptions provide for scheduling or delay slots.) Function-wide CSE has
been written, but needs to be cleaned up before it can be installed.
Position-independent code is supported on the 88000 and SPARC, and soon
perhaps on the 680x0.
GCC 2 can also open-code most arithmetic on 64-bit values (type `long long
int'). It can generate code for most of the same machines as Version 1,
plus the IBM PC/RT, the IBM RS/6000, the Motorola 88000, the Acorn RISC
machine, the AMD 29000 and the HP-PA (700 or 800). Ports for the IBM 370,
the Intel 960, and the NCUBE are on their way. Version 2 can generate
`a.out', COFF, Elf, and OSF/Rose files when used with a suitable
assembler. GCC 2 can produce debugging information in several formats:
BSD stabs, COFF, ECOFF, ECOFF with stabs symbols, and Dwarf.
Not all of the Version 1 machine descriptions have been updated yet; some
do not work, and others need work to take full advantage of instruction
scheduling and delay slots. The old machine descriptions for the Pyramid,
Alliant, Tahoe, and Spur (as well as a new port for the Tron) do not work,
but are still included in the distribution in case you want to work on
them.
In GCC 2, using the new configuration scheme, building a cross-compiler is
as easy as building a compiler for the same target machine. GCC 2 also
supports more general calling conventions; it can pass arguments "by
reference" and can preallocate stack space arguments. On the SPARC it
uses the standard conventions for structure arguments, but structure
return values are still a problem. With luck, this too will be fixed soon.
Version 2 of the compiler supports three languages: Objective-C, C++, and
C; the source file name selects the language. (The front end support for
Objective-C was donated by NeXT.) The runtime support needed to run
Objective-C programs is mostly working, but not available yet.
C has been extended to support nested functions, nonlocal gotos, and
taking the address of a label.
* GDB 4.5
GDB 4 contains many new features since 3.5 (the version currently on the
release tapes). They include remote debugging over serial lines or
TCP/IP; watchpoints; more readable output and a simplified command
interface; support of more binary formats (using BFD); limited debugging
of C++ (when using GCC 2); preliminary support for Modula-2 debugging (for
the compiler being developed at the State University of New York at
Buffalo, others will not work); and the ability to debug programs and core
files that use SunOS shared libraries.
GDB 4 can perform cross-debugging. To say that GDB 4 *targets* a platform
means that it can perform native or cross-debugging for it. To say that
GDB 4 can *host* a given platform means that it can be built on it, but
cannot necessarily debug native programs. GDB 4 can:
* *target* and *host*: Amiga 3000 (Amix), DECstation 3100 & 5000, HP
9000/370 (BSD), IBM RS/6000 (AIX), Motorola Delta 88000 (System V),
NCR 3000 (SVR4), SGI Iris (MIPS running Irix V3 or V4), SONY News
(NEWSOS 3.x), Sun-3, Sun-4, & Ultracomputer (29K running Sym1).
* *target*, but not *host*: i960 Nindy & AMD 29000 (COFF or `a.out').
* *host*, but not *target*: Intel 386 (Mach) & IBM RT/PC.
In addition, GDB 4 can understand the symbol tables emitted by the
compilers supplied by most vendors of MIPS-based machines, including DEC.
(These symbol tables are in a format which essentially nobody else uses.)
Debugging of G++ remains a problem, and GDB 4 won't work for any version
of G++ 1 at all.
* BFD
The BFD (Binary File Descriptor) Library from Cygnus Software is a set of
routines to make handling different object file formats more transparent
to programs using them. Some GNU software is in the process of being
converted to use it. BFD comes with documentation.
* GNU C Library 1.03
The library is ANSI C and POSIX.1 compliant and has most of the functions
specified in POSIX.2 draft 11.2. It is upward compatible with the 4.4 BSD
C library and includes many System V functions, plus GNU extensions.
The C library works on HP 9000 series 300s running 4.3 BSD and Sun-3 or
Sun-4 systems running SunOS 4.1. Someone has built it successfully for an
i860 cross-development environment. Porting is not hard.
* libg++ 2.0
This is the GNU C++ library for GCC Version 2 (see "Contents of Languages
Tape" for more info regarding libg++). The latest version tries to
automatically configure itself, thus working out of the box on many hosts.
The iostream facility has been improved.
* GNU Graphics 0.17
See "Project GNU Status Report" for details.
Contents of the X11 Tapes
-------------------------
The two X11 tapes contain Version 11, Release 5 of the MIT X Window System.
The first FSF tape contains all the core software, documentation, and some
contributed clients. FSF refers to its first tape as the `required' X tape
since it is necessary for running X or running GNU Emacs under X. The second,
`optional,' FSF tape contains contributed libraries and other toolkits, the
Andrew software, games, and other programs.
Berkeley Networking 2 Tape
--------------------------
The Berkeley "Net2" release contains the second 4.3 BSD distribution and is
newer than both 4.3BSD-Tahoe and 4.3BSD-Reno. It includes nearly the entire
BSD software system except for a few utilities, some parts of the kernel, and
some library routines which your own C library is likely to provide. This
release contains much more software than the older releases, including third
party software like Kerberos and some GNU software (for example, GCC, now the
standard BSD compiler). Except for kernel sources, the GNU Project has
replacements on other tapes for many of the missing programs.
VMS Emacs and Compiler Tapes
----------------------------
We offer two VMS tapes. One has just the GNU Emacs editor. The second
contains the GNU C compiler, Bison (needed to compile GCC), `gas' (needed to
assemble GCC's output), and some library and include files. We are not aware of
a GDB port for VMS. Both VMS tapes have executables from which you can
bootstrap, since the DEC VMS C compiler has bugs and cannot compile GCC.
Please do not ask us to devote effort to VMS support, because it is peripheral
to the GNU Project.
Free Software for Microcomputers
********************************
We do not provide support for GNU software on microcomputers because it is
peripheral to the GNU Project. However, we are willing to publish information
about groups who do so. If you are aware of any such efforts, please send the
details, including postal addresses, archive sites, and mailing lists, to
`...@prep.ai.mit.edu' or to the postal address on the front cover.
Please do not ask the Free Software Foundation about this microcomputer
software. FSF does not maintain it, and has no more information about it.
* GNU Software not on Apple computers
In lawsuits, Apple claims the power to stop people from writing any
program that has a user interface that works even vaguely like the
Macintosh's. If Apple triumphs in the courts, it will create for itself a
new power over the public that will enable it to put an end to free
software. So long as Apple continues to try to establish this kind of
monopoly, we will not provide any support or software for Apple machines.
* Boston Computer Society
The BCS has thousands of shareware and free programs for microcomputers,
including some GNU programs. Contact them to see what is available for
your machine:
Boston Computer Society
1 Kendall Square, Bldg 1400
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
Phone: (617) 252-0600
* GNU Software on the Amiga
Get Amiga ports of many GNU programs via anonymous FTP from:
`karazm.math.uh.edu' in `/pub/Amiga/Gnu' (USA), `titan.ksc.nasa.gov' in
`/pub/amiga' (USA), and `ftp.funet.fi' in `/pub/amiga/gnu' (Europe).
For info on (or offers to help with) the GCC port and related projects,
ask Leonard Norrgard, `vin...@nic.funet.fi'. For info on the GNU Emacs
port, ask Mark D. Henning, `henn...@stolaf.edu'. Get more info via
anonymous FTP in `prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/MicrosPorts/Amiga'.
* GNU Software for Atari TOS and Atari Minix
You can obtain Atari ports from `atari.archive.umich.edu' using anonymous
FTP. Howard Chu, `...@hanauma.jpl.nasa.gov', maintains the archive.
Ports are discussed on USENET in `comp.sys.atari.st.tech' &
`comp.sys.atari.st'. In order to get this group via e-mail, please ask
`info-atari16-requ...@score.stanford.edu'.
* GNU C/C++ 2.1 for OS/2 2.0
Michael Johnson has completed a new, completely stand-alone port of the
GNU C/C++ Version 2.1 compiler for OS/2 2.0. The distribution contains
C/C++ compilers, the GNU assembler, the BSD C library and an OS/2-specific
library, and documentation. It is available via anonymous FTP from
`hobbes.nmsu.edu' in the directory `/pub/os2/2.0/gnu/gcc21'.
Send a message to `os2gcc-requ...@charon.mit.edu' to be placed on a
mailing list for discussion about this system.
* Linux: a free Unix system for 386 machines
Linux (named after its author, Linus Torvalds) is a free Unix clone which
implements a subset of System V and POSIX functionality. Linux has been
written from scratch and does not contain any proprietary code in the
kernel. A large number of the utilities and libraries are GNU software.
Linux runs only on 386/486 AT-bus machines, and porting to non-Intel
architectures is likely to be difficult as the kernel makes extensive use
of 386 memory management and task primitives. Linux is freely
distributable and available via anonymous FTP: `tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux'
(USA), and `nic.funet.fi:/pub/OS/Linux' (Europe).
There is a newsgroup, `comp.os.linux', for discussions about Linux. Ask
`linux-activists-requ...@niksula.hut.fi' regarding the mailing lists.
* Free 386 BSD
Experienced hackers may be interested in the alpha test version of a 386
port of BSD Unix by William F. Jolitz et al. This kernel is free of AT&T
code and is freely redistributable. You can obtain more information from
`so...@reyes.stanford.edu'. Note that this early version is not reliable,
and has trouble booting on some systems.
* DJGPP, the GNU C/C++ compiler for MS-DOS
D. J. Delorie has ported GCC/G++ to the 386 MS-DOS platform. The compiler
and programs it generates run in 32-bit mode with full virtual memory
support. DJGPP is available via FTP from `barnacle.erc.clarkson.edu' in
`/pub/msdos/djgpp'. You can subscribe to a mailing list on DJGPP by
sending your e-mail address to `djgpp-requ...@sun.soe.clarkson.edu'.
* Demacs, GNU Emacs for MS-DOS
Manabu Higashida and Hirano Satoshi have released Demacs, a GNU Emacs port
for 386/486 MS-DOS. Version 1.2.0 is the first post-beta release. Demacs
provides several DOS-specific features: support for binary or text file
translation, "8bit clean" display mode, 80x86 software interrupt calls via
a `int86' Lisp function, machine-specific features such as function key
support, file name completion with drive name, child processes
(`suspend-emacs', and `call-process'). Dired mode works without `ls.exe'.
Anonymous FTP it from: `wuarchive.wustl.edu' in `/mirrors/msdos/demacs'
(US), `utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp' in `/GNU/demacs' (Japan),
`rana.cc.deakin.oz.au' in `/pub/PC/oak/demacs' (Pacific), and
`ftp.funet.fi' in `/pub/gnu/emacs/demacs' (Europe).
* Freemacs, an Extensible Editor for MS-DOS
Russ Nelson, `nel...@crynwr.com', has written a small programmable editor
that is somewhat compatible with GNU Emacs and will run on most MS-DOS
systems, including 8088 machines. It is so compatible that Freemacs users
can use the `GNU Emacs Manual' as a reference for it.
Anonymous FTP it from `emacs16a.zip' (under `PD1:') from
`wsmr-simtel20.army.mil'; or send $15 (copying fee) to:
Russ Nelson
11 Grant St.
Potsdam, NY 13676
USA
Phone: (315) 268-1925 (Fax: 9201)
Specify floppy format: `5.25"/360K'; or `3.50"/720K.'
* GNU Software on MS-DOS
Russ Nelson has ports for many GNU programs for MS-DOS available on floppy
disk. Contact him at the above address for more information.
In addition, contact `info-gnu-msdos-requ...@sun.soe.clarkson.edu' for
info on ports of GNU programs to MS-DOS and related mailing lists. More
information is in `/pub/gnu/MicrosPorts/MSDOS' and `MSDOS.gcc', obtainable
via anonymous FTP on `prep.ai.mit.edu'.
Thank GNUs
**********
Thanks to all those mentioned above in "GNUs Flashes", "Project GNU Status
Report", "GNU in Japan", and "GNU Software Available Now".
Thanks to the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Laboratory for
Computer Science at MIT for their invaluable assistance of many kinds.
Thanks to Village Center, Inc., ASCII Corporation, and the Japan Unix Society,
all of Japan, for their continued donations and support, and thanks to the
anonymous GNU users in Japan for their gifts.
Thanks again to the Open Software Foundation for their continued support.
Thanks to the Technical University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
Thanks to the University of Massachusetts at Boston (especially Rick Martin) for
allowing Karl Berry and Kathryn Hargreaves to use their computers.
Thanks to Chris Thyberg and Carnegie-Mellon University for supporting Tom Lord.
Thanks to Jim Mochel for his help with MS-DOS.
Thanks to Chet Ramey for his continuing work on improving BASH.
Thanks to Lucid, Inc. for the loan of an X terminal and for their support of
Joe Arceneaux.
Thanks to Carol Botteron for proofreading and other assistance, and to Mieko
and Nobuyuki Hikichi for their invaluable help raising both funds and
consciousness in Japan.
Thanks to Cygnus Support for continuing to improve various programs and
assisting the GNU Project in other ways.
Thanks go out to all those who have either lent or donated machines, including
Hewlett-Packard for two 80486 computers, and six 68030 and four Spectrum
workstations; Brewster Kahle of Thinking Machines Corp. for the Sun-4/110;
Doug Blewett of AT&T Bell Labs for two Convergent Miniframes; CMU's Mach
Project for the Sun-3/60; Intel Corp. for their 386 machine; NeXT for their
workstation; the MIT Media Laboratory for the Hewlett-Packard 68020; SONY Corp.
and Software Research Associates, Inc., both of Tokyo, for three SONY News
workstations; IBM Corp. for an RS/6000 computer; the MIT Laboratory of Computer
Science for the DEC MicroVAX; the Open Software Foundation for the Compaq 386;
Delta Microsystems for an Exabyte tape drive; an anonymous donor for 5 IBM RT
computers; Liant Software Corp. for five VT100s; Jerry Peek for a 386 machine;
NCD Corporation for an X terminal; and Interleaf, Inc., Veronika Caslavsky,
Paul English, Cindy Woolworth, and Lisa Bergen for the loan of a scanner.
Thanks to all those who have contributed ports and extensions, as well as those
who have contributed other source code, documentation, and good bug reports.
Thanks to those who sent money and offered help. Thanks also to those who
support us by ordering manuals and distribution tapes.
The creation of this bulletin is our way of thanking all who have expressed
interest in what we are doing.
Free Software Foundation Order Form
***********************************
This order form is effective 1 July 1992 - 31 January 1993
Prices and contents may change without notice.
Please allow six weeks for delivery (though it won't usually take that long).
All software and publications are distributed with permission to copy and to
redistribute.
Texinfo source for each manual is on the appropriate tape. The prices for
tapes do not include printed manuals.
All software and documentation from the Free Software Foundation is provided
on an "as is" basis, with no warranty of any kind.
QUANTITY PRICE ITEM See "GNU Software Available Now" for a description of
the contents of the tapes.
For Unix systems, on 1600 bpi reel-to-reel 9-track 1/2" tape in Unix tar format
(tape contents described above):
________ $200 GNU Emacs Tape
________ $200 GNU Languages Tape
________ $200 GNU Experimental Tape
________ $200 GNU Utilities Tape
________ $200 BSD Net2 Tape
________ $200 X11R5 Required Tape
________ $200 X11R5 Optional Tape
For Suns and some other Unix Systems, on QIC-24 DC300XLP 1/4 inch
cartridge tape, Unix tar format (tape contents described above):
________ $210 GNU Emacs Tape
________ $210 GNU Languages Tape
________ $210 GNU Experimental Tape
________ $210 GNU Utilities Tape
________ $210 BSD Net2 Tape
________ $210 X11R5 Required Tape
________ $210 X11R5 Optional Tape
For some Unix Systems, on Exabyte 8mm cartridge tape, Unix tar format
(tape contents described above):
________ $205 GNU Emacs Tape
________ $205 GNU Languages Tape
________ $205 GNU Experimental Tape
________ $205 GNU Utilities Tape
________ $205 BSD Net2 Tape
________ $205 X11R5 Required Tape
________ $205 X11R5 Optional Tape
For HP Systems, on 16-track DC600HC 1/4 inch cartridge tape, Unix tar format
(tape contents described above):
________ $230 GNU Emacs Tape
________ $230 GNU Languages Tape
________ $230 GNU Experimental Tape
________ $230 GNU Utilities Tape
________ $230 BSD Net2 Tape
________ $230 X11R5 Required Tape
________ $230 X11R5 Optional Tape
For IBM RS/6000 Systems, on DC600A 1/4 inch cartridge tape Unix tar format
(tape contents described above) (the GNU Languages Tape is not yet available
for the RS/6000):
________ $215 GNU Emacs Tape, plus executable files of Emacs
________ $215 GNU Experimental Tape
________ $215 GNU Utilities Tape
________ $215 BSD Net2 Tape
________ $215 X11R5 Required Tape
________ $215 X11R5 Optional Tape
For VMS systems, on 1600 bpi reel-to-reel 9-track 1/2" tape in VMS BACKUP (aka
interchange format):
________ $195 GNU Emacs source code and binaries. None of the other
software on the GNU Emacs Tape, described above, is included.
________ $195 GNU C compiler source code and binaries. Includes Bison and
GAS. None of the other software on the GNU Languages Tape,
described above, is included.
The following manuals are all bound to lie open, flat on a table:
________ $20 GNU Emacs manual, unit price for 1 to 5 copies.
~280 pages with a reference card, phototypeset and
offset printed.
________ $13 GNU Emacs manuals, unit price for 6 or more.
________ $50 A single GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual, ~600 pages in two
volumes, offset printed, spiral bound.
________ $200 A box of 5 GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manuals.
________ $50 Calc Manual, ~590 pages. Calc is an extensible, advanced desk
calculator and mathematical tool that runs under GNU Emacs.
________ $15 GDB Manual, ~170 pages, with a reference card.
________ $15 Texinfo Manual, ~220 pages. Texinfo is GNU's structured
documentation system, included with GNU Emacs. Texinfo is
used to produce both on-line and printed documents. This
manual describes how to write Texinfo documents.
________ $10 Termcap Manual, ~60 pages. Documents the termcap library and
GNU's extensions to it. The GNU termcap library is included
with GNU Emacs.
________ $10 Bison Manual, ~100 pages.
________ $15 Gawk Manual, ~200 pages.
________ $15 Make Manual, ~120 pages.
The following reference cards:
________ $1 One GNU Emacs reference card, without the manual.
________ $5 Packet of ten GNU Emacs reference cards.
________ $1 One GDB reference card, without the manual.
________ $5 Packet of ten GDB reference cards.
________ Subtotal
--------
________ In Massachusetts: add 5% sales tax, or give tax exempt number.
We pay for shipping via UPS ground transportation in the contiguous 48 states
and Canada.
________ In Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico, for shipping:
- For Emacs Lisp Reference and Emacs Calc manuals, add $5 each,
or $20 per box. For all other items, add $5 base charge,
then $1 per item except reference cards.
________ If outside of U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, for shipping costs:
- for tapes or unboxed manuals, please add $15 base
charge, and then add $15 more for each tape or unboxed
manual (not reference cards) in the order:
Shipping cost for tapes and unboxed manuals = $15 + $15 * n;
- for each box of Emacs Lisp Reference manuals,
please add $70.
________ Optional tax deductible donation.
________ Total paid
--------
Orders are filled upon receipt of check or money order. We do not have the
staff to handle the billing of unpaid orders. Please help keep our lives
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Please make checks payable to: "Free Software Foundation".
Please mail orders to:
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This Order Form is EFFECTIVE 1 July 1992 - 31 January 1993
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Free Software Foundation, Inc. | stamp |
675 Massachusetts Avenue | |
Cambridge, MA 02139 | here |
USA | |
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enjoy -len
PS: By the way, what do you think of look-and-feel lawsuits?