Mercurial > emacs
annotate etc/tasks.texi @ 17929:12851b631f87
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author | Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org> |
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date | Fri, 23 May 1997 04:56:15 +0000 |
parents | 7833700e2a35 |
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5119 | 1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- |
2 @c %**start of header | |
3 @setfilename tasks.info | |
4 @settitle GNU Task List | |
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5 @c UPDATE THIS DATE WHENEVER YOU MAKE CHANGES! |
17824 | 6 @set lastupdate 15 May 1997 |
5119 | 7 @c %**end of header |
8 | |
9 @setchapternewpage off | |
10 | |
11 @titlepage | |
12 @title GNU Task List | |
5120 | 13 @author Free Software Foundation |
5119 | 14 @author last updated @value{lastupdate} |
15 @end titlepage | |
16 | |
17 @ifinfo | |
15866 | 18 @node Top, Preface, (dir), (dir) |
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19 @top GNU Task List |
5119 | 20 |
5120 | 21 This file is updated automatically from @file{tasks.texi}, which was |
22 last updated on @value{lastupdate}. | |
5119 | 23 @end ifinfo |
24 | |
25 @menu | |
15866 | 26 * Preface:: |
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27 * Documentation:: |
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28 * Unix-Related Projects:: |
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29 * Kernel Projects:: |
5120 | 30 * Extensions:: |
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31 * X Windows Projects:: |
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32 * Other Projects:: |
5120 | 33 * Compilers:: |
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34 * Games and Recreations:: |
5119 | 35 @end menu |
36 | |
15866 | 37 @node Preface, Documentation, Top, Top |
38 @chapter About the GNU Task List | |
39 | |
40 Check with @code{gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu}, for a possibly more current | |
41 copy. You can also ftp it from a GNU FTP host in directory | |
42 @file{/pub/gnu/tasks} - These files in different formats are available: | |
43 @file{tasks.text}, @file{tasks.texi}, @file{tasks.info}, and | |
44 @file{tasks.dvi}. It is also available on the GNU World Wide Web | |
45 server: @file{http://www.gnu.ai.mit.edu}. | |
46 | |
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47 If you start working steadily on a project, please let @code{gnu@@prep} |
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48 know. We might have information that could help you; we'd also like to |
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49 send you the GNU coding standards. |
5119 | 50 |
15866 | 51 Because of the natural tendency for most volunteers to write programming |
52 tools or programming languages, we have a comparative shortage of | |
53 applications useful for non-programmer users. Therefore, we ask you to | |
54 consider writing such a program. | |
5119 | 55 |
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56 Typically, a new program that does a completely new job advances |
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57 the GNU project, and the free software community, more than an |
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58 improvement to an existing program. |
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59 |
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60 Typically, new features or new programs advance the free software |
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61 community more, in the long run, than porting existing programs. One |
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62 reason is that portable new features and programs benefit people on many |
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63 platforms, not just one. At the same time, there tend to be many |
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64 volunteers for porting---so your help will be more valuable in other |
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65 areas, where volunteers are more scarce. |
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66 |
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67 Typically, it is more useful to extend a program in functionality than |
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68 to improve performance. Users who use the new functionality will |
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69 appreciate it very much, if they use it; but even when they benefit from |
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70 a performance improvement, they may not consider it very important. |
5119 | 71 |
5120 | 72 @node Documentation |
5119 | 73 @chapter Documentation |
74 | |
75 We very urgently need documentation for some parts of the system | |
76 that already exist or will exist very soon: | |
77 | |
78 @itemize @bullet | |
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79 @item |
15866 | 80 Completion of the documentation for CC-mode, a new Emacs mode for |
81 C, C++ and other languages. | |
5119 | 82 |
83 @item | |
15866 | 84 A C reference manual. (RMS made a try at one, which you could start |
85 with). | |
5119 | 86 |
87 @item | |
88 A manual for Ghostscript. | |
15866 | 89 |
90 | |
91 @item | |
92 A manual for TCSH. | |
5119 | 93 |
94 @item | |
95 A manual for PIC (the graphics formatting language). | |
96 | |
97 @item | |
98 A manual for Oleo. | |
99 | |
100 @item | |
101 A book on how GCC works and why various machine descriptions | |
102 are written as they are. | |
103 | |
104 @item | |
105 A manual for programming X-window applications. | |
106 | |
107 @item | |
108 Manuals for various X window managers. | |
109 | |
110 @item | |
14803 | 111 Reference cards for those manuals that don't have them: C |
15866 | 112 Compiler, Make, Texinfo, Termcap, and maybe the C Library. |
5119 | 113 |
114 @item | |
14803 | 115 Many utilities need documentation, including @code{grep} and others. |
5119 | 116 @end itemize |
117 | |
5120 | 118 @node Unix-Related Projects |
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119 @chapter Unix-Related Projects |
5119 | 120 |
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121 @itemize @bullet |
5119 | 122 @item |
123 An improved version of the POSIX utility @code{pax}. There is one on | |
15866 | 124 Usenet, but it is said to be poorly written. Talk with |
17909 | 125 @code{thomas@@gnu.ai.mit.edu} about this project. |
5119 | 126 |
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127 @ignore |
5119 | 128 @item |
129 Modify the GNU @code{dc} program to use the math routines of GNU | |
130 @code{bc}. | |
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131 @end ignore |
5119 | 132 |
133 @item | |
134 A @code{grap} preprocessor program for @code{troff}. | |
135 | |
136 @item | |
137 Various other libraries. | |
138 | |
139 @item | |
140 An emulation of SCCS that works using RCS. | |
15866 | 141 |
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142 @item |
15866 | 143 Less urgent: @code{diction}, @code{explain}, and @code{style}, or |
144 something to do the same kind of job. Compatibility with Unix is not | |
145 especially important for these programs. | |
5119 | 146 @end itemize |
147 | |
5120 | 148 @node Kernel Projects |
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149 @chapter Kernel-Related Projects |
5119 | 150 |
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151 @itemize @bullet |
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152 @item |
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153 An over-the-ethernet debugger stub that will allow the kernel to be |
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154 debugged from GDB running on another machine. |
5119 | 155 |
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156 This stub needs its own self-contained implementation of all protocols |
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157 to be used, since the GNU system will use user processes to implement |
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158 all but the lowest levels, and the stub won't be able to use those |
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159 processes. If a simple self-contained implementation of IP and TCP is |
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160 impractical, it might be necessary to design a new, simple protocol |
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161 based directly on ethernet. It's not crucial to support high speed or |
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162 communicating across gateways. |
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163 |
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164 It might be possible to use the Mach ethernet driver code, but it would |
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165 need some changes. |
5119 | 166 |
167 @item | |
168 A shared memory X11 server to run under MACH is very desirable. The | |
169 machine specific parts should be kept well separated. | |
15866 | 170 |
171 @item | |
172 An implementation of CIFS, the ``Common Internet File System,'' for the | |
173 HURD. This protocol is an offshoot of SMB. | |
5119 | 174 @end itemize |
175 | |
5120 | 176 @node Extensions |
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177 @chapter Extensions to Existing GNU Software |
5119 | 178 |
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179 @itemize @bullet |
5119 | 180 @item |
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181 Enhance GCC. See files @file{PROJECTS} and @file{PROBLEMS} in the GCC |
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182 distribution. |
5119 | 183 |
184 @item | |
17824 | 185 Interface GDB to Guile, so that users can write debugging commands in |
186 Scheme. This would also make it possible to write, in Scheme, a | |
187 graphical interface that uses Tk and is tightly integrated into GDB. | |
188 | |
189 @item | |
16935 | 190 Rewrite GNU @code{sed} completely, to make it cleaner. |
5119 | 191 |
192 @item | |
16935 | 193 Rewrite Automake and Deja-GNU in Scheme, so they can run in Guile. |
194 Right now they are written in Perl and TCL, respectively. There are | |
195 also other programs, not terribly long, which we would also like | |
196 to have rewritten in Scheme. | |
197 | |
198 @item | |
199 Finish the partially-implemented C interpreter project. | |
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200 |
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201 @item |
11225 | 202 Help with the development of GNUStep, a GNU implementation of the |
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203 OpenStep specification. |
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204 |
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205 @item |
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206 Add features to GNU Make to record the precise rule with which each file |
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207 was last recompiled; then recompile any file if its rule in the makefile |
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208 has changed. |
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209 |
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210 @item |
5119 | 211 Add a few features to GNU @code{diff}, such as handling large input |
212 files without reading entire files into core. | |
213 | |
214 @item | |
215 An @code{nroff} macro package to simplify @code{texi2roff}. | |
216 | |
217 @item | |
218 A queueing system for the mailer Smail that groups pending work by | |
219 destination rather than by original message. This makes it possible | |
220 to schedule retries coherently for each destination. Talk to | |
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221 @code{tron@@veritas.com} about this. |
5119 | 222 |
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223 Smail also needs a new chief maintainer. |
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224 |
5119 | 225 @item |
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226 Enhanced cross-reference browsing tools. (We now have something at |
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227 about the level of @code{cxref}.) We also could use something like |
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228 @code{ctrace}. (Some people are now working on this project.) |
5119 | 229 @end itemize |
230 | |
5120 | 231 @node X Windows Projects |
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232 @chapter X Windows Projects |
5119 | 233 |
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234 @itemize @bullet |
5119 | 235 @item |
236 An emulator for Macintosh graphics calls on top of X Windows. | |
237 | |
238 @item | |
239 A music playing and editing system. | |
240 | |
241 @item | |
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242 High-quality music compression software. |
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243 (Talk with phr@@netcom.com for relevant suggestions.) |
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244 |
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245 @item |
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246 A program to play sound distributed in ``Real Audio'' format. |
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247 |
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248 @item |
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249 A program to generate ``Real Audio'' format from audio input. |
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250 |
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251 @item |
5119 | 252 A program to edit dance notation (such as labanotation) and display |
253 dancers moving on the screen. | |
254 | |
255 @item | |
9836 | 256 Port the Vibrant toolkit to work on X without using Motif. |
257 | |
258 @item | |
5119 | 259 A program to display and edit Hypercard stacks. |
260 | |
261 @item | |
262 A paint program, supporting both bitmap-oriented operations and | |
263 component-oriented operations. @code{xpaint} exists, but isn't very | |
264 usable. | |
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265 |
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266 @item |
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267 A vector-based drawing program in the spirit of Adobe Illustrator |
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268 and Corel Draw. |
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269 |
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270 @item |
15866 | 271 An interactive 3D modeling utility with rendering/raytracing capabilities. |
272 | |
273 @item | |
274 A program for graphic morphing of scanned photographs. | |
5119 | 275 @end itemize |
276 | |
5120 | 277 @node Other Projects |
278 @chapter Other Projects | |
5119 | 279 |
280 If you think of others that should be added, please | |
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281 send them to @code{gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu}. |
5119 | 282 |
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283 @itemize @bullet |
5119 | 284 @item |
15866 | 285 A free program for public-key encryption. |
286 | |
287 This program should use the Diffie-Helman algorithm for public key | |
288 encryption, not the RSA algorithm, because the Diffie-Helman patent in | |
289 the US will expire in 1997. It should use triple-DES, not IDEA, for | |
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290 block encryption, because IDEA is patented in many countries and the |
15866 | 291 patents will not expire soon. In other respects, it should be like PGP. |
292 | |
293 This program needs to be written by someone who is not a US citizen, | |
294 outside the US, to avoid problems with US export control law. | |
295 | |
296 Many people believe that PGP is free software, but that is not actually | |
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297 true. The distribution terms do not allow everyone to use and |
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298 redistribute it. We used to think that these restrictions had been |
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299 imposed by the patent holders for the RSA and IDEA algorithms, and that |
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300 PGP could be free software if these algorithms were replaced by |
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301 alternatives. But we have since learned that the owners of PGP are |
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302 themselves unwilling to make it free software. Writing a new program is |
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303 the only way to get free software for this job. |
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304 |
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305 @item |
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306 A free secure telnet program more or less like ssh/sshd. Since this |
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307 requires a public key encryption algorithm, it is closely related to the |
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308 preceding item. |
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309 |
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310 This program should follow the draft standard for ssh. As always, it |
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311 cannot implement the RSA algorithm, but must instead support the |
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312 alternatives that will be patent-free in late 1997. It cannot support |
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313 IDEA, but can use triple-DES and some other alternatives. |
15866 | 314 |
315 @item | |
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316 Free software for doing secure commercial transactions on the web. |
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317 This too needs public key encryption. |
5119 | 318 |
319 @item | |
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320 A free program that does the same job as Kermit. Actual compatibility |
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321 with Kermit is not necessary, and you could make the job easier by using |
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322 @code{sz} and @code{rz} to do the actual file transfer. |
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323 |
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324 @item |
5119 | 325 An imitation of Page Maker or Ventura Publisher. |
326 | |
327 @item | |
328 An imitation of @code{dbase2} or @code{dbase3} (How dbased!) | |
329 | |
330 @item | |
331 A bulletin board system. There are a few free ones, but they don't have | |
332 all the features that people want in such systems. It would make sense | |
333 to start with an existing one and add the other features. | |
334 | |
335 @item | |
15866 | 336 A general ledger program, including support for accounts payable, |
337 account receivables, payroll, inventory control, order processing, etc. | |
338 | |
339 @item | |
340 A teleconferencing program which does the job of CU-SeeMe (which is, | |
341 alas, not free software). | |
5119 | 342 |
343 @item | |
344 A program to typeset C code for printing. | |
14803 | 345 For ideas on what to do, see the book, |
5119 | 346 |
347 @display | |
348 Human Factors and Typography for More Readable Programs, | |
349 Ronald M. Baecker and Aaron Marcus, | |
350 Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-10745-7 | |
351 @end display | |
352 | |
353 (I don't quite agree with a few of the details they propose.) | |
354 | |
355 @item | |
356 Speech-generation programs (there is a program from Brown U that you | |
357 could improve). | |
358 | |
359 @item | |
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360 Speech-recognition programs (single-speaker, disconnected speech is sufficient). |
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361 |
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362 @item |
16935 | 363 More scientific mathematical subroutines. |
364 (A clone of SPSS is being written already.) | |
5119 | 365 |
366 @item | |
367 Statistical tools. | |
368 | |
369 @item | |
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370 A scientific data collection and processing tool, |
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371 perhaps something like Scientific Workbench and/or Khoros, |
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372 |
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373 @item |
5119 | 374 Software to replace card catalogues in libraries. |
375 | |
376 @item | |
377 Grammar and style checking programs. | |
378 | |
379 @item | |
14803 | 380 An implementation of the S language (an interpreted language used for |
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381 statistics). |
5119 | 382 |
383 @item | |
384 A translator from Scheme to C. | |
385 | |
386 @item | |
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387 A fast emulator for the i386 which works by translating |
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388 machine instructions into the machine language of the host machine. |
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389 (Support for emulation of other machines would enhance the program |
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390 but might make it much more difficult.) |
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391 |
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392 @item |
5119 | 393 Optical character recognition programs; especially if suitable for |
394 scanning documents with multiple fonts and capturing font info as well | |
14803 | 395 as character codes. Work is being done on this, but more help is needed. |
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396 |
5119 | 397 @item |
398 A program to scan a line drawing and convert it to Postscript. | |
399 | |
400 @item | |
401 A program to recognize handwriting. | |
402 | |
403 @item | |
404 A pen based interface. | |
405 | |
406 @item | |
407 CAD software, such as a vague imitation of Autocad. | |
408 @end itemize | |
409 | |
5120 | 410 @node Compilers |
411 @chapter Compilers for Other Batch Languages | |
5119 | 412 |
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413 Volunteers are needed to write parsers/front ends for languages such as |
15866 | 414 Algol 60, Algol 68, PL/I, Cobol, Fortran 90, or whatever, to be used |
415 with the code generation phases of the GNU C compiler. (C, C++, and | |
416 Objective-C are done; Fortran 77 is mostly done; Ada, Pascal, and Java | |
417 are being worked on.) | |
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418 |
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419 @c Fortran status is here so gnu@prep and the volunteer coordinators |
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420 @c don't have to answer the question -len |
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421 You can get the status of the Fortran front end with this command: |
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422 |
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423 @example |
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424 finger -l fortran@@gnu.ai.mit.edu |
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425 @end example |
5119 | 426 |
5120 | 427 @node Games and Recreations |
428 @chapter Games and Recreations | |
5119 | 429 |
15866 | 430 Video-oriented games that work with the X window system. |
431 | |
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432 @itemize @bullet |
5119 | 433 @item |
15866 | 434 A Doom-compatible display game engine, for running the many free |
435 levels people have written for Doom. | |
5119 | 436 |
437 @item | |
438 Empire (there is a free version but it needs upgrading) | |
439 | |
440 @item | |
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441 An ``empire builder'' system that makes it easy to write various kinds of |
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442 simulation games. |
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443 |
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444 @item |
15866 | 445 Improve GnuGo, which is not yet very sophisticated. |
446 | |
447 @item | |
5119 | 448 Imitations of popular video games: |
449 | |
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450 @itemize - |
5119 | 451 @item |
452 Space war, Asteroids, Pong, Columns. | |
453 @item | |
454 Defending cities from missiles. | |
455 @item | |
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456 Plane shoots at lots of other planes, tanks, etc. |
5119 | 457 @item |
458 Wizard fights fanciful monster. | |
459 @item | |
460 A golf game. | |
461 @item | |
462 Program a robot by sticking building blocks together, | |
463 then watch it explore a world. | |
464 @item | |
465 Biomorph evolution (as in Scientific American). | |
466 @item | |
467 A program to display effects of moving at relativistic speeds. | |
468 @end itemize | |
469 | |
470 @item | |
471 Intriguing screen-saver programs to make interesting pictures. | |
472 Other such programs that are simply entertaining to watch. | |
473 For example, an aquarium. | |
474 @end itemize | |
475 | |
476 We do not need @code{rogue}, as we have @code{hack}. | |
477 | |
478 @contents | |
479 | |
480 @bye |