view GETTING.GNU.SOFTWARE @ 32835:001414add3a5

Now there is a column formatting mechanism. Modified to customization mechanisms convention. Doc fix. (columns): New group for delim-col. (delimit-columns-before, delimit-columns-after) (delimit-columns-format, delimit-columns-extra, delimit-columns-start) (delimit-columns-end): New vars. (delimit-columns-customize, delimit-columns-format): New funs. (delimit-columns-region, delimit-columns-rectangle) (delimit-columns-rectangle-line): Modified to support column formatting.

-*- text -*-
		  Getting GNU Software, 14 May 94
Copyright (C) 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994 Free Software Foundation, Inc.


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* GNU and the Free Software Foundation

Project GNU is organized as part of the Free Software Foundation, Inc.
The Free Software Foundation has the following goals: 1) to create GNU
as a full development/operating system.  2) to distribute GNU and
other useful software with source code and permission to copy and
redistribute.

Further information on the rationale for GNU is in file
`/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/GNU' (all files referred to are on the Internet host
prep.ai.mit.edu).

Information on GNU Internet mailing lists and gnUSENET newsgroups can
be found in `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/MAILINGLISTS'.

* How To Get The Software

The easiest way to get a copy of the distribution is from someone else
who has it.  You need not ask for permission to do so, or tell any one
else; just copy it.  The second easiest is to ftp it over the
Internet.  The third easiest way is to uucp it.  Ftp and uucp
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If you cannot get a copy any of these ways, or if you would feel more
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`/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/ORDERS'.

* What format are the *.gz files in?

Because the unix `compress' utility is patented (by two separate
patents, in fact), we cannot use it; it's not free software.

Therefore, the GNU Project has chosen a new compression utility,
`gzip', which is free of any known software patents and which tends to
compress better anyway.  As of March 1993, all compressed files in the
GNU anonymous FTP area, `prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu', have been
converted to the new format.  Files compressed with this new
compression program end in `.gz' (as opposed to `compress'-compressed
files, which end in `.Z').

Gzip can uncompress `compress'-compressed files and `pack'-compressed
files (which end in `.z').  This is possible because the various
decompression algorithms are not patented---only compression is.

The gzip program is available from any GNU mirror site (see
`/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/FTP' for a list of mirror sites) in shar, tar, or
gzipped tar format (for those who already have a prior version of gzip
and want faster data transmission).  It works on virtually every unix
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* Available Software

** GNU Emacs

The GNU Emacs distribution includes: 	
	- manual source in TeX format.
	- an enhanced regex (regular expression) library.

See files `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/MACHINES*' for the status of porting Emacs
to various machines and operating systems.

** C Scheme - a block structured dialect of LISP.

The Free Software Foundation distributes C Scheme for the MIT Scheme
Project on its Scheme tapes.  The full ftp distribution can be gotten
via anonymous FTP from altdorf.ai.mit.edu in directory /archive.

Problems with the C Scheme distribution and its ftp distribution
should be referred to: <[e-mail]>.  There are
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** Other GNU Software

A full list of available software are in `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/ORDERS' and
`/pub/gnu/DESCRIPTIONS'.

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* If You Like The Software

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