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author | Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org> |
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date | Tue, 14 Mar 2000 21:16:36 +0000 |
parents | 8ec2e5b1bed4 |
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\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- @c %**start of header @setfilename tasks.info @settitle GNU Task List @c This date is automagically updated when you save this file: @set lastupdate November 1, 1999 @c %**end of header @setchapternewpage off @titlepage @title GNU Task List @author Free Software Foundation @author last updated @value{lastupdate} @end titlepage @ifinfo @node Top, Intro, (dir), (dir) @top GNU Task List This file is updated automatically from @file{tasks.texi}, which was last updated on @value{lastupdate}. See also @uref{http://www.gnu.org/help/help.html#helpgnu} for other suggested tasks. @end ifinfo @menu * Intro:: * Highest Priority:: * Documentation:: * Unix-Related Projects:: * Kernel Projects:: * Extensions:: * X Windows Projects:: * Network Projects:: * Encryption Projects:: * Other Projects:: * Languages:: * Games and Recreations:: @end menu @node Intro, Highest Priority, Top, Top @chapter About the GNU Task List If you did not obtain this file directly from the GNU project and recently, please check for a newer version. You can ftp the task list from any GNU FTP host in directory @file{/pub/gnu/tasks/}. The task list is available there in several different formats: @file{tasks.text}, @file{tasks.texi}, @file{tasks.info}, and @file{tasks.dvi}. The GNU HURD task list is also there in file @file{tasks.hurd}. @c to fix an overfill, join the paragraphs -len The task list is also available on the GNU World Wide Web server: @uref{http://www.gnu.org/prep/tasks_toc.html}. If you start working steadily on a project, please let @email{gvc@@gnu.org} know. We might have information that could help you; we'd also like to send you the GNU coding standards. Because of the natural tendency for most volunteers to write programming tools or programming languages, we have a comparative shortage of applications useful for non-programmer users. Therefore, we ask you to consider writing such a program. Typically, a new program that does a completely new job advances the GNU project, and the free software community, more than an improvement to an existing program. Typically, new features or new programs advance the free software community more, in the long run, than porting existing programs. One reason is that portable new features and programs benefit people on many platforms, not just one. At the same time, there tend to be many volunteers for porting---so your help will be more valuable in other areas, where volunteers are more scarce. Typically, it is more useful to extend a program in functionality than to improve performance. Users who use the new functionality will appreciate it very much, if they use it; but even when they benefit from a performance improvement, they may not consider it very important. @node Highest Priority, Documentation, Intro, Top @chapter Highest Priority This task list mentions a large number of tasks that would be more or less useful. With luck, at least one of them will inspire you to start writing. It's better for you to work on any task that inspires you than not write free software at all. But if you would like to work on what we need most, here is a list of high priority projects. @itemize @bullet @item If you are good at writing documentation, please do that. @item If you are very good at C programming and interested in kernels, you can help develop the GNU HURD, the kernel for the GNU system. Please have a look at @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/hurd.html}, and then get a copy of the latest HURD task list from: @itemize @bullet @item @uref{http://www.gnu.org/prep/tasks.hurd.html}, via the World Wide Web. @item @uref{ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/tasks/tasks.hurd}, via anonymous FTP. @item @email{gnu@@gnu.org} via e-mail. @end itemize @item If you are a Scheme fan, you can help develop Guile. Please have a look at the URL @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/guile/guile.html} and then contact the Guile developers at @email{guile@@gnu.org}. @item A package to convert programs written using MS Access into Scheme, making use of a free data base system and the GTK toolkit. @ignore @item Help develop XmHTML. See @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~ripley/XmHTML/}. @end ignore @item Help develop software to emulate Windows NT on top of GNU systems. For example, you could help work on Willows Twin. See @uref{http://www.willows.com/}. @ignore The Kermit developers say they will provide a free program to do this. @item Implement the Kermit data transfer protocol. (See below.) @end ignore @ignore This is being done (Harmony) @item Develop a free compatible replacement for Qt, a GUI toolkit library. Qt is not free software, because users are prohibited from distributing modified versions. Thus, Qt cannot be included in a free operating system (adding it would make the system as a whole non-free). But some developers are writing free applications that use Qt and cannot run without it. These programs, although free software, are useless for free operating systems because there is no way to make them run. This is leading to a serious problem, and a free replacement for Qt is the only solution. Hence the high degree of urgency of this project. @end ignore @item Develop a substitute, which runs on GNU systems, for some very popular or very important application that many non-programmers use on Windows, and which has no comparable free equivalent now. @end itemize @node Documentation, Unix-Related Projects, Highest Priority, Top @chapter Documentation We very urgently need documentation for many existing parts of the system. Note that there are proprietary manuals for many of these topics, but proprietary manuals do not count, for the same reason proprietary software does not count: we are not free to copy and modify them. We do not recommend any non-free materials as documentation. @itemize @bullet @item A manual for libstdc++. @item A unified manual for La@TeX{}. (Existing documentation is non-free.) @item A manual for Docbook SGML format. @item A tutorial introduction to Midnight Commander. @item A thorough manual for RCS. @item A reference manual for Mach. @item A reference manual for the GNU Hurd features in GNU libc. @item A manual for writing Hurd servers. @item A manual for GNU sed. @item Reference manuals for C++, Objective C, Pascal, Fortran 77, and Java. @item A tutorial manual for the C++ STL (standard template library). @item A tutorial manual for Gforth. @item GNU Objective-C Runtime Library Manual; this would be a reference manual for the runtime library functions, structures, and classes. Some work has been done on this job. @item Manuals for GNUstep: developer tutorial, developer programming manual, developer reference manual, and user manual. @item A manual for Ghostscript. @item A manual for TCSH. @item A coherent free reference manual for Perl. Most of the Perl on-line reference documentation can be used as a starting point, but work is needed to weld them together into a coherent manual. @item A good free Perl language tutorial introduction. The existing Perl introductions are published with restrictions on copying and modification, so that they cannot be part of a GNU system. @item A manual for PIC (the graphics formatting language). @item A book on how GCC works and why various machine descriptions are written as they are. @item A manual for programming applications for X11. @item Manuals for various X window managers. @item Reference cards for those manuals that don't have them: C Compiler, Make, Texinfo, Termcap, and maybe the C Library. @item Many utilities need documentation, including @code{grep} and others. @end itemize @node Unix-Related Projects, Kernel Projects, Documentation, Top @chapter Unix-Related Projects @itemize @bullet @ignore @item Modify the GNU @code{dc} program to use the math routines of GNU @code{bc}. @end ignore @item Less urgent: make a replacement for the ``writer's workbench'' program @code{style}, or something to do the same kind of job. Compatibility with Unix is not especially important for this program. @end itemize @node Kernel Projects, Extensions, Unix-Related Projects, Top @chapter Kernel-Related Projects @itemize @bullet @item An over-the-ethernet debugger stub that will allow the kernel to be debugged from GDB running on another machine. This stub needs its own self-contained implementation of all protocols to be used, since the GNU system will use user processes to implement all but the lowest levels, and the stub won't be able to use those processes. If a simple self-contained implementation of IP and TCP is impractical, it might be necessary to design a new, simple protocol based directly on ethernet. It's not crucial to support high speed or communicating across gateways. It might be possible to use the Mach ethernet driver code, but it would need some changes. @item A shared memory X11 server to run under MACH is very desirable. The machine specific parts should be kept well separated. @item An implementation of CIFS, the ``Common Internet File System,'' for the HURD. This protocol is an offshoot of SMB. @item Support (in Linux?) for dumping the non-textual contents of an SVGA console. @end itemize @node Extensions, X Windows Projects, Kernel Projects, Top @chapter Extensions to Existing GNU Software @itemize @bullet @item Enhance GCC. See files @file{PROJECTS} and @file{PROBLEMS} in the GCC distribution. @item Interface GDB to Guile, so that users can write debugging commands in Scheme. This would also make it possible to write, in Scheme, a graphical interface that uses GTK and is tightly integrated into GDB. @item Extend Octave to support programs that were written to run on Khoros. @item Rewrite Automake in Scheme, so it can run in Guile. Right now it is written in Perl. There are also other programs, not terribly long, which we would also like to have rewritten in Scheme. @item Finish the partially-implemented C interpreter project. @item Help with the development of GNUstep, a GNU implementation of the OpenStep specification. @item Add features to GNU Make to record the precise rule with which each file was last recompiled; then recompile any file if its rule in the makefile has changed. @item Add a few features to GNU @code{diff}, such as handling large input files without reading entire files into core. @item An @code{nroff} macro package to simplify @code{texi2roff}. @item A queueing system for the mailer Smail that groups pending work by destination rather than by original message. This makes it possible to schedule retries coherently for each destination. Talk to @email{tron@@veritas.com} about this. Smail also needs a new chief maintainer. @item Enhanced cross-reference browsing tools. (We now have something at about the level of @code{cxref}.) We also could use something like @code{ctrace}. (Some people are now working on this project.) @end itemize @node X Windows Projects, Network Projects, Extensions, Top @chapter X Windows Projects @itemize @bullet @item An emulator for Macintosh graphics calls on top of X Windows. @item A package that emulates the API of Visual C++, but operates on top of X11. It need not match the screen appearance of Visual C++. Instead, it would be best to use GTK, so as to give coherence with GNOME. @item A compatible replacement for Visual Basic, running on top of X11. It need not match the screen appearance of Visual C++. Instead, it would be best to use GTK, so as to give coherence with GNOME. @item A music playing and editing system. This should work with LilyPond, a GNU program for music typesetting. @item An ear-training program for students of music. @ignore @c GNUskies should do this @item An ephemeris program to replace xephem (which is, alas, too restricted to qualify as free software). @end ignore @item A program to edit dance notation (such as labanotation) and display dancers moving on the screen. @item Make sure the Vibrant toolkit works with LessTif instead of Motif. @item A program to display and edit Hypercard stacks. @item A two-dimensional outliner program, which lets you draw graph structures of textual items, and then display them in various ways. @item A program for graphic morphing of scanned photographs. @item Software for designing and printing business cards. @end itemize @node Network Projects, Encryption Projects, X Windows Projects, Top @chapter Network Projects @itemize @bullet @ignore @c www.openh323.org is doing this. Craig Southeren <craigs@equival.com.au> @item A teleconferencing program which does the job of CU-SeeMe (which is, alas, not free software). @end ignore @ignore @c Bishop Bettini <bishop@synxcti.com> is working on this. @item A free ICQ-compatible server program. (The ICQ server itself is not free software.) @end ignore @end itemize @node Encryption Projects, Other Projects, Network Projects, Top @chapter Encryption Projects These projects need to be written outside the US by people who are not US citizens, to avoid problems with US export control law. @itemize @bullet @item A free library for public-key encryption. This library should use the Diffie-Helman algorithm for public key encryption, not the RSA algorithm, because the Diffie-Helman patent in the US expired in 1997. This library can probably be developed from the code for the GNU Privacy Guard (now in development). @item An implementation of SSLv3 (more precisely, TLSv1) which is patent-free (uses the non-RSA algorithms) and has distribution terms compatible with the GNU GPL. We know of a GPL-covered implemention of a version of SSL that you can use as a starting point. @item Free software for doing secure commercial transactions on the web. This too needs public key encryption. @end itemize The projects to provide free replacements for PGP and SSH are no longer listed here, because projects to do those jobs are well under way. @node Other Projects, Languages, Encryption Projects, Top @chapter Other Projects If you think of others that should be added, please send them to @email{gnu@@gnu.org}. @itemize @bullet @ignore OpenBIOS is doing this @item A simple PC BIOS. On most new PCs, the BIOS is stored in writable memory (misleadingly known as ``flash ROM''). In order to have a wholly free system on these PCs, we need a free BIOS. This task is made simpler by the fact that this BIOS need only support enough features to enable a boot-loader such as LILO or GRUB to finish loading the kernel. Neither Linux nor Mach actually uses the BIOS once it starts up. Also, it is not absolutely necessary to do all the many diagnostics that an ordinary BIOS does (though it would be useful to do some of them). However, there may be a need to configure certain data in the computer in a way that is specific to each model of computer. @end ignore @ignore Frank Cruz promises a free version @item A free program that can transfer files on a serial line using the same protocol that Kermit uses. @end ignore @item An imitation of Page Maker or Ventura Publisher. @item An imitation of @code{dbase2} or @code{dbase3}. (How dbased!) @uref{http://www.startech.keller.tx.us/xbase/xbase.html} may contain some useful stuff to start with. @ignore @c being done by Jonas etc. @item A general ledger program, including support for accounts payable, account receivables, payroll, inventory control, order processing, etc. @end ignore @item A free replacement for Glimpse, which is not free software. @item Software for desktop publishing. We are extending Emacs into a WYSIWYG word processor, to handle primarily linear text; what this item proposes is software focused on page layout. @ignore It looks like TruePrint will fill this gap @item A program to typeset C code for printing, to make it easier to read on paper. For ideas on what to do, see the book, @display Human Factors and Typography for More Readable Programs, Ronald M. Baecker and Aaron Marcus, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-10745-7 @end display But you don't have to do exactly what they propose. @end ignore @ignore @c This is now being worked on -- rms, 22 June 1998 @item A program to convert Microsoft Word documents to text/enriched, TeX, LaTeX, Texinfo, or some other format that free software can edit. @end ignore @ignore @c People are helping the developer of siff release it as free software. @item A free replacement for siff (sometimes called sif). This would be a program to find similar files in a large file system, ``similar'' meaning that the files contain a significant number of common substrings that are of a certain size or greater. You can find some information about siff (which is, unfortunately, not free software) at @uref{ftp://ftp.cs.arizona.edu/reports/1993/TR93-33.ps.Z}. @end ignore @ignore @c This is being developed -- rms, 3 May 1998 @item A free replacement for the semi-free Qt library. @end ignore @item High-quality music compression software. (Talk with @email{phr@@netcom.com} for relevant suggestions.) Unfortunately we cannot implement the popular MP3 format due to patents, so this job includes working out some other non-patented format and compression method. @item A program to play sound distributed in ``Real Audio'' format. @item A program to generate ``Real Audio'' format from audio input. @item Programs to handle audio in RTSP format. @ignore @c Software patents have made this domain off limits to free software. @item An MPEG III audio encoder/decoder (but it is necessary to check, first, whether patents make this impossible). @c Chris Hofstader is working on this. @item Speech-generation programs (there is a program from Brown U that you could improve). @c We have a project now. @item Speech-recognition programs (single-speaker, disconnected speech is sufficient). @end ignore @item A braille translation and formatting system which can convert marked up documents into braille. This should let the user customize the braille translation rules; it would be good to divide it into a device-independent part plus drivers. Contact Jason White, @email{jasonw@@ariel.ucs.unimelb.EDU.AU}. @ignore Being done @item A program to display text word by word, always showing just one word at a time. This method permits much faster reading than ordinary text display. If you want to work on this, contact @email{stutz@@dsl.org} to learn more. @end ignore @item More scientific mathematical subroutines. (A clone of SPSS is being written already.) @item Statistical tools. @item A scientific data collection and processing tool, perhaps something like Scientific Workbench and/or Khoros, @item A program to calculate properties of molecules by solving the Schroedinger equation. @item Software to replace card catalogues in libraries. @item A simulator for heating and air conditioning systems for buildings. @item A package for editing genealogical records conveniently. This could perhaps be done as a Gnome program, or perhaps as an Emacs extension. @item A project-scheduling package that accepts a list of project sub-tasks with their interdependencies, and generates Gantt charts and Pert charts and all the other standard project progress reports. @item Grammar and style checking programs. @item A diagnostic program to test a hard disk. @item A fast emulator for the i386, which would make it possible to emulate x86 code on other CPUs, and also to more easily debug kernels such as Linux more conveniently. To make this faster, it could work by translating machine instructions into the machine language of the host machine. @item Optical character recognition programs; especially if suitable for scanning documents with multiple fonts and capturing font info as well as character codes. Work is being done on this, but more help is needed. @item A program to scan a line drawing and convert it to Postscript. @item A program to recognize handwriting. @item A pen based interface. @item CAD software, such as a vague imitation of Autocad. @item A program to receive data from a serial-line tap to facilitate the reverse-engineering of communication protocols. @end itemize @node Languages, Games and Recreations, Other Projects, Top @chapter Programming Languages Volunteers are needed to write parsers/front ends for languages such as Algol 60, Algol 68, PL/I, Cobol, Fortran 90, Delphi, Modula 2, Modula 3, RPG, and any other languages designed for compilation, to be used with the code generation phases of the GNU C compiler. @c Fortran status is here so gnu@gnu.org and the volunteer coordinators @c don't have to answer the question -len You can get the status of the Fortran front end with this command: @example finger -l fortran@@gnu.org @end example We would like to have translators from various languages into Scheme. These languages include TCL, Python, Perl, Java, Javascript, and Rexx. We would like to have an implementation of Clipper, perhaps a GCC front end, and perhaps a translator into Scheme. @node Games and Recreations, , Languages, Top @chapter Games and Recreations Video-oriented games that work with the X window system. @itemize @bullet @item Empire (there is a free version but it needs upgrading) @item An ``empire builder'' system that makes it easy to write various kinds of simulation games. @item Improve GnuGo, which is not yet very sophisticated. @item Network servers and clients for board and card games for which such software does not yet exist. @item A Hierarchical Task Network package which can be used to program play the computer's side in various strategic games. @item Write imitations of some popular video games: @itemize - @item Space war, Asteroids, Pong, Columns. @item Defending cities from missiles. @item Plane shoots at lots of other planes, tanks, etc. @item Wizard fights fanciful monsters. @item A golf game. @ignore Being done by jhall1@isd.net @item Program a robot by sticking building blocks together, then watch it explore a world. @end ignore @item Biomorph evolution (as in Scientific American and @cite{The Blind Watchmaker}). @item A program to display effects of moving at relativistic speeds. @end itemize @end itemize We do not need @code{rogue}, as we have @code{hack}. @contents @bye Local variables: update-date-leading-regexp: "@c This date is automagically updated when you save this file:\n@set lastupdate " update-date-trailing-regexp: "" eval: (load "/gd/gnuorg/update-date.el") eval: (add-hook 'write-file-hooks 'update-date) End: