-*- text -*- Getting GNU Software, 21 Mar 93Copyright (C) 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies of this document provided that the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved.* GNU and the Free Software FoundationProject GNU is organized as part of the Free Software Foundation, Inc.The Free Software Foundation has the following goals: 1) to create GNUas a full development/operating system. 2) to distribute GNU andother useful software with source code and permission to copy andredistribute.Further information on the rationale for GNU is in file`/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/GNU' (all files referred to are on the Internet hostprep.ai.mit.edu).Information on GNU Internet mailing lists and gnUSENET newsgroups canbe found in `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/MAILINGLISTS'.* How To Get The SoftwareThe easiest way to get a copy of the distribution is from someone elsewho has it. You need not ask for permission to do so, or tell any oneelse; just copy it. The second easiest is to ftp it over theInternet. The third easiest way is to uucp it. Ftp and uucpinformation is in `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/FTP'.If you cannot get a copy any of these ways, or if you would feel moreconfident getting copies straight from us, or if you would like to getsome funds to us to help in our efforts, you can order one from theFree Software Foundation. See `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/DISTRIB' and`/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/ORDERS'.* What format are the *.gz files in?Because the unix `compress' utility is patented (by two separatepatents, 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 tocompress better anyway. As of March 1993, all compressed files in theGNU anonymous FTP area, `prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu', have beenconverted to the new format. Files compressed with this newcompression program end in `.gz' (as opposed to `compress'-compressedfiles, which end in `.Z').Gzip can uncompress `compress'-compressed files and `pack' files(which end in `.z'). This is possible because the variousdecompression algorithms are not patented---only compression is.The gzip program is available from any GNU mirror site in shar, tar,or gzipped tar format (for those who already have a prior version ofgzip and want faster data transmission). It works on virtually everyunix system, MSDOS, OS/2, and VMS.* Available Software** GNU EmacsThe GNU Emacs distribution includes: - manual source in TeX format. - an enhanced regex (regular expression) library.See `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/MACHINES' for the status of porting Emacs tovarious machines and operating systems.** C Scheme - a block structured dialect of LISP.The Free Software Foundation distributes C Scheme for the MIT SchemeProject on it tapes. A partial ftp distribution can be found onprep.ai.mit.edu. The full ftp distribution can be found onzurich.ai.mit.edu.Problems with the C Scheme distribution and its ftp distributionshould be referred to: <bug-cscheme@martigny.ai.mit.edu>. There aretwo general mailing lists: <info-cscheme@martigny.ai.mit.edu>and<scheme@mc.lcs.mit.edu>. Send requests to join either list to:<info-cscheme-request@martigny.ai.mit.edu> or<scheme-request@mc.lcs.mit.edu>.** Other GNU SoftwareA full list of available software are in `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/ORDERS' and`/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/DESCRIPTIONS'.* No WarrantiesWe distribute software in the hope that it will be useful, but withoutany warranty. No author or distributor of this software acceptsresponsibility to anyone for the consequences of using it or forwhether it serves any particular purpose or works at all, unless hesays so in writing.* If You Like The SoftwareIf you like the software developed and distributed by the FreeSoftware Foundation, please express your satisfaction with a donation.Your donations will help to support the foundation and make our futureefforts successful, including a complete development and operatingsystem, called GNU (Gnu's Not Un*x), which will run Un*x userprograms. Please note that donations and funds raise by sellingtapes, cd-roms, and floppy diskettes are the major source of fundingfor our work.For more information on GNU and the Foundation, contact us at Internetaddress <gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu> or the foundation's US Mail addressfound in file `/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/DISTRIB'.