From 0f82d9d807d06b13dede08cee32e3615cab9e121 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Richard M. Stallman" Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 17:47:52 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] *** empty log message *** --- etc/tasks.texi | 120 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------- 1 file changed, 90 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-) diff --git a/etc/tasks.texi b/etc/tasks.texi index 3d235cb3122..20491058c86 100644 --- a/etc/tasks.texi +++ b/etc/tasks.texi @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ @setfilename tasks.info @settitle GNU Task List @c This date is automagically updated when you save this file: -@set lastupdate September 22, 1998 +@set lastupdate October 27, 1998 @c %**end of header @setchapternewpage off @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ last updated on @value{lastupdate}. * X Windows Projects:: * Encryption Projects:: * Other Projects:: -* Compilers:: +* Languages:: * Games and Recreations:: @end menu @@ -115,11 +115,12 @@ at the URL @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/guile/guile.html} and then contact the Guile developers at @email{guile@@gnu.org}. @item -Help develop XmHTML. +Help develop XmHTML. See @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~ripley/XmHTML/}. @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/}. @item Implement the Kermit data transfer protocol. (See below.) @@ -139,11 +140,6 @@ 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 free replacement for a semi-free program such as Xv or POV. -These semi-free programs are less restricted than typical proprietary -programs, but too restricted to be part of any free operating system. - @item Develop a substitute, which runs on GNU systems, for some very popular or very important application that many non-programmers use on Windows, @@ -157,17 +153,50 @@ 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, because we are not free to copy and -modify them along with the software they document. For this reason, -we do not recommend any non-free manuals. +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 unified manual for La@TeX{}. (Existing documentation is non-free.) + +@item +A tutorial introduction to Midnight Commander. + +@item +A manual for GNU SQL. + +@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 C reference manual. (RMS made a try at one, which you could start with). @item -Reference manuals for C++, Pascal, Fortran 77, and Java. +Reference manuals for C++, Objective C, Pascal, Fortran 77, and Java. + +@item +A tutorial manual for the C++ STL (standard template library). + +@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. @@ -195,7 +224,7 @@ A book on how GCC works and why various machine descriptions are written as they are. @item -A manual for programming X-window applications. +A manual for programming applications for X11. @item Manuals for various X window managers. @@ -320,10 +349,23 @@ about the level of @code{cxref}.) We also could use something like @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. + @item An ephemeris program to replace xephem (which is, alas, too restricted to qualify as free software). @@ -340,6 +382,9 @@ A program to display and edit Hypercard stacks. @item A program for graphic morphing of scanned photographs. + +@item +Software for designing and printing business cards. @end itemize @node Encryption Projects @@ -357,17 +402,6 @@ 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 -A free secure telnet program more or less like ssh/sshd. Since this -requires a public key encryption algorithm, it should be based -on the library above. - -This program should follow the draft standard for ssh. As always, it -cannot implement the RSA algorithm, but must instead support the -alternatives that will be patent-free in late 1997. It cannot support -IDEA, but can use triple-DES and/or Blowfish or other non-patented -alternatives. - @item Free software for doing secure commercial transactions on the web. This too needs public key encryption. @@ -383,10 +417,6 @@ If you think of others that should be added, please send them to @email{gnu@@gnu.org}. @itemize @bullet - -@item -A program to reformat HTML source to make it easier to read as HTML. - @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 @@ -421,6 +451,16 @@ alas, not free software). @item A free replacement for Glimpse, which is not free software. +@item +Software for making "slide" presentations. It need not be compatible +with the popular proprietary software to do this job, but it should do +the same job. + +@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. + @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, @@ -433,6 +473,9 @@ Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-10745-7 But you don't have to do exactly what they propose. +@item +A program to reformat HTML source to make it easier to read as HTML. + @ignore @c This is now being worked on -- rms, 22 June 1998 @item @@ -514,6 +557,13 @@ and all the other standard project progress reports. @item Grammar and style checking programs. +@item +A program to calculate nutritional information from recipes. + +There is a free (unambiguously public domain) database of nutritional +information compiled by the USDA at +@url{http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp}. + @item A translator from Scheme to C. @@ -548,8 +598,8 @@ A program to receive data from a serial-line tap to facilitate the reverse-engineering of communication protocols. @end itemize -@node Compilers -@chapter Compilers for Other Batch Languages +@node Languages +@chapter Programming Languages Volunteers are needed to write parsers/front ends for languages such as Algol 60, Algol 68, PL/I, Cobol, Fortran 90, or whatever, to be @@ -563,6 +613,12 @@ You can get the status of the Fortran front end with this command: 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 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 @chapter Games and Recreations @@ -579,6 +635,10 @@ 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. -- 2.39.2