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authorRichard M. Stallman1998-11-01 17:47:52 +0000
committerRichard M. Stallman1998-11-01 17:47:52 +0000
commit0f82d9d807d06b13dede08cee32e3615cab9e121 (patch)
tree660f6a6b5ec9ca6968c1fb212f950980872c12a6
parent7f52b1242e70c79dd96fcca90013fe4839fa162b (diff)
downloademacs-0f82d9d807d06b13dede08cee32e3615cab9e121.tar.gz
emacs-0f82d9d807d06b13dede08cee32e3615cab9e121.zip
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-rw-r--r--etc/tasks.texi120
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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 @@
3@setfilename tasks.info 3@setfilename tasks.info
4@settitle GNU Task List 4@settitle GNU Task List
5@c This date is automagically updated when you save this file: 5@c This date is automagically updated when you save this file:
6@set lastupdate September 22, 1998 6@set lastupdate October 27, 1998
7@c %**end of header 7@c %**end of header
8 8
9@setchapternewpage off 9@setchapternewpage off
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ last updated on @value{lastupdate}.
32* X Windows Projects:: 32* X Windows Projects::
33* Encryption Projects:: 33* Encryption Projects::
34* Other Projects:: 34* Other Projects::
35* Compilers:: 35* Languages::
36* Games and Recreations:: 36* Games and Recreations::
37@end menu 37@end menu
38 38
@@ -115,11 +115,12 @@ at the URL @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/guile/guile.html}
115and then contact the Guile developers at @email{guile@@gnu.org}. 115and then contact the Guile developers at @email{guile@@gnu.org}.
116 116
117@item 117@item
118Help develop XmHTML. 118Help develop XmHTML. See @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~ripley/XmHTML/}.
119 119
120@item 120@item
121Help develop software to emulate Windows NT on top of GNU systems. 121Help develop software to emulate Windows NT on top of GNU systems.
122For example, you could help work on Willows Twin. 122For example, you could help work on Willows Twin.
123See @uref{http://www.willows.com/}.
123 124
124@item 125@item
125Implement the Kermit data transfer protocol. (See below.) 126Implement the Kermit data transfer protocol. (See below.)
@@ -140,11 +141,6 @@ the only solution. Hence the high degree of urgency of this project.
140@end ignore 141@end ignore
141 142
142@item 143@item
143Develop a free replacement for a semi-free program such as Xv or POV.
144These semi-free programs are less restricted than typical proprietary
145programs, but too restricted to be part of any free operating system.
146
147@item
148Develop a substitute, which runs on GNU systems, for some very popular 144Develop a substitute, which runs on GNU systems, for some very popular
149or very important application that many non-programmers use on Windows, 145or very important application that many non-programmers use on Windows,
150and which has no comparable free equivalent now. 146and which has no comparable free equivalent now.
@@ -157,17 +153,50 @@ We very urgently need documentation for many existing parts of the
157system. 153system.
158 154
159Note that there are proprietary manuals for many of these topics, but 155Note that there are proprietary manuals for many of these topics, but
160proprietary manuals do not count, because we are not free to copy and 156proprietary manuals do not count, for the same reason proprietary
161modify them along with the software they document. For this reason, 157software does not count: we are not free to copy and modify them.
162we do not recommend any non-free manuals. 158We do not recommend any non-free materials as documentation.
163 159
164@itemize @bullet 160@itemize @bullet
165@item 161@item
162A unified manual for La@TeX{}. (Existing documentation is non-free.)
163
164@item
165A tutorial introduction to Midnight Commander.
166
167@item
168A manual for GNU SQL.
169
170@item
171A thorough manual for RCS.
172
173@item
174A reference manual for Mach.
175
176@item
177A reference manual for the GNU Hurd features in GNU libc.
178
179@item
180A manual for writing Hurd servers.
181
182@item
166A C reference manual. (RMS made a try at one, which you could start 183A C reference manual. (RMS made a try at one, which you could start
167with). 184with).
168 185
169@item 186@item
170Reference manuals for C++, Pascal, Fortran 77, and Java. 187Reference manuals for C++, Objective C, Pascal, Fortran 77, and Java.
188
189@item
190A tutorial manual for the C++ STL (standard template library).
191
192@item
193GNU Objective-C Runtime Library Manual; this would be a reference manual
194for the runtime library functions, structures, and classes. Some work
195has been done on this job.
196
197@item
198Manuals for GNUstep: developer tutorial, developer programming manual,
199developer reference manual, and user manual.
171 200
172@item 201@item
173A manual for Ghostscript. 202A manual for Ghostscript.
@@ -195,7 +224,7 @@ A book on how GCC works and why various machine descriptions
195are written as they are. 224are written as they are.
196 225
197@item 226@item
198A manual for programming X-window applications. 227A manual for programming applications for X11.
199 228
200@item 229@item
201Manuals for various X window managers. 230Manuals for various X window managers.
@@ -321,10 +350,23 @@ about the level of @code{cxref}.) We also could use something like
321An emulator for Macintosh graphics calls on top of X Windows. 350An emulator for Macintosh graphics calls on top of X Windows.
322 351
323@item 352@item
353A package that emulates the API of Visual C++, but operates on top of
354X11. It need not match the screen appearance of Visual C++. Instead,
355it would be best to use GTK, so as to give coherence with GNOME.
356
357@item
358A compatible replacement for Visual Basic, running on top of X11.
359It need not match the screen appearance of Visual C++. Instead,
360it would be best to use GTK, so as to give coherence with GNOME.
361
362@item
324A music playing and editing system. This should work with LilyPond, a 363A music playing and editing system. This should work with LilyPond, a
325GNU program for music typesetting. 364GNU program for music typesetting.
326 365
327@item 366@item
367An ear-training program for students of music.
368
369@item
328An ephemeris program to replace xephem (which is, alas, too restricted 370An ephemeris program to replace xephem (which is, alas, too restricted
329to qualify as free software). 371to qualify as free software).
330 372
@@ -340,6 +382,9 @@ A program to display and edit Hypercard stacks.
340 382
341@item 383@item
342A program for graphic morphing of scanned photographs. 384A program for graphic morphing of scanned photographs.
385
386@item
387Software for designing and printing business cards.
343@end itemize 388@end itemize
344 389
345@node Encryption Projects 390@node Encryption Projects
@@ -358,17 +403,6 @@ the US expired in 1997. This library can probably be developed from
358the code for the GNU Privacy Guard (now in development). 403the code for the GNU Privacy Guard (now in development).
359 404
360@item 405@item
361A free secure telnet program more or less like ssh/sshd. Since this
362requires a public key encryption algorithm, it should be based
363on the library above.
364
365This program should follow the draft standard for ssh. As always, it
366cannot implement the RSA algorithm, but must instead support the
367alternatives that will be patent-free in late 1997. It cannot support
368IDEA, but can use triple-DES and/or Blowfish or other non-patented
369alternatives.
370
371@item
372Free software for doing secure commercial transactions on the web. 406Free software for doing secure commercial transactions on the web.
373This too needs public key encryption. 407This too needs public key encryption.
374@end itemize 408@end itemize
@@ -383,10 +417,6 @@ If you think of others that should be added, please
383send them to @email{gnu@@gnu.org}. 417send them to @email{gnu@@gnu.org}.
384 418
385@itemize @bullet 419@itemize @bullet
386
387@item
388A program to reformat HTML source to make it easier to read as HTML.
389
390@item 420@item
391A simple PC BIOS. On most new PCs, the BIOS is stored in writable 421A simple PC BIOS. On most new PCs, the BIOS is stored in writable
392memory (misleadingly known as ``flash ROM''). In order to have a wholly 422memory (misleadingly known as ``flash ROM''). In order to have a wholly
@@ -421,6 +451,16 @@ alas, not free software).
421@item 451@item
422A free replacement for Glimpse, which is not free software. 452A free replacement for Glimpse, which is not free software.
423 453
454@item
455Software for making "slide" presentations. It need not be compatible
456with the popular proprietary software to do this job, but it should do
457the same job.
458
459@item
460Software for desktop publishing. We are extending Emacs into a WYSIWYG
461word processor, to handle primarily linear text; what this item proposes
462is software focused on page layout.
463
424@item 464@item
425A program to typeset C code for printing, to make it easier to read on 465A program to typeset C code for printing, to make it easier to read on
426paper. For ideas on what to do, see the book, 466paper. For ideas on what to do, see the book,
@@ -433,6 +473,9 @@ Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-10745-7
433 473
434But you don't have to do exactly what they propose. 474But you don't have to do exactly what they propose.
435 475
476@item
477A program to reformat HTML source to make it easier to read as HTML.
478
436@ignore 479@ignore
437@c This is now being worked on -- rms, 22 June 1998 480@c This is now being worked on -- rms, 22 June 1998
438@item 481@item
@@ -515,6 +558,13 @@ and all the other standard project progress reports.
515Grammar and style checking programs. 558Grammar and style checking programs.
516 559
517@item 560@item
561A program to calculate nutritional information from recipes.
562
563There is a free (unambiguously public domain) database of nutritional
564information compiled by the USDA at
565@url{http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp}.
566
567@item
518A translator from Scheme to C. 568A translator from Scheme to C.
519 569
520@item 570@item
@@ -548,8 +598,8 @@ A program to receive data from a serial-line tap to facilitate the
548reverse-engineering of communication protocols. 598reverse-engineering of communication protocols.
549@end itemize 599@end itemize
550 600
551@node Compilers 601@node Languages
552@chapter Compilers for Other Batch Languages 602@chapter Programming Languages
553 603
554Volunteers are needed to write parsers/front ends for languages such as 604Volunteers are needed to write parsers/front ends for languages such as
555Algol 60, Algol 68, PL/I, Cobol, Fortran 90, or whatever, to be 605Algol 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:
563finger -l fortran@@gnu.org 613finger -l fortran@@gnu.org
564@end example 614@end example
565 615
616We would like to have translators from various languages into Scheme.
617These languages include TCL, Python, Perl, Java and Rexx.
618
619We would like to have an implementation of Clipper, perhaps a GCC front
620end, and perhaps a translator into Scheme.
621
566@node Games and Recreations 622@node Games and Recreations
567@chapter Games and Recreations 623@chapter Games and Recreations
568 624
@@ -580,6 +636,10 @@ simulation games.
580Improve GnuGo, which is not yet very sophisticated. 636Improve GnuGo, which is not yet very sophisticated.
581 637
582@item 638@item
639Network servers and clients for board and card games for which such
640software does not yet exist.
641
642@item
583A Hierarchical Task Network package which can be used 643A Hierarchical Task Network package which can be used
584to program play the computer's side in various strategic games. 644to program play the computer's side in various strategic games.
585 645