1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
3 @setfilename tasks.info
4 @settitle GNU Task List
5 @c UPDATE THIS DATE WHENEVER YOU MAKE CHANGES!
6 @set lastupdate 15 May 1997
13 @author Free Software Foundation
14 @author last updated @value{lastupdate}
18 @node Top, Preface, (dir), (dir)
21 This file is updated automatically from @file{tasks.texi}, which was
22 last updated on @value{lastupdate}.
28 * Unix-Related Projects::
31 * X Windows Projects::
34 * Games and Recreations::
37 @node Preface, Documentation, Top, Top
38 @chapter About the GNU Task List
40 Check with @code{gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu}, for a possibly more current
41 copy. You can also ftp it from a GNU FTP host in directory
42 @file{/pub/gnu/tasks} - These files in different formats are available:
43 @file{tasks.text}, @file{tasks.texi}, @file{tasks.info}, and
44 @file{tasks.dvi}. It is also available on the GNU World Wide Web
45 server: @file{http://www.gnu.ai.mit.edu}.
47 If you start working steadily on a project, please let @code{gnu@@prep}
48 know. We might have information that could help you; we'd also like to
49 send you the GNU coding standards.
51 Because of the natural tendency for most volunteers to write programming
52 tools or programming languages, we have a comparative shortage of
53 applications useful for non-programmer users. Therefore, we ask you to
54 consider writing such a program.
56 Typically, a new program that does a completely new job advances
57 the GNU project, and the free software community, more than an
58 improvement to an existing program.
60 Typically, new features or new programs advance the free software
61 community more, in the long run, than porting existing programs. One
62 reason is that portable new features and programs benefit people on many
63 platforms, not just one. At the same time, there tend to be many
64 volunteers for porting---so your help will be more valuable in other
65 areas, where volunteers are more scarce.
67 Typically, it is more useful to extend a program in functionality than
68 to improve performance. Users who use the new functionality will
69 appreciate it very much, if they use it; but even when they benefit from
70 a performance improvement, they may not consider it very important.
73 @chapter Documentation
75 We very urgently need documentation for some parts of the system
76 that already exist or will exist very soon:
80 Completion of the documentation for CC-mode, a new Emacs mode for
81 C, C++ and other languages.
84 A C reference manual. (RMS made a try at one, which you could start
88 A manual for Ghostscript.
95 A manual for PIC (the graphics formatting language).
101 A book on how GCC works and why various machine descriptions
102 are written as they are.
105 A manual for programming X-window applications.
108 Manuals for various X window managers.
111 Reference cards for those manuals that don't have them: C
112 Compiler, Make, Texinfo, Termcap, and maybe the C Library.
115 Many utilities need documentation, including @code{grep} and others.
118 @node Unix-Related Projects
119 @chapter Unix-Related Projects
123 An improved version of the POSIX utility @code{pax}. There is one on
124 Usenet, but it is said to be poorly written. Talk with
125 @code{mib@@gnu.ai.mit.edu} about this project.
129 Modify the GNU @code{dc} program to use the math routines of GNU
134 A @code{grap} preprocessor program for @code{troff}.
137 Various other libraries.
140 An emulation of SCCS that works using RCS.
143 Less urgent: @code{diction}, @code{explain}, and @code{style}, or
144 something to do the same kind of job. Compatibility with Unix is not
145 especially important for these programs.
148 @node Kernel Projects
149 @chapter Kernel-Related Projects
153 An over-the-ethernet debugger stub that will allow the kernel to be
154 debugged from GDB running on another machine.
156 This stub needs its own self-contained implementation of all protocols
157 to be used, since the GNU system will use user processes to implement
158 all but the lowest levels, and the stub won't be able to use those
159 processes. If a simple self-contained implementation of IP and TCP is
160 impractical, it might be necessary to design a new, simple protocol
161 based directly on ethernet. It's not crucial to support high speed or
162 communicating across gateways.
164 It might be possible to use the Mach ethernet driver code, but it would
168 A shared memory X11 server to run under MACH is very desirable. The
169 machine specific parts should be kept well separated.
172 An implementation of CIFS, the ``Common Internet File System,'' for the
173 HURD. This protocol is an offshoot of SMB.
177 @chapter Extensions to Existing GNU Software
181 Enhance GCC. See files @file{PROJECTS} and @file{PROBLEMS} in the GCC
185 Interface GDB to Guile, so that users can write debugging commands in
186 Scheme. This would also make it possible to write, in Scheme, a
187 graphical interface that uses Tk and is tightly integrated into GDB.
190 Rewrite GNU @code{sed} completely, to make it cleaner.
193 Rewrite Automake and Deja-GNU in Scheme, so they can run in Guile.
194 Right now they are written in Perl and TCL, respectively. There are
195 also other programs, not terribly long, which we would also like
196 to have rewritten in Scheme.
199 Finish the partially-implemented C interpreter project.
202 Help with the development of GNUStep, a GNU implementation of the
203 OpenStep specification.
206 Add features to GNU Make to record the precise rule with which each file
207 was last recompiled; then recompile any file if its rule in the makefile
211 Add a few features to GNU @code{diff}, such as handling large input
212 files without reading entire files into core.
215 An @code{nroff} macro package to simplify @code{texi2roff}.
218 A queueing system for the mailer Smail that groups pending work by
219 destination rather than by original message. This makes it possible
220 to schedule retries coherently for each destination. Talk to
221 @code{tron@@veritas.com} about this.
223 Smail also needs a new chief maintainer.
226 Enhanced cross-reference browsing tools. (We now have something at
227 about the level of @code{cxref}.) We also could use something like
228 @code{ctrace}. (Some people are now working on this project.)
231 @node X Windows Projects
232 @chapter X Windows Projects
236 An emulator for Macintosh graphics calls on top of X Windows.
239 A music playing and editing system.
242 High-quality music compression software.
243 (Talk with phr@@netcom.com for relevant suggestions.)
246 A program to play sound distributed in ``Real Audio'' format.
249 A program to generate ``Real Audio'' format from audio input.
252 A program to edit dance notation (such as labanotation) and display
253 dancers moving on the screen.
256 Port the Vibrant toolkit to work on X without using Motif.
259 A program to display and edit Hypercard stacks.
262 A paint program, supporting both bitmap-oriented operations and
263 component-oriented operations. @code{xpaint} exists, but isn't very
267 A vector-based drawing program in the spirit of Adobe Illustrator
271 An interactive 3D modeling utility with rendering/raytracing capabilities.
274 A program for graphic morphing of scanned photographs.
278 @chapter Other Projects
280 If you think of others that should be added, please
281 send them to @code{gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu}.
285 A free program for public-key encryption.
287 This program should use the Diffie-Helman algorithm for public key
288 encryption, not the RSA algorithm, because the Diffie-Helman patent in
289 the US will expire in 1997. It should use triple-DES, not IDEA, for
290 block encryption, because IDEA is patented in many countries and the
291 patents will not expire soon. In other respects, it should be like PGP.
293 This program needs to be written by someone who is not a US citizen,
294 outside the US, to avoid problems with US export control law.
296 Many people believe that PGP is free software, but that is not actually
297 true. The distribution terms do not allow everyone to use and
298 redistribute it. We used to think that these restrictions had been
299 imposed by the patent holders for the RSA and IDEA algorithms, and that
300 PGP could be free software if these algorithms were replaced by
301 alternatives. But we have since learned that the owners of PGP are
302 themselves unwilling to make it free software. Writing a new program is
303 the only way to get free software for this job.
306 A free secure telnet program more or less like ssh/sshd. Since this
307 requires a public key encryption algorithm, it is closely related to the
310 This program should follow the draft standard for ssh. As always, it
311 cannot implement the RSA algorithm, but must instead support the
312 alternatives that will be patent-free in late 1997. It cannot support
313 IDEA, but can use triple-DES and some other alternatives.
316 Free software for doing secure commercial transactions on the web.
317 This too needs public key encryption.
320 A free program that does the same job as Kermit. Actual compatibility
321 with Kermit is not necessary, and you could make the job easier by using
322 @code{sz} and @code{rz} to do the actual file transfer.
325 An imitation of Page Maker or Ventura Publisher.
328 An imitation of @code{dbase2} or @code{dbase3} (How dbased!)
331 A bulletin board system. There are a few free ones, but they don't have
332 all the features that people want in such systems. It would make sense
333 to start with an existing one and add the other features.
336 A general ledger program, including support for accounts payable,
337 account receivables, payroll, inventory control, order processing, etc.
340 A teleconferencing program which does the job of CU-SeeMe (which is,
341 alas, not free software).
344 A program to typeset C code for printing.
345 For ideas on what to do, see the book,
348 Human Factors and Typography for More Readable Programs,
349 Ronald M. Baecker and Aaron Marcus,
350 Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-10745-7
353 (I don't quite agree with a few of the details they propose.)
356 Speech-generation programs (there is a program from Brown U that you
360 Speech-recognition programs (single-speaker, disconnected speech is sufficient).
363 More scientific mathematical subroutines.
364 (A clone of SPSS is being written already.)
370 A scientific data collection and processing tool,
371 perhaps something like Scientific Workbench and/or Khoros,
374 Software to replace card catalogues in libraries.
377 Grammar and style checking programs.
380 An implementation of the S language (an interpreted language used for
384 A translator from Scheme to C.
387 A fast emulator for the i386 which works by translating
388 machine instructions into the machine language of the host machine.
389 (Support for emulation of other machines would enhance the program
390 but might make it much more difficult.)
393 Optical character recognition programs; especially if suitable for
394 scanning documents with multiple fonts and capturing font info as well
395 as character codes. Work is being done on this, but more help is needed.
398 A program to scan a line drawing and convert it to Postscript.
401 A program to recognize handwriting.
404 A pen based interface.
407 CAD software, such as a vague imitation of Autocad.
411 @chapter Compilers for Other Batch Languages
413 Volunteers are needed to write parsers/front ends for languages such as
414 Algol 60, Algol 68, PL/I, Cobol, Fortran 90, or whatever, to be used
415 with the code generation phases of the GNU C compiler. (C, C++, and
416 Objective-C are done; Fortran 77 is mostly done; Ada, Pascal, and Java
417 are being worked on.)
419 @c Fortran status is here so gnu@prep and the volunteer coordinators
420 @c don't have to answer the question -len
421 You can get the status of the Fortran front end with this command:
424 finger -l fortran@@gnu.ai.mit.edu
427 @node Games and Recreations
428 @chapter Games and Recreations
430 Video-oriented games that work with the X window system.
434 A Doom-compatible display game engine, for running the many free
435 levels people have written for Doom.
438 Empire (there is a free version but it needs upgrading)
441 An ``empire builder'' system that makes it easy to write various kinds of
445 Improve GnuGo, which is not yet very sophisticated.
448 Imitations of popular video games:
452 Space war, Asteroids, Pong, Columns.
454 Defending cities from missiles.
456 Plane shoots at lots of other planes, tanks, etc.
458 Wizard fights fanciful monster.
462 Program a robot by sticking building blocks together,
463 then watch it explore a world.
465 Biomorph evolution (as in Scientific American).
467 A program to display effects of moving at relativistic speeds.
471 Intriguing screen-saver programs to make interesting pictures.
472 Other such programs that are simply entertaining to watch.
473 For example, an aquarium.
476 We do not need @code{rogue}, as we have @code{hack}.