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 8 Aug 1994
13 @author Free Software Foundation
14 @author last updated @value{lastupdate}
18 @node Top, Documentation, (dir), (dir)
21 This file is updated automatically from @file{tasks.texi}, which was
22 last updated on @value{lastupdate}.
25 Check with gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu, for a possibly more current copy.
26 This task list is not exclusive; any other useful program might be a
27 good project---but it might instead be something we already have, so
28 check with gnu@@prep before you start writing it.
32 * Unix-Related Projects::
35 * X Windows Projects::
38 * Games and Recreations::
41 If you start working steadily on a project, please let gnu@@prep know.
42 We might have information that could help you; we'd also like to send
43 you the GNU coding standards.
45 Because of the natural tendency for most volunteers to write
46 programming tools or programming languages, we have a comparative
47 shortage of applications useful for non-programmer users. Therefore,
48 we ask you to consider writing such a program.
50 In general, a new program that does a completely new job advances the
51 GNU project more than an improvement to an existing program.
54 @chapter Documentation
56 We very urgently need documentation for some parts of the system
57 that already exist or will exist very soon:
61 Completion of the documentation for CC-mode, a new C/C++ mode for
65 A C reference manual. (RMS has written half of one which you could
69 A manual for Ghostscript.
75 A manual for PIC (the graphics formatting language).
78 A manual for Perl. (The manual that exists is not free, and
79 is thus not available to be part of the GNU system.)
85 A book on how GCC works and why various machine descriptions
86 are written as they are.
89 A manual for programming X-window applications.
92 Manuals for various X window managers.
95 Reference cards for those manuals that don't have them: Gawk, C
96 Compiler, Make, Texinfo, Termcap and maybe the C Library.
99 Many utilities need documentation, including @code{grep}, @code{cpio},
102 and the other small utilities.
106 @node Unix-Related Projects
107 @chapter Unix-Related projects
112 We could use an emulation of Unix @code{spell}, which would run by
113 invoking @code{ispell}.
116 Less urgent: @code{diction}, @code{explain}, @code{style}.
119 An improved version of the POSIX utility @code{pax}. There is one on
120 the usenet, but it is said to be poorly written. Talk with
121 mib@@gnu.ai.mit.edu about this project.
125 Modify the GNU @code{dc} program to use the math routines of GNU
130 A @code{grap} preprocessor program for @code{troff}.
133 Various other libraries.
136 An emulation of SCCS that works using RCS.
140 @node Kernel Projects
141 @chapter Kernel-Related projects
145 An over-the-ethernet debugger stub that will allow the kernel to be
146 debugged from GDB running on another machine.
148 This stub needs its own self-contained implementation of all protocols
149 to be used, since the GNU system will use user processes to implement
150 all but the lowest levels, and the stub won't be able to use those
151 processes. If a simple self-contained implementation of IP and TCP is
152 impractical, it might be necessary to design a new, simple protocol
153 based directly on ethernet. It's not crucial to support high speed or
154 communicating across gateways.
156 It might be possible to use the Mach ethernet driver code, but it would
160 A shared memory X11 server to run under MACH is very desirable. The
161 machine specific parts should be kept well separated.
166 @chapter Extensions to existing GNU software
171 Enhance GCC. See files PROJECTS and PROBLEMS in the GCC distribution.
174 GNU @code{sed} probably needs to be rewritten completely just to make it
178 Add features to GNU Make to record the precise rule with which each file
179 was last recompiled; then recompile any file if its rule in the makefile
183 Add a few features to GNU @code{diff}, such as handling large input
184 files without reading entire files into core.
187 Extend GDB with an X-based graphical interface better than @code{xxgdb}.
190 An @code{nroff} macro package to simplify @code{texi2roff}.
193 A queueing system for the mailer Smail that groups pending work by
194 destination rather than by original message. This makes it possible
195 to schedule retries coherently for each destination. Talk to
196 tron@@veritas.com about this.
198 Smail also needs a new chief maintainer.
201 Enhanced cross-reference browsing tools. (We now have something at
202 about the level of @code{cxref}.) We also could use something like
203 @code{ctrace}. (Some people are now working on this project.)
206 @node X Windows Projects
207 @chapter X windows projects
212 An emulator for Macintosh graphics calls on top of X Windows.
215 An emulator for Microsoft windows calls on top of X Windows. (A
216 commercial program to do this took just three months to write.)
219 A music playing and editing system.
222 A program to edit dance notation (such as labanotation) and display
223 dancers moving on the screen.
226 A library for displaying circle-shaped menus with X windows.
229 A program to display and edit Hypercard stacks.
232 An interface-builder program to make it easy to design graphical
233 interfaces for applications. This could work with the dynamic linker
234 DLD and C++, loading in the same class definitions that will be used
235 by the application program.
238 A desktop program with icons and such, for X-windows.
241 A paint program, supporting both bitmap-oriented operations and
242 component-oriented operations. @code{xpaint} exists, but isn't very
248 @chapter Other Projects
250 If you think of others that should be added, please
251 send them to gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu.
256 [This seems to be being done:]
257 A program to convert Postscript to plain ASCII text. Ghostscript will
258 soon have a mode to output all the text strings in a document, each with
259 its coordinates. You could write a program to start with this output
260 and ``layout the page'' in ASCII. The program will be both easier and
261 more useful if you don't worry pedantically about how the output text
262 should be formatted. Instead, try to make it look reasonable as plain
266 A program to convert compiled programs represented in OSF ANDF
267 (``Architecture Neutral Distribution Format'') into ANSI C.
270 An imitation of Page Maker or Ventura Publisher.
273 An imitation of @code{dbase2} or @code{dbase3} (How dbased!)
276 A program to reformat Fortran programs in a way that is pretty.
279 A bulletin board system. There are a few free ones, but they don't have
280 all the features that people want in such systems. It would make sense
281 to start with an existing one and add the other features.
284 A general ledger program.
287 A World-Wide-Web server.
290 A single command language that could be suitable for use in a shell, in
291 GDB for programming debugging commands, in a program like @code{awk}, in
292 a calculator like @code{bc}, and so on. The fact that all these
293 programs are similar but different in peculiar details is a great source
294 of confusion. We are stuck with maintaining compatibility with Unix in
295 our shell, @code{awk}, and @code{bc}, but nothing prevents us from
296 having alternative programs using our new, uniform language. This would
297 make GNU far better for new users.
300 A program to typeset C code for printing.
301 For ideas on what to do, see the forthcoming book,
304 Human Factors and Typography for More Readable Programs,
305 Ronald M. Baecker and Aaron Marcus,
306 Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-10745-7
309 (I don't quite agree with a few of the details they propose.)
312 Speech-generation programs (there is a program from Brown U that you
316 Speech-recognition programs (single-speaker, disconnected speech).
319 Scientific mathematical subroutines, including clones of SPSS.
325 Software to replace card catalogues in libraries.
328 Grammar and style checking programs.
331 An implementation of the S language (an interpreted languages used for
335 A translator from Scheme to C.
338 Optical character recognition programs; especially if suitable for
339 scanning documents with multiple fonts and capturing font info as well
340 as character codes. This may not be very difficult if you let it
341 @emph{train} on part of the individual document to be scanned, so as to
342 learn what fonts are in use in that document. We would particularly
343 like to scan the Century Dictionary, an unabridged dictionary now in the
346 You don't need scanning hardware to work on OCR. We can send you
347 bitmaps you can use as test data.
349 We may soon have an OCR program, but it will need lots of additional work.
352 A program to scan a line drawing and convert it to Postscript.
355 A program to recognize handwriting.
358 A pen based interface.
361 Software suitable for creating virtual reality user interfaces.
364 CAD software, such as a vague imitation of Autocad.
367 Software for displaying molecules.
370 Software for comparing DNA sequences, and finding matches and
376 @chapter Compilers for Other Batch Languages
378 Volunteers are needed to write parsers/front ends for languages such
379 as Algol 60, Algol 68, PL/I, or whatever, to be used with the
380 code generation phases of the GNU C compiler. (C++ is done, and
381 Ada, Fortran, Pascal and Modula are being worked on.)
383 @node Games and Recreations
384 @chapter Games and Recreations
389 Video-oriented games should work with the X window system.
392 Empire (there is a free version but it needs upgrading)
395 Imitations of popular video games:
399 Space war, Asteroids, Pong, Columns.
401 Defending cities from missiles.
403 Plane shoots at lots of other planes.
405 Wizard fights fanciful monster.
409 Program a robot by sticking building blocks together,
410 then watch it explore a world.
412 Biomorph evolution (as in Scientific American).
414 A program to display effects of moving at relativistic speeds.
418 Intriguing screen-saver programs to make interesting pictures.
419 Other such programs that are simply entertaining to watch.
420 For example, an aquarium.
424 We do not need @code{rogue}, as we have @code{hack}.