diff doc/faq/Octave-FAQ.texi @ 3154:352a80c32765

[project @ 1998-02-14 19:17:59 by jwe]
author jwe
date Sat, 14 Feb 1998 19:18:37 +0000
parents 353071b4970b
children 6929a31e7624
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/doc/faq/Octave-FAQ.texi
+++ b/doc/faq/Octave-FAQ.texi
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 @titlepage
 @title Octave FAQ
 @subtitle Frequently asked questions about Octave
-@subtitle December 14, 1996
+@subtitle February 14, 1998
 @sp 1
 @author John W. Eaton
 @page
@@ -90,15 +90,10 @@
 @node Version 2.0, Octave Features, What is Octave?, Top
 @chapter What's new in version 2.0 of Octave
 
-The long-awaited version 2.0 of Octave has now been released.  Many
-bugs have been fixed and lots of new features added.  Octave is now much
-more compatible with @sc{Matlab}.
-
-Version 2.0 fixes many bugs, but as with any ``x.y.0'' release there
-will be a few glitches.  There will probably be a 2.0.1 release to fix
-most of these problems.  You can help contribute to the quality of
-Octave by using it and submitting bug reports for the problems you
-encounter.
+Version 2.0.10 of Octave was released February 6, 1998.  Most bugs
+reported since version 2.0 was release have been fixed, and a number of
+new features have been added.  Octave is now much more compatible with
+@sc{Matlab}.
 
 A list of user-visible changes in recent versions of Octave may be found
 in the file NEWS, distributed in both source and binary releases of
@@ -458,9 +453,8 @@
 command to start the GNU info browser directly from the Octave prompt.
 
 It is also possible to use your favorite WWW browser to read the Octave
-manual (or any other Info file) by using Roar Smith's info2www program
-to convert GNU Info files to HTML.  The source for info2www is available
-from @url{ftp://ftp.che.wisc.edu/pub/www}.
+manual by converting the Texinfo source to HTML using the
+@code{texi2html} program.
 
 @node Getting Octave, Installation, Documentation, Top
 @chapter Obtaining Source Code
@@ -484,26 +478,21 @@
 
 Octave was not developed by the FSF, but the FSF does distribute Octave,
 and the developers of Octave support the efforts of the FSF by
-encouraging users of Octave to order Octave on tape or CD directly from
+encouraging users of Octave to order Octave on CD-ROM directly from
 the FSF.
 
 The FSF is a nonprofit organization that distributes software and
-manuals to raise funds for more GNU development.  Buying a tape or CD
-from the FSF contributes directly to paying staff to develop GNU
-software.  CD-ROMs cost $400 if an organization is buying, or $100 if an
-individual is buying.  Tapes cost around $200 depending on media type.
-
-The FSF only makes new CD releases a few times a year, so if you are
-interested specifically in Octave, I recommend asking for the latest
-release on tape.
+manuals to raise funds for more GNU development.  Buying a CD-ROM from
+the FSF contributes directly to paying staff to develop GNU software.
+CD-ROMs cost $240 if an organization is buying, or $60 if an individual
+is buying.
 
 @cindex FSF [Free Software Foundation]
 @cindex GNU [GNU's not unix]
 
 For more information about ordering from the FSF, contact
-gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu, phone (617) 542-5942 or anonymous ftp file
-@file{/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/ORDERS} from prep.ai.mit.edu or one of the sites
-listed below.
+gnu@@gnu.org, phone (617) 542-5942 or anonymous ftp the file
+@file{/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/ORDERS} from ftp.gnu.org.
 
 @cindex FSF, contact <gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu>
 @cindex GNUware, anonymous FTP sites
@@ -532,35 +521,35 @@
 @cindex VMS support
 @cindex VAX
 @cindex MS-DOS support
+@cindex Windows support
 @cindex DJGPP
 @cindex EMX
 @cindex OS/2 support
 
-Octave currently runs on Unix-like systems only.  It should be possible
-to make Octave work on other systems.  If you are interested in porting
-Octave to other systems, please contact bug-octave@@bevo.che.wisc.edu.
+Octave currently runs on Unix-like systems, OS/2, and Windows NT/95
+(using the gnu-win32 tools from Cygnus Support).  It should be possible
+to make Octave work on other systems as well.  If you are interested in
+porting Octave to other systems, please contact
+bug-octave@@bevo.che.wisc.edu.
 
 @node latest versions,  , Octave for other platforms, Getting Octave
 @section What is the latest version of Octave
 
 @cindex Octave, version date
 
-The latest version of Octave is 2.0, released December 1996.
+The latest version of Octave is 2.0.10, released February 6, 1998.
 
 @node Installation, Common problems, Getting Octave, Top
 @chapter Installation Issues and Problems
 
 @cindex Octave, building 
 
-Octave requires approximately 50MB of disk storage to unpack and
-install (significantly less if you don't compile with debugging
-symbols).
-
-Octave has been compiled and tested with g++ and libg++ on a
-SPARCstation 2 running SunOS 4.1.2, an IBM RS/6000 running AIX 3.2.5,
-DEC Alpha systems running OSF/1 1.3 and 3.0, a DECstation 5000/240
-running Ultrix 4.2a, and i486 systems running Linux.  It should work on
-most other Unix systems that have a working port of g++ and libg++.
+Octave requires approximately 125MB of disk storage to unpack and
+compile from source (significantly less if you don't compile with
+debugging symbols or create shared libraries).  Once installed, Octave
+requires approximately 65MB of disk space (again, considerably less if
+you don't build shared libraries or the binaries and libraries do not
+include debugging symbols).
 
 @menu
 * What else do I need?::        
@@ -577,11 +566,20 @@
 @cindex Flex
 @cindex GNU Bison
 
-  In order to build Octave, you will need a current version
-of g++, libg++, and GNU make.  If you don't have these tools, you can
-get them from many anonymous ftp archives, including ftp.che.wisc.edu,
-ftp.uu.net, prep.ai.mit.edu, and wuarchive.wustl.edu, or by writing to
-the FSF at 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.
+To compile Octave, you will need a recent version of GNU Make.  You
+will also need g++ 2.7.2 or later.  Version 2.8.0 or egcs 1.0.x should
+work.  Later versions may work, but C++ is still evolving, so don't be
+too surprised if you run into some trouble.
+
+It is no longer necessary to have libg++, but you do need to have the
+GNU implementation of libstdc++.  If you are using g++ 2.7.2,
+libstdc++ is distributed along with libg++, but for later versions,
+libstdc++ is distributed separately.  For egcs, libstdc++ is included
+with the compiler distribution.
+
+<em>You must have gnu make to compile octave</em>.  Octave's Makefiles
+use features of GNU Make that are not present in other versions of make.
+GNU Make is very portable and easy to install.
 
 @node Other C++ compilers?,  , What else do I need?, Installation
 @section Can I compile Octave with another C++ compiler?
@@ -718,22 +716,25 @@
 
 @example
 @group
-  PS1 = ">> ";
-  PS2 = "";
-  beep_on_error = 1;
-  default_save_format = "mat-binary";
-  define_all_return_values = 1;
-  do_fortran_indexing = 1;
-  empty_list_elements_ok = 1;
-  implicit_str_to_num_ok = 1;
-  ok_to_lose_imaginary_part = 1;
-  page_screen_output = 0;
-  prefer_column_vectors = 0;
-  prefer_zero_one_indexing = 1;
-  print_empty_dimensions = 0;
-  treat_neg_dim_as_zero = 1;
-  warn_function_name_clash = 0;
-  whitespace_in_literal_matrix = "traditional";
+  PS1 = ">> "
+  PS2 = ""
+  beep_on_error = 1.0
+  default_eval_print_flag = 0.0
+  default_save_format = "mat-binary"
+  define_all_return_values = 1.0
+  do_fortran_indexing = 1.0
+  empty_list_elements_ok = 1.0
+  fixed_point_format = 1.0
+  implicit_num_to_str_ok = 1.0
+  implicit_str_to_num_ok = 1.0
+  ok_to_lose_imaginary_part = 1.0
+  page_screen_output = 0.0
+  prefer_column_vectors = 0.0
+  prefer_zero_one_indexing = 1.0
+  print_empty_dimensions = 0.0
+  treat_neg_dim_as_zero = 1.0
+  warn_function_name_clash = 0.0
+  whitespace_in_literal_matrix = "traditional"
 @end group
 @end example