tgi@tgi.UUCP (Craig "tgi" Strickland) (02/22/90)
Richard, I've been using several of the GNU software products for a little over 2 years now, and I've been quite impressed with the quality of the FSF software. Having just left a "normal" job and being in the midst of launching my own company, I'd like to find out the current state of the GNU Project and see what needs to be done. In the near future, as the current project demands wane, I'll have some free time. I'd like to put it to better use than watching TV or playing around getting DBASE III scripts working "just right". I'd also like to get something better than MS-DOS, OS/2 or Unix System V massaged into usable condition. Since 1976 I've been heavily involved in Unix (and near-Unix) kernel and utilities work. I've dealt with problems of all kinds, poked around in virtually every piece of the system (including the C compiler's floating point, when necessary) at one time or another. For one year, I worked on porting a Unix clone to 20 or so different platforms, including device drivers for all the various bizarre things that the customer could conceive of hooking up. I've written Unix look-alike subsets for LSI-11/03 systems, created "vi"-style text editors for Z-80's, devised error-logging schemes using pseudo-device drivers, implemented a schematic circuit diagram graphics editor, telecommunications software, real-time data-gathering monitors, source-code and assembly debuggers, and gobs of assorted tools for personal use. One of my trademarks throughout my programming career has been the requirement for over a megabyte of disk space for my "essential" tools wherever I have an account. On my "home" systems, I typically occupied 50+ Mb of software sources, binaries and data files. These were all programs I had created from scratch or adapted from each other. Lots of typing. That's always been one of my tendancies: "if it's programmable, I'll end up programming it", and my other motto: "if it's worth doing more than once, it's worth automating it". Needless to say, I'm the one that gets all the "awk" and shell-script questions. Last year, I made the "mistake" of buying a PC clone system (80386 based). So far, I haven't done much serious stuff with it, but am preparing to do so. The biggest advantage in selecting a PC clone was the cheap availability of decent peripherals and memory. A good selection of software is available, but using DOS for software development can rapidly wear you out. I had wanted a computer since high school days, when I used a KSR-33 teletype to dial up to a CDC 6400 system after hours. Within 2 weeks, I knew more about BASIC and Fortran than the head of the math department. At the end of 2 months, I got caught with the Teletype completely dismantled, as I was making an "unauthorized" modification to support Full Duplex. That was when I knew I'd major in CS. Finally, with the advent of '386 clones, I could afford a configuration capable of running serious OS software. Well, now I'm looking for the serious OS. From what I hear, GNU goes well beyond Emacs (which I love, by the way). Your C compiler has a nice little reputation, and I'm curious how far things have come. The last time I read much about FSF, there wasn't a lot of the OS work done, but I'll admit that I've gotten behind. I managed to nab a copy of your newsletter from early '89, but it has since been "borrowed". Although I'll have limited time available, I'd like to volunteer to work on some piece(s) that would be of use to FSF. This would be my way of paying for access to the software, as I don't currently have much loose cash (the business is rather cash-flow hungry during the post-birth trauma days). That's the Polite Society way of saying that even the $150/tape distribution costs are somewhat out of my reach at the moment. If things are far along enough that you no longer need volunteer software development support, send me a list of those services or other items that do need some time applied to them. There are a lot of areas that I may be able to assist. Looking forward to hearing from you. Craig Strickland TGI Software Consulting 305/749-8678 uunet!gould!tgi!tgi