[comp.emacs] GNU Project

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