1 Copyright (C) 1989-2006, 2008, 2009, 2012-2013
2 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
5 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
6 notice and this notice are preserved.
8 This is the GNU `groff' document formatting system. The version
9 number is given in the file VERSION.
11 Included in this release are implementations of `troff', `pic', `eqn',
12 `tbl', `grn', `refer', `-man', `-mdoc', `-mom', and `-ms' macros, and
13 drivers for `PostScript', `PDF', `TeX DVI' format, `HP LaserJet 4'
14 printers, `Canon CAPSL' printers, `HTML' and `XHTML' formats (beta
15 status), and typewriter-like devices. Also included is a modified
16 version of the Berkeley `-me' macros, the enhanced version `gxditview'
17 of the X11 `xditview' previewer, and an implementation of the `-mm'
18 macros contributed by Joergen Haegg (jh@axis.se).
20 See the file `INSTALL' for installation instructions. You require
23 The file `NEWS' describes recent user-visible changes to `groff'.
25 `groff' is free software. See the file `COPYING' for copying
28 The file `PROBLEMS' describes various problems that have been
29 encountered in compiling, installing, and running `groff'.
31 The file `MORE.STUFF' contains information about add-on packages
34 The most recent released version of `groff' is always available by
35 anonymous ftp from `ftp.gnu.org' in the directory `gnu/groff'.
37 The current development version of `groff' is available from a `CVS'
38 repository. You can access it by first selecting a parent directory
39 in which to create a working copy (call it, say, `~/cvswork'), and
40 then executing the commands
43 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.savannah.gnu.org/sources/groff -z5 co groff
45 This creates a subdirectory, `~/cvswork/groff', with a `checked out'
46 copy of the `CVS' repository. An update of this working copy may be
47 achieved, at any later time by invoking the commands
52 Please read the `CVS' info pages for further details.
54 Finally, it is possible to access the `CVS' with a web browser by
57 http://savannah.gnu.org/cvs/?group=groff
59 Alternatively, you can download snapshots (which are updated twice a
60 day). The complete `groff' source as a single file is available at
62 http://groff.ffii.org/groff/devel/groff-current.tar.gz
64 A diff file relative to `groff-<version>', the latest official `groff'
65 release, is available at
67 http://groff.ffii.org/groff/devel/groff-<version>-current.diff.gz
69 Assuming that `groff-<version>.tar.gz' and
70 `groff-<version>-current.diff.gz' are in the same directory, do the
71 following to apply the diff file:
73 tar xzvf groff-<version>.tar.gz
75 gunzip -c ../groff-<version>-current.diff.gz | patch -p1
77 Depending on your requirements, you may need at least some of the
78 following tools to build `groff' directly from its source:
84 bison >= 1.875b or byacc
86 Note that `texinfo' and `bison' or `byacc' are required only for
87 building from `CVS' sources (either a checked out working copy, or a
88 daily snapshot). They are not required for building from a stable
89 release tarball. Also note that the version numbers stated are the
90 minimum supported. No version of `texinfo' < 4.8 works, and the
91 original release of `bison' 1.875 is known not to work; you *may* find
92 that `bison' releases < 1.875 work, but in case of difficulty, please
93 update to a later version *before* posting a bug report.
95 For *all* sources, you need ghostscript for creation of either `PDF' or
96 `HTML' output; the `netpbm' and `psutils' packages are required only
97 for `HTML' output (and for compilation from the CVS). If you don't
98 intend to produce output in either of these formats, then these
99 packages are unnecessary.
101 Additionally, producing `PDF' output directly with the `gropdf' device
102 needs a working installation of Perl. The same is true for the `chem'
105 In Linux Debian, the installation of `texinfo' is dangerous. For it
106 creates a file `install-info' that blocks the system installation. So
107 the created `/usr/local/bin/install-info' must be renamed.
109 The `groff' configure script searches for the X11 headers and
110 libraries `Xaw' and `Xmu'. So the corresponding developer packages of
111 your system must be installed, otherwise `groff' does not install
112 `gxditview' and the `-TX*' devices. In Debian, the developer packages
113 are `libxaw7-dev' and `libxmu-dev'.
115 Please report bugs using the form in the file `BUG-REPORT'; the idea
116 of this is to make sure that FSF has all the information it needs to
117 fix the bug. At the very least, read the `BUG-REPORT' form and make
118 sure that you supply all the information that it asks for. Even if
119 you are not sure that something is a bug, report it using
120 `BUG-REPORT': this enables us to determine whether it really is a bug
123 Three mailing lists are available:
125 bug-groff@gnu.org for reporting bugs
126 groff@gnu.org for general discussion of groff
127 groff-commit@gnu.org a read-only list showing commitments
128 to the CVS repository
130 To subscribe, send a mail to <list>-request@<domain> (example:
131 groff-request@gnu.org for the `groff' list) with the word `subscribe'
132 in either the subject or body of the email (don't include the quotes).
133 Alternatively, you may subscribe by visiting the web pages at
135 http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-groff
136 http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/groff
137 http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/groff-commit
139 Each of these web pages also provides a link to a browseable archive of
140 postings to the corresponding mailing list.
142 GNU `groff' was written by James Clark <jjc@jclark.com>. It is now
143 maintained by Ted Harding <ted.harding@nessie.mcc.ac.uk> and Werner
144 Lemberg <wl@gnu.org>.