In September of 1999 the LyX Team decided that we could no
longer successfully use the two strand development process
like the Linux kernel. The idea was to to switch to a
- development model similar to that used by Fetchmail where only
- we would will only make small stable changes between releases
+ development model similar to that used by Fetchmail where
+ we would make only small stable changes between releases
and release more often. This lead to the 1.1.x series of LyX
- releases where the inhards of the program have been rewritten
+ releases during which the inhards of the program were rewritten
to make use of the C++ Standard Library features, establish
the foundations of GUI/system independence, and generally
clean up the data structures used in the core of LyX.
As of April 2002, this transition phase is completed and we
- feel it is time to switch to (yet) another version scheme.
+ feel it is time to switch to (yet) another version scheme.
This new series will be in a state of continual advancement.
Note the word "advancement" and not "development." Development
will be occurring in branches of CVS and once the
feature/modification has proved stable it will be merged into
the main releases.
- LyX still uses a continuous numbering scheme where odd or
- even numbering is not significant. Prereleases are
- labeled with a "pre" suffix and any fixes required between
- stable releases have a "fix" suffix. Thus there are three
- possible file names:
+ LyX still uses a continuous numbering scheme in which odd or
+ even numbering is not significant. Instead a number '1.x.y'
+ indicates stable release '1.x', fix level 'y'. Prereleases
+ are labeled with a "pre" suffix. Thus there are three possible
+ file names:
lyx-1.2.0.tar.gz -- stable release
lyx-1.2.2.tar.gz -- second maintenance release of the
- 1.2.0 stable release
+ 1.2.0 stable release
lyx-1.2.0pre1.tar.gz -- potentially unstable test release
- The maintenance releases are designed mainly to fix bugs. The
+ The maintenance releases are designed primarily to fix bugs. The
goal here is not to have parallel development as for the linux
kernel (the team is too small to afford that), but rather to
include all the simple (so that the maintenance burden on us
software.
You can read more about this concept in the documentation,
- which you'll find under the Help menu. If you plan to use LyX,
- you really should read about it to be able to make the best of
+ which you'll find under the Help menu. If you plan to use LyX,
+ you really should read about it to be able to make the best of
it.
What is LyX not?
LyX is not just another word processor that claims to be a
Desktop Publishing program. It's a more modern way of
- creating documents that look much nicer, but without wasting
- time with layout-fiddling. For these reasons you might need
+ creating documents that look much nicer, but without wasting
+ time with layout-fiddling. For these reasons you might need
little time to get used to the differences.
If you are looking for a free Desktop Publishing program for
Unix, you will be disappointed.
What do I need to run LyX?
A Unix-like system or Windows with cygwin, OS/2 with XFree
- At least X11 Release 5
+ At least X11 Release 5.
A decent LaTeX2e installation (e.g. teTeX or NTeX) not older
- than 1995/12/01
- Perl5.002 or later to import LaTeX files into LyX
+ than 1995/12/01.
+ Perl5.002 or later to import LaTeX files into LyX.
What's new?
How do I upgrade from an earlier LyX version?
Read the file UPGRADING for info on this subject.
- If you are upgrading from version 0.12.0 or later, you don't
+ If you are upgrading from version 0.12.0 or later, you don't
need to do anything special.
What do I need to compile LyX from the source distribution?
- 1. A good c++ compiler. Development is being done mainly on
- gcc/g++, but some others work. As of LyX 1.2.0, you need at
- least gcc 2.95.X (or egcs 1.1.x). Another compiler known to
- work is compaq cxx 6.1.
- 2. The Xforms library version 0.89.6 (recommended) or 0.88.1.
- 3. LibXpm version 4.7 (or newer).
+ * A good c++ compiler. Development is being done mainly on
+ gcc/g++, but some others work. As of LyX 1.3.0, you need at
+ least gcc 2.95.X (or egcs 1.1.x). Another compiler known to
+ work is compaq cxx 6.1.
+ Either:
+ * The Xforms library, version 0.89.5 or newer. We recommend
+ the LGPL version 1.0.
+ * LibXpm, version 4.7 or newer.
+ Or:
+ * The Qt library, version 2.x or 3.x.
Read the file "INSTALL" for more information on compiling.
list, or use the LyX bug tracker at http://bugzilla.lyx.org/.
Don't forget to mention which version you are having problems with!
-How can I participate in the development of LyX?
+How can I participate in the development of LyX?
Any help with the development of LyX is greatly appreciated--
after all LyX wouldn't be what it is today without the help
of volunteers. We need your help!
- If you want to work on LyX, you should contact the developer's
- mailing list for discussion on how to do your stuff. LyX is being
- cleaned up, and therefore it's important to follow some rules.
+ If you want to work on LyX, you should contact the developer's
+ mailing list for discussion on how to do your stuff. LyX is being
+ cleaned up, and therefore it's important to follow some rules.
Read about those rules in development/Code_rules/.
If you don't know C++, there are many other ways to contribute.
documentation or menus/error messages, or by writing a new keymap.
Write a new textclass. Work on reLyX (Perl). Find bugs (but please
read the list of known bugs first). Contribute money. Or just offer
- feature suggestions (but please read the online TODO list first).
+ feature suggestions (but please read the online TODO list first).
Thank you for trying LyX, and we appreciate your feedback in the mailing
lists.