In September of 1999 the LyX Team decided that we could no
longer successfully use the two strand development process
- like the Linux kernel. We are in the process of switching to a
- development model similar to that used by Fetchmail where we
- will only make small stable changes between releases and
- release more often. All future releases should be stable
- although we are currently in a transition period where some
- major changes have to be introduced and are likely to affect
- the stability in the short term.
-
- These changes include:
-
- * Use of C++ Standard Library features such as the Standard
- Template Library (STL), string and streams.
-
- * Establishing the foundations of GUI/system independence,
-
- * Rearrangement of the directory structure.
-
- Once the transition is over the 1.1 series should be very
- stable and we will then release 1.2.0. 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 now uses a continuous numbering scheme where odd or
- even numbering is no longer 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-1.1.5.tar.gz -- stable release
- lyx-1.1.5fix2.tar.gz -- bug fix of the 1.1.5 stable release.
- lyx-1.1.5pre1.tar.gz -- potentially unstable test release
-
- The fix releases contain no new functionality; only fixes that
- have already made their way into the cvs repository.
+ like the Linux kernel. The idea was to to switch to a
+ 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 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.
+ 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 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
+ lyx-1.2.0pre1.tar.gz -- potentially unstable test release
+
+ 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
+ is not too high) and safe (so that system administrators can
+ install them without fear) bug fixes. Experience shows that
+ these releases will contain a few new features, and that the
+ bulk of the patches will be documentation updates.
What is LyX?
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 OS/2 with XFree
- At least X11 Release 5
+ A Unix-like system or Windows with cygwin, OS/2 with XFree
+ At least X11 Release 5.
A decent LaTeX2e installation (e.g. teTeX or NTeX) not older
- than 1995/12/01
- Optionally ghostscript and ghostview (or compatible)
- - note that ghostscript versions 6.22 through 6.52
- won't render inline figures in LyX. This is due to
- a ghostscript bug.
- 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 many others work.
- 2. The Xforms library version 0.88 (recommended) or 0.89.
- 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.
as LyX sees it. You might be missing a package or two that you'd
like to have.
- User-level configuration is possible with a file "~/.lyx/lyxrc".
- You can use the system-wide lyxrc file (which should be somewhere
- like /usr/local/share/lyx/lyxrc) as a template for your personal
- lyxrc file. Remember that a personal configuration file will be
- used instead of, not in addition to, any system-wide file.
+ User-level configuration is possible via the Edit>Preferences menu.
Does LyX have support for non-English speakers/writers/readers?
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.