Copyright Ó 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997  Don Yacktman.  All Rights Reserved.  Version 1.10.0.

Important Release Notes

This is the MiscKit version 1.10.0.  It is recommended that you place this folder (ªMiscKitº) in /LocalDeveloper/Source so that it is available to everyone who uses your system, though the MiscKit can be built and installed anywhere you like.

DiskSpace;¬The installed MiscKit will require approximately 28 megabytes if compiled quad-fat.  You will need about 13 megabytes in addition to that if you plan to keep the source code.  In order to do a successful quad fat ªmake installº from the MiscKit distribution, you will need about 80 megabytes free on your hard disk.  Doing a quad fat ªmake installº takes well over three hours on 25MHz Motorola hardware.  A quad-fat ªmake allº requires nearly 200 megabytes!  It is recommended that you do a ªmake installº and then build only the examples you are interested inÐand then only after having done a ªmake distcleanº to remove extraneous object files.

In addition to the above recommendation about building the examples, in this release I haven't had time to text and iron out all the Makefile and other difficulties with building the examples.  As a result, ªmake allº or ªmake examplesº are practically guaranteed to fail.  Instead, for this release, please do a ªmake installº.  There is still one other remaining difficulty, for those who can't install into the /Local... hierarchy.  Some of the examples and palettes require the MiscFindPanel bundle and they soft link to it via links into the /Local... hierarchy.  I plan to fix the makefiles to be more intelligent and create the links dynamically for the next release.  So, I am aware of all these problems; there is no need to send in bug reports on these aspects of the build process!
 
MiscKit 1.6.0 added a new libMiscString.a.  This library duplicates the MiscString code which is in libMiscKit.a.  It exists for people who use the MiscString object but not the other MiscKit objects.  Using the MiscString library in these cases will reduce the size of the linked file.  If you are linking against libMiscKit.a, do not link against libMiscString.a or you will get link conflicts!  It was chosen to do it this way, rather than removing the MiscString code from libMiscKit.a, to retain compatability with existing projects.

Some of the classes brought in from the MOKitÐspecifically the flexible document handling architectureÐare not yet 100% ready for use.  They are here mostly for comments by MiscKit users.  They will be fully integrated and documented, with an example app, in an upcoming MiscKit release.  It is currently planned for the rest of the MOKit to be folded into the MiscKit within the next release or two.  (I'm waiting on permission to use some code from other, non-MOKit, objects to enhance the MOKit and MiscKit stuff in the process. Ðdon)

You should either be running NEXTSTEP 3.[23] or expect to go through hassles.  To try and help you out, you can ªsuº to root and type ªmake prepº to attempt to install some things the Makefile expects to have that are only available under 3.2.  If you can't do this, expect to have to roll up your sleeves and tweak the Makefiles a little bit. (If you can't get the ªprepº target to work and have modified the Makefile instead, you can do a ªtouch .preppedº in the top level to skip prepping on future builds.)  The MiscKit is built quad fat (m68k, i386, hppa, and sparc) by default.  Please see the ;Documentation/UsingTheMiscKit.rtfd;Fat;¬notes on the current wrinkles involved in changing the target architectures, especially if you are running a version of NEXTSTEP before 3.3.

There are audio alerts initiated by the Makefile to encourage you to read this file.  As shipped, the Makefile is configured to play them.  If you haven't started the build yet then you can disable these alerts by simply changing the AUDIOALERTS variable at the start of the Makefile from ªYESº to ªNOº.  The variable SHOWREADME controls whether or not you are forced to see this file.

The Temp folder contains works in progress which are not yet fully integrated into the kit, but may be useful to you nonetheless.  These items are documented at the end of the file ;Authors.rtf;TempFolder;¬Authors.rtf.  There are several interesting items in this area, so be sure to check it out!  In addition, the MOKit is in the process of merging with the MiscKit.  The current MOKit is available from the regular NeXT archives.

Submissions.rtfd;Submissions.rtfd;;¬ provides tips to make your submissions a bit better.  There is also a TableOfContents;TableOfContents.rtf;;¬ designed to help you navigate through the information in the MiscKit and answer Frequently Asked Questions;FAQ.rtf;FAQ;¬ (the FAQ).  If you have suggestions of things which could be added to these files, please submit them.

If you find any bugs or have any problems, please let us know!

feedback;¬MiscKit Feedback
(and mailing lists)

To  suggest improvements in the kit, direct your comments to the original author of the object(s) in question, as listed in Authors.rtf.  Be sure to state the version number of the MiscKit and the resource (object, bundle, etc.).

To suggest ideas for new objects or general comments for the entire development team, or to participate yourself, send mail to the MiscKit mailing list at misckit@listman.thoughtport.com (for list traffic) or, if you're not yet on the list, send mail to misckit-request@listman.thoughtport.com (to either get on or off the list).

Items in the MiscKit will be useful to some, and very lacking for others.  The best thing to do is to bug the various authors about features that you need fixed or implemented.  Submissions of your own objects are welcome and we also welcome ideas for new objects that you would find useful.  The areas most frequently requested will, of course, receive more attention.  So if you find any bugs, or have any problems with portions of the MiscKit, please let us know.

Other Notes

In spirit, license and use is utterly free.  Commercial, shareware, and freeware apps can all use this stuff as much as they want as long as they comply with the (very few) requirements detailed in the file License.rtf.  That also means there's no warranty, no support, and you are on your own.  (Of course, there are many helpful folk on the MiscKit mailing list, so support does exist, although it is not promised.)  If you use the MiscKit, you should acknowledge that fact in your app somewhere, but you have no other obligation to meet in order to use the MiscKit.

Despite the lack of official support, your feedback is very important.  It would be appreciated if you would send any changes you make in the MiscKit source code to the original author of the modified resource so that others may benefit from your changes.

Share and enjoy!²

±Don_Yacktman@byu.edu
MiscKit administrator

________
²Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  :-)