about summary refs log tree commit diff
path: root/README
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'README')
-rw-r--r--README134
1 files changed, 88 insertions, 46 deletions
diff --git a/README b/README
index 36a2af9129..9b9616ccb6 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -1,49 +1,91 @@
-This directory contains the version 2.3.4 release of the GNU C Library.
-Many bugs have been fixed since the last release.
-Some bugs surely remain.
-
-As of this release, the GNU C library is known to run on the following
-configurations:
-
-		*-*-gnu			GNU Hurd
-		i[3456]86-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.x on Intel
-		m68k-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.x on Motorola 680x0
-		alpha*-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.x on DEC Alpha
-		powerpc-*-linux-gnu     Linux and MkLinux on PowerPC systems
-		powerpc64-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.4.19+ on 64-bit PowerPC systems
-		sparc-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.x on SPARC
-		sparc64-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.x on UltraSPARC 64-bit
-		arm-*-none		ARM standalone systems
-		arm-*-linux		Linux-2.x on ARM
-		arm-*-linuxaout		Linux-2.x on ARM using a.out binaries
-		mips*-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.x on MIPS
-		ia64-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.x on ia64
-		s390-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.x on IBM S/390
-		s390x-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.4+ on IBM S/390 64-bit
-		sh-*-linux-gnu		Linux-2.x on Super Hitachi
-		x86-64-*-linux-gnu	Linux-2.4+ on x86-64
-
-Past releases of this library ran on a variety of configurations that are
-no longer supported.  Porting the library is not hard.  If you are
-interested in doing a port, please contact the glibc maintainers;
-see http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/ for more information.
-
-There are some add-ons which can be used together with GNU libc.  They
-are designed in a way to ease the installation by integrating them in
-the libc source tree.  Simply get the add-ons you need and use the
---enable-add-ons option of the `configure' script to tell where the
-add-ons are found.  Please read the FAQ file for more details.
-
-See the file INSTALL to find out how to configure, build, install, and port
-the GNU C library.  You might also consider reading the WWW pages for the
-GNU libc at http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/libc.html.
-
-The GNU C Library is completely documented by the Texinfo manual found
-in the `manual/' subdirectory.  The manual is still being updated and
-contains some known errors and omissions; we regret that we do not
-have the resources to work on the manual as much as we would like.
-Please send comments on the manual to <bug-glibc-manual@gnu.org>, and
-not to the library bug-reporting address.
+This directory contains the version 2.4 release of the GNU C Library.
+
+The GNU C Library is the standard system C library for all GNU systems,
+and is an important part of what makes up a GNU system.  It provides the
+system API for all programs written in C and C-compatible languages such
+as C++ and Objective C; the runtime facilities of other programming
+languages use the C library to access the underlying operating system.
+
+In GNU/Linux systems, the C library works with the Linux kernel to
+implement the operating system behavior seen by user applications.
+In GNU/Hurd systems, it works with a microkernel and Hurd servers.
+
+Version 2.4 is the first release after a long period of development, and
+introduces changes to the API and a new ABI for all configurations.  It
+has been tested and deployed in new production systems, but should still
+be considered somewhat experimental.  The stable 2.3 release series
+continues to be maintained, and implements a widely-deployed ABI.
+Version 2.3.6 is available, and we will release 2.3.7 with more bug fixes.
+
+The GNU C Library implements much of the POSIX.1 functionality in the
+GNU/Hurd system, using configurations i[34567]86-*-gnu.
+
+When working with Linux kernels, the GNU C Library version 2.4 is
+intended primarily for use with Linux kernel version 2.6.0 and later.
+We only support using the NPTL implementation of pthreads, which is now
+the default configuration.  Most of the C library will continue to work
+on older Linux kernels and many programs will not require a 2.6 kernel
+to run correctly.  However, pthreads and related functionality will not
+work at all on old kernels and we do not recommend using glibc 2.4 with
+any Linux kernel prior to 2.6.
+
+All Linux kernel versions prior to 2.6.16 are known to have some bugs that
+may cause some of the tests related to pthreads in "make check" to fail.
+If you see such problems, please try the test suite on the most recent
+Linux kernel version that you can use, before pursuing those bugs further.
+
+The old LinuxThreads add-on implementation of pthreads for older Linux
+kernels is no longer supported, and we are not distributing it with this
+release.  Someone has volunteered to revive its maintenance unofficially
+for at least a short time for the benefit of those using Linux kernels
+older than 2.6, but a working version is not presently available.  When
+it is in working condition, we will make it available alongside future
+glibc releases.  LinuxThreads will not be supported.
+
+The GNU C Library supports these configurations for using Linux kernels:
+
+	i[34567]86-*-linux-gnu
+	x86_64-*-linux-gnu
+	powerpc-*-linux-gnu
+	powerpc64-*-linux-gnu
+	s390-*-linux-gnu
+	s390x-*-linux-gnu
+	ia64-*-linux-gnu
+	sparc*-*-linux-gnu
+	sparc64*-*-linux-gnu
+
+	alpha*-*-linux-gnu	Requires Linux 2.6.9 for NPTL
+	sh[34]-*-linux-gnu	Requires Linux 2.6.11
+
+The code for other CPU configurations supported by volunteers outside of
+the core glibc maintenance effort is contained in the separate `ports'
+add-on.  You can find glibc-ports-2.4 distributed separately in the
+same place where you got the main glibc distribution files.
+Currently these configurations are known to work using the `ports' add-on:
+
+	arm-*-linux-gnu		Requires Linux 2.6.15 for NPTL, no SMP support
+	arm-*-linux-gnueabi	Requires Linux 2.6.16-rc1 for NPTL, no SMP
+	mips-*-linux-gnu	Requires Linux 2.6.12 for NPTL
+	mips64-*-linux-gnu	Requires Linux 2.6.12 for NPTL
+
+The ports distribution also contains code for other configurations that
+do not work or have not been maintained recently, but will be of use to
+anyone trying to make a new configuration work.  If you are interested
+in doing a port, please contact the glibc maintainers; see
+http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/ for more information.
+
+See the file INSTALL to find out how to configure, build, and install
+the GNU C Library.  You might also consider reading the WWW pages for
+the C library at http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/.
+
+The GNU C Library is (almost) completely documented by the Texinfo manual
+found in the `manual/' subdirectory.  The manual is still being updated
+and contains some known errors and omissions; we regret that we do not
+have the resources to work on the manual as much as we would like.  For
+corrections to the manual, please file a bug in the `manual' component,
+following the bug-reporting instructions below.  Please be sure to check
+the manual in the current development sources to see if your problem has
+already been corrected.
 
 The file NOTES contains a description of the feature-test macros used
 in the GNU C library, explaining how you can tell the library what