New section "Recent history of the project: What version *is* this, anyway?".
Rename section "A brief history of the project" to "Ancient history" and remove disclaimer about being out of date.
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		| @@ -51,10 +51,78 @@ charge a fee for it.  Plus, it provides income for the cygwin project so | |||||||
| we can continue working on it.  For further details about the commercial | we can continue working on it.  For further details about the commercial | ||||||
| product, see @file{http://www.cygnus.com/cygwin/}. | product, see @file{http://www.cygnus.com/cygwin/}. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
| @section A brief history of the project | @section Recent history of the project: What version @emph{is} this, anyway? | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
| @strong{(Please note: This section has not yet been updated for the latest | Starting on April 17, 2000, the Cygwin team changed the procedure for | ||||||
| net release.)} | doing net releases. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | Previously, net releases entailed downloading one or two large files | ||||||
|  | (called something like @code{FULL.EXE} or @code{USER.EXE}).  These files | ||||||
|  | unpacked a "Cygwin Distribution" to a static (and arcane) directory | ||||||
|  | structure.  This distribution contained lots of .exe, .a, .h, and other | ||||||
|  | files. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | These distributions were named after the version of the Cygwin DLL which | ||||||
|  | they contained.  The last version released with this method was Cygwin | ||||||
|  | B20.1. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | This distribution method has the advantage that everything was "all in | ||||||
|  | one place".  You could copy the huge FULL.EXE file around and know that | ||||||
|  | you were getting the complete "Cygwin Distribution". | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | The method had several disadvantages, however.  1) it was huge, 2) it | ||||||
|  | was hard to download in one error-free piece, and 3) it was hard to | ||||||
|  | update. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | Why was it hard to update?  Because any change to any package in | ||||||
|  | FULL.EXE meant re-generating all of FULL.EXE.  This process was not easy | ||||||
|  | to automate since FULL.EXE was an InstallShield executable.  As a | ||||||
|  | result, until recently, Cygwin development was relatively static. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | To rectify these problems, the Cygwin team decided, early in January | ||||||
|  | 2000, to break up the packages in the release and make a small program | ||||||
|  | (@code{setup.exe}) available to use in downloading packages.  After much | ||||||
|  | development and internal discussion on the cygwin-developers mailing | ||||||
|  | list, the new, improved version of a Cygwin release was made available | ||||||
|  | on April 17, 2000. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | This new release also had a new version of the Cygwin DLL -- 1.1.0. | ||||||
|  | Most of the other packages were updated and some packages from the | ||||||
|  | Cygwin CD were included.  Meanwhile, the Cygwin DLL continues to be | ||||||
|  | updated, and is more generically referred to as "1.1.x". | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | Users obtain this package by first downloading a version of | ||||||
|  | @code{setup.exe}.  This program started as a simple command line tool, | ||||||
|  | has metamorphosed into a GUI, and is in the process of continual | ||||||
|  | improvement.  However, its purpose is simple -- it is designed to | ||||||
|  | install packages from the cygwin web site at sources.redhat.com.  In | ||||||
|  | effect, it is a smaller, more intelligent replacement for FULL.EXE.  It | ||||||
|  | does not require the downloading a huge executable but rather downloads | ||||||
|  | individual small packages. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | Does this mean that the new net release of the Cygwin package is 1.1.x? | ||||||
|  | No.  We no longer label the releases with the Cygwin version number. | ||||||
|  | Each package in the cygwin release has its own version now. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | Does this mean that Cygwin 1.1.x is newer than B20.1?  Yes!  The cygwin | ||||||
|  | 1.1.x versions all represent continual improvement in the Cygwin DLL. | ||||||
|  | Although the 1.1.x code is still considered "beta quality", the Cygwin | ||||||
|  | team felt comfortable enough with the cygwin technology to bump the | ||||||
|  | version number to "1". | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | The other packages in the latest directory are also continually | ||||||
|  | improving, some thanks to the efforts of net volunteers who maintain the | ||||||
|  | cygwin binary ports.  Each package has its own version numbers and | ||||||
|  | its own release process. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | So, how do you get the most up-to-date version of cygwin?  Easy.  Just | ||||||
|  | download the setup.exe program from your closest mirror.  This program | ||||||
|  | will handle the task of updating the packages on your system to the | ||||||
|  | latest version.  The Cygwin team frequently updates and adds new | ||||||
|  | packages to the soureware web site.  The setup.exe program is the | ||||||
|  | easiest way to determine what you need on your system. | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
|  | @section Ancient history of the project | ||||||
|  |  | ||||||
| The first thing done was to enhance the development tools (gcc, gdb, | The first thing done was to enhance the development tools (gcc, gdb, | ||||||
| gas, et al) so that they could generate/interpret Win32 native object | gas, et al) so that they could generate/interpret Win32 native object | ||||||
|   | |||||||
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