From a38c80d8465dc8dfee5b32984a95833d2970c752 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Karl Berry Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2021 07:01:44 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] autoupdate --- doc/standards.texi | 51 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------- 1 file changed, 33 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-) diff --git a/doc/standards.texi b/doc/standards.texi index 9d6978a77b..30592c6568 100644 --- a/doc/standards.texi +++ b/doc/standards.texi @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ @setfilename standards.info @settitle GNU Coding Standards @c This date is automagically updated when you save this file: -@set lastupdate July 1, 2021 +@set lastupdate August 17, 2021 @c %**end of header @dircategory GNU organization @@ -2935,18 +2935,33 @@ In the Unix world, ``portability'' refers to porting to different Unix versions. For a GNU program, this kind of portability is desirable, but not paramount. -The primary purpose of GNU software is to run on top of the GNU kernel, -compiled with the GNU C compiler, on various types of CPU@. So the -kinds of portability that are absolutely necessary are quite limited. -But it is important to support Linux-based GNU systems, since they -are the form of GNU that is popular. - -Beyond that, it is good to support the other free operating systems -(*BSD), and it is nice to support other Unix-like systems if you want -to. Supporting a variety of Unix-like systems is desirable, although -not paramount. It is usually not too hard, so you may as well do it. -But you don't have to consider it an obligation, if it does turn out to -be hard. +The primary purpose of GNU software is to run as part of the GNU +operating system, compiled with GNU compilers, on various types of +hardware. So the kinds of portability that are absolutely necessary +are quite limited. It is important to support Linux-based GNU +systems, since they are the form of GNU that people mainly use. + +Making a GNU program operate on operating systems other than the GNU +system is not part of the core goal of developing a GNU package. You +don't ever have to do that. However, users will ask you to do that, +and cooperating with those requests is useful---as long as you don't +let it dominate the project or impede the primary goal. + +It is good to support the other free or nearly free operating systems +(for instance, *BSD). Supporting a variety of Unix-like systems is +desirable, although not paramount. It is usually not too hard, so you +may as well do it. But you don't have to consider it an obligation, +if it does turn out to be hard. + +For the most part it is good to port the program to more platforms, +but you should not let take up so much of your time that it hinders +you from improving the program in more central ways. If it starts to +do that, please tell users that you don't want to spend any more +time on this---someone else must write that code, debug it, document +it, etc., and then you can install it. + +You can reject porting patches for technical reasons too, as with any +other patch that users submit. It is up to you. @pindex autoconf The easiest way to achieve portability to most Unix-like systems is to @@ -4593,21 +4608,21 @@ you should not link to @var{p}. A web page recommends a program in an implicit but particularly strong way if it requires users to run that program in order to use the page. Many pages contain Javascript code which they recommend in this way. -This Javascript code may be free or nonfree, but nonfree is the usual +This Javascript code may be free or non-free, but non-free is the usual case. If the purpose for which you would refer to the page cannot be carried -out without running nonfree Javascript code, then you should not refer +out without running non-free Javascript code, then you should not refer to it. Thus, if the purpose of referring to the page is for people to view a video, or subscribing to a mailing list, and the viewing or -subscribing fail to work if the user's browser blocks the nonfree +subscribing fail to work if the user's browser blocks the non-free Javascript code, then don't refer to that page. -The extreme case is that of web sites which depend on nonfree +The extreme case is that of web sites which depend on non-free Javascript code even to @emph{see} the contents of the pages. Any site hosted on @indicateurl{wix.com} has this problem, and so do some other sites. Referring people to such pages to read their contents -is, in effect, urging them to run those nonfree programs---so please +is, in effect, urging them to run those non-free programs---so please don't refer to those pages. (Such pages also break the Web, so they deserve condemnation for two reasons.) -- 2.39.5