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. . . . . . . Skunkware 7 Release Notes

Table of Contents


What is it ?

SCO Skunkware is the generic name for a free collection of software prebuilt for SCO systems. This distribution is Skunkware 7 (the distribution naming is rather eclectic) and is targeted mainly at the Unixware 7 platform though there are packages here for both UW 2.x and OpenServer.

Distributions are released on CD periodically and a repository of this and previous distributions as well as updates and corrections can always be found at http://www.sco.com/skunkware.

SCO Skunkware is software for entertainment, education, experimentation, and often real work. It is provided for free and is not formally supported by SCO.

The software on the Skunkware 7 CD-ROM is licensed under a variety of terms. Much of it is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Some is licensed under the GNU Library General Public License. Other components are licensed under the Artistic License. Many of the components are "freeware" with no restrictions on their redistribution while a few components are "shareware" meaning the author would like you to try the software and, if you wish to use it, send her some money. A few components are commercial products which can be used freely for non-commercial purposes (e.g. msql). Some components simply restrict their use to non-commercial purposes.

To determine the licensing conditions for a particular component, see the corresponding source in the source directory. With the infrequent exception of SCO proprietary code, all Skunkware components are accompanied by the source used to build them. The source is archived in the src subdirectory by category. The categories are:

Skunkware 7 Software Categories
audio emulators libraries shellutil fileutil mail sysadmin db net
textproc devtools interp news video editors lib shells www
X11 Graphical Categories
apps fonts games graphics misc savers utils viewers winman

Many of the components of SCO Skunkware may be viewed as productivity and development tools to be taken seriously. Don't let its whimsical nature fool you. Examples of serious tools on Skunkware 7 include:
Of course, Skunkware also contains fun stuff. Gotta have something to keep the polecats entertained thru the night. Examples include:
Several of the components on this CD should be considered experimental. Consider Skunkware a research tool. Examples:

Remember, Skunkware is freely distributed and unsupported software. No warranty is made on any of the Skunkware components. Support and assistance with this software is not provided by SCO. In many cases, however, an e-mail to skunkware@sco.com describing any problem you might have may result in a reply/fix/solution. And ...

"The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. and SCO Skunkware are not related to, affiliated with or licensed by the famous Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (R), the creator of the F-117 Stealth Fighter, SR-71, U-2, Venturestar(tm), Darkstar(tm), and other pioneering air and spacecraft."

Getting Started

SCO UnixWare 7

SCO OpenServer

The media images for SCO OpenServer are located in /<mount-point>/osr5/inst on the CD-ROM. The packages will be exported to /usr/local and in total consume about 150 MB.

To install an individual package, execute the command:

    # custom -p SKUNK97:default:Package -i -z /<mount-point>/osr5/inst
where "Package" is the name of the desired component. See the file /<mount-point>/osr5/CONTENTS for the list of available components.

An interactive graphical installation can be performed by running /etc/custom as root and choosing to install from "media images". Enter the pathname of the media images (e.g. /<mount-point>/osr5/inst) and choose to do a full install.

If, as root, you are running the X.Desktop, then you can configure your system to mount the SCO Skunkware 7 CD-ROM by double-clicking the System Administration folder -> Filesystems -> Filesystem Manager. Alternatively, at a root shell prompt, type "scoadmin f" to bring up the Filesystem Manager. Next select Mount -> Add Mount Configuration -> Local and enter /dev/cd0 for the device and a mount point. Change the "Can Users Mount" to Yes and uncheck the "At System Startup" mount. After completing this operation, you should be able to mount and unmount the SCO Skunkware 7 CD-ROM by typing "mnt <mount-point> and "umnt <mount-point> as any user.

The Skunkware 7 CD-ROM contains several additional distributions intended for use on SCO OpenServer systems but not yet packaged for installation via the SCO custom facility. To install one of these distributions, it is necessary to extract the archive from / as root as follows:

    # cd /
    # gzcat /<mount-point>/osr5/path/to/foo-rel-dist.tar.gz | tar xf -
These additional binary distributions include:

SCO UnixWare 2.x

The pkgadd installable files for UnixWare 2.x systems are located in /<mount-point>/uw2/Packages/<package-name>.pkg (in pkgadd Data Stream Format files) on the CD-ROM (where <package-name> indicates the package name).

They are installed into /usr/local and in total consume about 80 MB.

To install an individual package, execute the command:

    # pkgadd -d /<mount-point>/uw2/Packages/package_name.pkg
where "package_name" is the name of the desired component.

For a list of all the pkg installable components see the file /<mount-point>/uw2/CONTENTS.

The Skunkware 7 CD-ROM contains several "pre-compiled" source archives intended for installation on UnixWare 2.x systems. These include:

Other

On any other system, after mounting or otherwise making the High-Sierra Rockridge CD-ROM filesystem accessible, point your WWW browser to <mount-point>/index.html where <mount-point> indicates the UNIX directory or Windows drive representing the CD-ROM.

Source Code Distribution

In almost all cases, source code is also provided, so you can rebuild for earlier SCO releases or other platforms. Source code is provided in the src directory. In some cases, source code is provided but no compiled binaries. The source distributions are in gzip-compressed tar or cpio format. In order to extract these, use the command:

    $ gzcat /<mount-point>/src/<directory>/<package>.tar.gz | tar xf -
or, in the case of a compressed cpio archive:
    $ gzcat /<mount-point>/src/<directory>/<package>.cpio.gz | cpio -icdu
Where <directory> refers to the top-level source directory and <package> is the package name (e.g. gzip-1.2.4).

If you do not have gzcat installed (part of the gzip package), you can install it off of the SCO Skunkware 7 CD via the command:

        (UnixWare 7 systems)
        # pkgadd -d /<mount-point> gzip

        (UnixWare 2.x systems)
        # pkgadd -d /<mount-point>/uw2/Packages/gzip.pkg

        (OpenServer systems)
        # custom -p SKUNK97:default:GZIP -i -z /<mount-point>/osr5/inst

Technical Library Supplements

You may also find the SCO Technical Library Supplements to be of interest. These are drawn from the SCO Support Online System, and are accessible via anonymous ftp on the Internet from ftp.sco.com or via web facilities at http://www.sco.com

Default Package Configurations

Many of the Skunkware packages contain configuration files. In order to avoid excessive user interaction during installation and to provide a consistent and well integrated set of configurations, the Skunkware 7 packages have been pre-configured (with the exception of xmcd which will prompt you for your CD-ROM make and model; and inn which may prompt for a "news" user password).

Generally, you will not need to alter the default configurations but you may choose to do so. Some of the package pre-configurations are as follows:

Known Limitations and Problems

Comments

We are interested in your general comments about this distribution and about development tools in general. Please feel free to e-mail skunkware@sco.com with comments, criticisms and suggestions.

Ronald Joe Record SCO rr@sco.com
Senior Engineer for Free Stuff, Skunkware, technical tools, etc.
400 Encinal St. Santa Cruz, CA 95061 FAX: 408-427-5417 Voice: 408-427-7604

Dion L. Johnson II SCO dionj@sco.com
Product Manager for Free Stuff, Skunkware, technical tools, etc.
400 Encinal St. Santa Cruz, CA 95061 FAX: 408-427-5417 Voice: 408-427-7565


Last Updated: Friday Mar 19, 1999 at 13:28:44 PST


  © Copyright 1997 The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. All rights reserved.