Version 4.0 of Epoch, GNU Emacs for the X windowing system has now been formally released. Epoch is based on GNU Emacs version 18.58, and adds the following functionality: o Multiple X-Window support. o Marked and attributed regions of text o Support for proportional and variably-sized fonts o Support for display of 8-bit clean fonts (ISO, etc.) o Asynchronous communication with other X Clients o Mouse-dragging with hilighting to support cut & paste using Selections o Access to raw X-Window objects o Support for restoring attributed regions following undo operations Changes from Epoch 3.2 ---------------------- Details on all of these changes are discussed in the file `README-Epoch4.0' in the distribution, including comments on converting 3.2 Elisp code to run under 4.0. o Based on 18.58 rather than 18.55 o Multiple minibuffer modes o Epoch "buttons" have been renamed to "zones" o Epoch 4.0 supports a fully style-based display o Proportional font support o Mouse support based on extensions to 3.2 mouse handling o Selections rather than cut-buffers are used for cut & paste. o "Ascii" support equivalent to running ASCII GNU Emacs o Support for sharing directories between Epoch and GNU Emacs 18.58 installed elsewhere. o $HOME/.Xdefaults is not read upon startup for ICCCM compliance. Getting Epoch ------------- Epoch is available by anonymous ftp from cs.uiuc.edu (128.174.252.1) in the directory pub/epoch-files/epoch, either as a full distribution or as patches from the most recent Beta release (Epoch 4.0b1). Epoch is available in the UK from uk.ac.ic.doc.src (00000510200001) in the directory /gnu/epoch. Epoch is also available from aix370.rrz.uni-koeln.de (134.95.132.2) in /gnu/emacs/epoch. No patches are available from the 3.2 release because of size constraints (too much has changed). Epoch is available on tape: The cost at the time of creating version 4.0 was $175.00 for cartridge tapes. We can currently make 1600 BPI reel tapes and cartridge tapes for SUN and HP 9000 series machines. The price covers the cost of purchasing, making and shipping the tapes. You should contact the epoch-request mailing list to confirm these rates. Payment should be by cheque made payable to the University of Illinois, and sent to: Epoch Distribution, attn: R. Canaday Department of Computer Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1304 W. Springfield Avenue, Urbana Illinois 61801, USA The files available via ftp are: ANNOUNCE4.0 this file epoch-4.0p0.tar.Z the entire release epoch-4.0.epoch-man.tar.Z just the manual epoch-4.0.epoch-man.ps.Z postscript version of manual epoch-4.0.epoch-man.dvi.Z dvi version of manual epoch-4.0-update6.tar.Z 4.0p0 in patch form from 4.0b1 Installing Epoch ---------------- Because of the added ascii support and potential lisp directory sharing, please refer to the file `INSTALL', which fully discusses the steps to get Epoch 4.0 up and running. Ideas and Support ----------------- There is a newsgroup and gatewayed mailing list for discussing ideas about Epoch applications as well as reporting bugs. Submissions can be posted directly the group gnu.epoch.misc, or send via mail to `epoch@cs.uiuc.edu' (alternatively `uunet!uiucdcs!epoch' or `epoch%cs.uiuc.edu@uiucvmd.bitnet'). Mailing list requests (additions or deletions from the list) should be sent to `epoch-request'. Announcements regarding official (i.e. supported) patches and any subsequent releases will be made through this channel; patches will be available via ftp and email upon request. Many common questions are answered in the Epoch FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file, which may be found in `etc/EPOCH-FAQ' in the distribution. The manual also is available in info format, by pressing C-h i. At this time, many thanks are due to members of the `epoch-design' mailing list and to all Alpha/Beta users; they have contributed much to the utility and stability of Epoch 4.0.