Preamble: LyX version scheme
In September of 1999 the LyX Team decided that we could no
longer successfully use the two strand development process
like the Linux kernel. The idea was to to switch to a
development model similar to that used by Fetchmail where only
we would will only make small stable changes between releases
and release more often. This lead to the 1.1.x series of LyX
releases where the inhards of the program have been rewritten
to make use of the C++ Standard Library features, establish
the foundations of GUI/system independence, and generally
clean up the data structures used in the core of LyX.
As of April 2002, this transition phase is completed and we
feel it is time to switch to (yet) another version scheme.
This new series will be in a state of continual advancement.
Note the word "advancement" and not "development." Development
will be occurring in branches of CVS and once the
feature/modification has proved stable it will be merged into
the main releases.
LyX still uses a continuous numbering scheme where odd or
even numbering is not significant. Prereleases are
labeled with a "pre" suffix and any fixes required between
stable releases have a "fix" suffix. Thus there are three
possible file names:
lyx-1.2.0.tar.gz -- stable release
lyx-1.2.3.tar.gz -- third maintenance release of the
1.2.0 stable release
lyx-1.2.0pre1.tar.gz -- potentially unstable test release
The maintenance releases are designed mainly to fix bugs. The
goal here is not to have parallel development as for the linux
kernel (the team is too small to afford that), but rather to
include all the simple (so that the maintenance burden on us
is not too high) and safe (so that system administrators can
install them without fear) bug fixes. Experience shows that
these releases will contain a few new features, and that the
bulk of the patches will be documentation updates.
What is LyX?
LyX is an advanced open-source "document processor". Unlike
standard word processors, LyX encourages writing based on the
structure of your documents, not their appearance. It lets you
concentrate on writing, leaving details of visual layout to the
software.
You can read more about this concept in the documentation,
which you'll find under the Help menu. If you plan to use LyX,
you really should read about it to be able to make the best of
it.
What is LyX not?
LyX is not just another word processor that claims to be a
Desktop Publishing program. It's a more modern way of
creating documents that look much nicer, but without wasting
time with layout-fiddling. For these reasons you might need
little time to get used to the differences.
If you are looking for a free Desktop Publishing program for
Unix, you will be disappointed.
What do I need to run LyX?
A Unix-like system or Windows with cygwin, OS/2 with XFree
At least X11 Release 5
A decent LaTeX2e installation (e.g. teTeX or NTeX) not older
than 1995/12/01
Perl5.002 or later to import LaTeX files into LyX
What's new?
Read NEWS.
How do I install a binary distribution of LyX?
Unpack it and run it. We recommend unpacking it in /usr/local,
but it should work anywhere. In particular, you can try LyX
in a temporary directory before installing permanently by
typing "bin/lyx".
We recommend that you configure LyX system-wide by copying the
file share/lyx/lyxrc.example to share/lyx/lyxrc, and then
reading and modifying it.
You should read the notes regarding this particular build in
the file README.bin.
How do I upgrade from an earlier LyX version?
Read the file UPGRADING for info on this subject.
If you are upgrading from version 0.12.0 or later, you don't
need to do anything special.
What do I need to compile LyX from the source distribution?
1. A good c++ compiler. Development is being done mainly on
gcc/g++, but some others work. As of LyX 1.2.0, you need at
least gcc 2.95.X (or egcs 1.1.x). Another compiler known to
work is compaq cxx 6.1.
2. The Xforms library version 1.0 (recommended) or the older
0.89.6/0.88.1.
3. LibXpm version 4.7 (or newer).
Read the file "INSTALL" for more information on compiling.
Okay, I've installed LyX. What now?
Once you've installed it, and everything looks fine, go read
the "Introduction" item under the Help menu. You should follow
the instructions there, which tell you to read (or at least skim)
the Tutorial. After that, you should also read "Help/LaTeX
configuration" which provides info on your LaTeX configuration
as LyX sees it. You might be missing a package or two that you'd
like to have.
User-level configuration is possible via the Edit>Preferences menu.
Does LyX have support for non-English speakers/writers/readers?
Yes. LyX supports writing in many languages.
Menus and error messages have been translated to the following
languages (* means there are language-specific keyboard menu
bindings as well):
Basque (eu)
Bulgarian (bg)
Catalan (ca)
Czech (cs)
Danish (da)
German (de) *
Spanish (es)
Finnish (fi)
French (fr) *
Hebrew (he)
Hungarian (hu) *
Italian (it)
Dutch (nl)
Norwegian (no)
Polish (pl)
Portuguese (pt) *
Romanian (ro)
Russian (ru)
Slovenian (sl)
Swedish (sv) *
Turkish (tr)
Walloon (wa)
Keymaps can ease typing in one or more of the following languages:
Arabic
Bulgarian
Czech
French, Swiss French
German, Swiss German
Greek
Hebrew
Hungarian (Magyar)
Latvian
Polish
Portugese
Romanian
Slovenian
Turkish
Ukrainian
Internet resources of relevance to LyX
The LyX homepage contains valuable information about LyX and the
various LyX mailing lists, as well as links to mirrors and other
LyX homepages around the world:
http://www.lyx.org/
Main LyX archive site:
ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/
The LyX Development page has information about the development
effort. LyX is now under CVS control, so you can get the very
latest sources from there at any time.
http://www.devel.lyx.org/
ftp://www.devel.lyx.org/pub/lyx/
How do I submit a bug report?
If possible, read the Introduction found under the Help menu in LyX.
You'll find detailed info on submitting bug reports there.
If you can't do that, send details to the LyX Developers mailing
list, or use the LyX bug tracker at http://bugzilla.lyx.org/.
Don't forget to mention which version you are having problems with!
How can I participate in the development of LyX?
Any help with the development of LyX is greatly appreciated--
after all LyX wouldn't be what it is today without the help
of volunteers. We need your help!
If you want to work on LyX, you should contact the developer's
mailing list for discussion on how to do your stuff. LyX is being
cleaned up, and therefore it's important to follow some rules.
Read about those rules in development/Code_rules/.
If you don't know C++, there are many other ways to contribute.
Write documentation. Help to internationalize LyX by translating
documentation or menus/error messages, or by writing a new keymap.
Write a new textclass. Work on reLyX (Perl). Find bugs (but please
read the list of known bugs first). Contribute money. Or just offer
feature suggestions (but please read the online TODO list first).
Thank you for trying LyX, and we appreciate your feedback in the mailing
lists.
The LyX Team.
