# The GNO Multitasking Environment

GNO is a UNIX-like software package for the Apple IIgs, which runs on top of the native operating system, GS/OS.

This is master documentation site for GNO. It consists of the following sections:

1. Frequently Asked Questions
2. Reference Manuals
3. Manual Pages
4. GNO-Related Web Links
5. Old Documentation (August 1996 Revision for GNO v2.0.4)

Remember:
If someone comes up to you on the street and offers you some Windows (95, NT) ... Just say GNO!

## Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)

The newsgroup comp.sys.apple2.gno is the primary source for GNO information on USENET. The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions list) for this newsgroup is recommended reading and contains information that is not covered in the manuals, or that supercedes the manuals. The FAQ is posted monthy on comp.sys.apple2.gno, and is also available online.

A summary of the most recent changes (typically since the previous monthly posting) may be obtained from the (abbreviated) Change Log.

The online html version of these documents may be found at:

- %%FAQ%% (FAQ)
- %%FAQLOG%% (Change Log)

The text version of these documents are available via ftp at the following locations:

- %%FAQ_TEXT%% (FAQ)
- %%FAQLOG_TEXT%% (Change Log)

## Reference Manuals

These are based on Procyon's August 1996 v2.0.4 documents, but have been updated and enhanced. These manuals are still being revised; if you find errors or omissions, please contact the maintainer (Devin Reade) at the address at the bottom of this page.

Overview and Installation
  This document contains introductory information, installation instructions, a list of hardware requirements, suggested readings, and similar material. It is a good starting point for those new to GNO. It is also available for download in various formats:
  - Compressed Postscript (Letter): %%FTP_INTRO%%.ltr.ps.Z
  - Compressed Postscript (A4): %%FTP_INTRO%%.a4.ps.Z
    See the note on the A4 paper format, below.
  - Compressed DVI: %%FTP_INTRO%%.dvi.Z
  - Appleworks (Classic) in a NuFX archive: (not yet available)
  - Text (ASCII) in a NuFX archive: (not yet available)

Kernel Reference Manual
  This is a technical introduction and reference to the GNO Kernel, which is the heart of the GNO system. It can be heavy reading for the new user, but is a must for the application programmer. It is also available for download in various formats:
  - Compressed Postscript (Letter): %%FTP_KERN%%.ltr.ps.Z
  - Compressed Postscript (A4): %%FTP_KERN%%.a4.ps.Z
    See the note on the A4 paper format, below.
  - Compressed DVI: %%FTP_KERN%%.dvi.Z
  - Appleworks (Classic) in a NuFX archive: (not yet available)
  - Text (ASCII) in a NuFX archive: (not yet available)

GNO Shell User's Manual
  This is the reference manual for the GNO Shell, otherwise known as gsh. The current version is more of a tutorial than a true reference manual. It is also available for download in various formats:
  - Compressed Postscript (Letter): (not yet available)
  - Compressed Postscript (A4): (not yet available)
    See the note on the A4 paper format, below.
  - Compressed DVI: (not yet available)
  - Appleworks (Classic) in a NuFX archive: (not yet available)
  - Text (ASCII) in a NuFX archive: (not yet available)

  ### Note on A4 Paper Formats

  Since I do not use the A4 paper format, I would be interested in feedback on how the formatting turns out. Currently, the DVI files are created for the the letter paper size, and only in the DVI to Postscript conversion is the A4 paper size taken into account. While this greatly simplifies the document "build" process, it might result in less than desirable output. Please email your observations to me at the address at the bottom of this page.

  ## Manual Pages

  This is the set of manual pages for the GNO base distribution. It does not include manual pages for utilities and libraries that are considered to be GNO "add-ons". Note that these are for GNO v2.0.6, are under active development, and are subject to change. Some of the documented functions, programs, and files are not available for GNO v2.0.4.

  Each of the chapters has an introductory page, titled intro. For a brief introduction to the manual pages in general, see the Introduction to Chapter 1.

  - Chapter 1 Commands and Applications
  - Chapter 2 System Calls
  - Chapter 3 Library Routines
  - Chapter 4 Devices
  - Chapter 5 File Formats
  - Chapter 6 Games
  - Chapter 7 Miscellaneous
  - Chapter 8 System Administration

  These manual pages are part of the GNO base distribution and are therefore not available at this time in any other format. They may be published in Postscript form after GNO v2.0.6 is released.

  ## GNO-Related Web Links

  The following links are also likely to be of interest to GNO users and programmers.
  - Procyon Enterprises Inc
  - Soenke Behrens' ORCA/C Bug List
  - Soenke Behrens' online describe(1) database
  - Leslie Barstow's GNO Utilities Page. (This is an sorted version of the describe(1) database.)
  - FreeBSD ftp site list
  - GS/TCP
  - Marinetti
  - Eric Shepherd's ToolBox Reference

  The following links have a less direct relevence to GNO, but may still be useful:

  - The File System Hierarchy "standard". This is not a true standard in the ANSI/ISO sense, but still contains a lot of useful information. NOTE: GNO is based on 4.4BSD which does not, at this time, completely follow the suggested hierarchy. GNO sites should use the hierarchy specified in the FAQ.

  ## Old Documentation

  ### Reference Manuals (August 1996 Revision)

  These are the reference manuals that shipped with GNO v2.0.4, translated into html source.

  - Introduction and Installation
  - GNO Kernel Reference Manual
  - GNO Shell User's Manual, Chapters 1 and 2
  - GNO Shell User's Manual, Chapter 3
  - GNO Shell User's Manual, Chapter 4
  - GNO Shell User's Manual, Chapter 5 and Appendices

  The original MS-Word versions of these documents are also available for download via ftp:

  - Introduction and Installation: %%FTP_ROOT%%/doc/refs/aug96/install.zip
  - Kernel Reference Manual: %%FTP_ROOT%%/doc/refs/aug96/kernel.zip
  - GNO Shell Reference Manual: %%FTP_ROOT%%/doc/refs/aug96/gsh.zip

  ### Manual Pages (August 1996 Revision)

  There are also selected manual pages available. (Be sure to check the ones installed on your system as well.) Unfortunately, this set of manual pages is not divided along chapter boundries.

  - Part 1 Chapter 1: Commands and Applications (intro(1) and binprint(1) to sum(1))
  - Part 2 Chapter 1: Commands and Applications (sz(1) to tar(1))
  - Part 3
    - Chapter 1: Commands and Applications (tee(1) to yes(1))
    - Chapter 2: System Calls (alarm(2) to statfs(2))
  - Part 4
    - Chapter 2: System Calls (truncate(2) to wait(2))
    - Chapter 3: Library Routines
    - Chapter 4: Devices

  The original MS-Word versions of these manual pages are also available for download via ftp at %%FTP_ROOT%%/doc/refs/aug96/manpages.zip

  Devin Reade gdr@eddore.myrias.com