GNU Spotlight November 2009

Here are the recent GNU software releases:

• bazaar-2.0.1
• binutils-2.20
• freeipmi-0.7.14
• gcc-4.4.2
• gdb-7.0
• gnue-appserver-0.5.3
• gnue-forms-0.6.2
• gnutls-2.8.5
• grub-1.97
• gsasl-1.3
• icecat-3.5.4
• libcdio-0.82
• libgsasl-1.3
• libmicrohttpd-0.4.4
• libzrtpcpp-1.4.6
• mdk-1.2.5
• pspp-0.6.2
• pycdio-0.16
• solfege-3.14.9
• xboard-4.4.1
• zile-2.3.13

I'd like to specially note the major new release of gdb, which includes reversible debugging support (one of the high priority project items, http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority.html) among other significant new features.

To get announcements of most new GNU packages, subscribe to the info-gnu mailing list: http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu. Nearly all GNU software is available from http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/, or preferably one of its mirrors (http://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html). You can use the URL http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror; for example, http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/gdb/ will redirect to the GDB directory on a mirror.

This month we welcome Rodrigo Rodrigues da Silva and Felipe Correa da Silva Sanches, authors of the new package LibreDWG, which aims to support the widespread CAD format and tools (another high priority project item).

We also welcome Alexandre Becoulet, author of the new package goptical, an advanced optical design and simulation library.

And we welcome Giacomo Catenazzi as the new maintainer of the GNU version of the standard spell utility.

Several GNU packages are looking for maintainers and other assistance. Please see http://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint if you'd like to help. The general page on how to help GNU is at http://www.gnu.org/help/help.html. To submit new packages to GNU, see http://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.

As always, please feel free to write to me, karl@gnu.org, with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.