This directory contains a collection of net source programs for Linux.

NetKit-A	A is the first character in the alphabet -> basic things
		contains a collection of Linux-specific programs and
		several small utility programs found somewhere in the
		Internet or on News
		(contains also net-032 from Alan Cox)
NetKit-B	B like BSD, even if we only think about Linux
		contains source code derived from NetBSD
NetKit-M	M like mail
		contains context diffs and some source code to make a
		good mail system
NetKit-N	N like news
		contains context diffs for a good News system
		(news readers and also INN for your own newsfeed)
NetKit-X	X like eXtra
		will maybe be necessary, if NetKit-A grows too large

The main goal is to know exactly all the time, what had to be changed for
Linux to make a source package work for Linux. It is never good to just change
a couple of things and then make a new release. (What version of dip would
you suggest?)
This additional effort speeds up the development circle of programs. And if
you know how to use Un*x/Linux standard tools, then it is not too much work.
It is right now a lot of work for me to convert to that new way.

I want to improve the binary packages, so that they can be used in all those
different Linux distributions without modification. If not possible, I at least
want to give a very good example for those distributions.
The main advantage is maybe a consistent packaging and also setup of net-related
things. What is really missing, is a general net-setup script.
But I am working on this. (And also other people, I think.)
Could all people, who make Linux distributions, please email, what additional
things you include and what modifications you make to the setup scripts.
This will speed up the development circle again.

Any comments, improvements, suggestions, flames are very much welcome.


Installing a binary package:
============================

* Please note, that you must know yourself what to do. You are sys-admin!

* I compiled everything with kernel 1.1.12, gcc 2.5.8, libc 4.5.26.
  Be careful, if you have a shared C library prior to 4.5.26.
  Upgrade *first* to that new version!

* Do all the following steps as root.

* If you want to install a binary package, first look at the package, if
  it will not overwrite any setup scripts, you already have on your system.
  Do this by executing "tar tzvf package-bin.tar.gz | less".
  Make a backup copy with "cp /etc/inetd.conf /etc/inetd.conf.my" and
  then see, which one is better yourself...

  The important config files in NetKit-B are /etc/inetd.config and
  /etc/printcap.

* Go to the root-directory with "cd /".

* Extract the package with "tar xzplf package-bin.tar.gz".


Florian  La Roche    flla@stud.uni-sb.de