[AUCTeX] Release schedule.

[David Kastrup]

As far as I am concerned, there are no more changes pending before the
release: manual installation is as it should be for the release, the
docs are up to date pretty well.  Here is stuff that needs to be
finished for the release:

a) document Windows startup using tex-mik.el or fptex.el,

b) make the auctex.spec file (looks like this is going to be my job),

c) create a proposal for package providers based on that (looks like
my job as well.  At least it does not make sense to tackle b and c
independently),

d) write up RELEASE and changes.texi.

e) Sigh.  Almost forgot that.  Change the specials in
preview/latex/preview.dtx to cooperate with old versions of dvipng,
and fix the versioning scheme.  Again my job, I fear.

f) better document requirements, supported platforms, and software to
   download, in particular on the web page.

I am sick of hearing the incessant "But what use is that to Windows
users?" whining.  We really need to whack people with the information
that all major desktop operating systems are supported by now, and
tell what one needs to download on order to get from ground zero to a
working TeX/LaTeX/Emacs/AUCTeX/preview-latex/RefTeX installation
depending on your operating system.

Historically, AUCTeX was a solution to use when you were hooked on
LaTeX and Emacs, and it is documented with that assumption in mind.
And of course, the developers _are_ hooked on LaTeX and Emacs to a
good degree.

We need to get this out of our heads.  AUCTeX's web site (and the
docs) should become a one-stop location for all your needs once you
decided to try out LaTeX.  At the moment, it would probably be a bit
overboard to actually document how to install an operating system.
But in the long run, perhaps as a separate project, I'd like to offer
something like an Ubuntu live DVD (which is ridiculously easy to
create and has quite good hardware detection) with the newest AUCTeX
and Emacs and TeXlive versions set up and ready to run.  This will
provide a completely standardized environment as a reference point
people can try out in order to get hooked, and which one can use as
the base of writing a book about document creation.

Anyway, I digress.  First point is to make a good list about the
requirements and what to download.  I think that the to-be-released
install.texi+wininstall.texi from AUCTeX are not in the worst state
right now, but work on that is welcome.

It should also be apparent that the above list of points before the
release does not mention any further code improvements.  And that
means that people should _test_, _test_, _test_ the current code and
report back any problems or inconsistencies _now_.  For the various
operating systems, for the various versions of Emacs and XEmacs we
support.

As you can see from the above list, I already have quite a bit to do
myself.  So jump in with the rest, and in particular: everything but
the finished RPM files for the few fixed supported platforms are
targets for testing.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum