GNUstep(7)

NAME

   GNUstep - A free implementation of the OpenStep standard

DESCRIPTION

   GNUstep  provides  an Object-Oriented application development framework
   and toolset for use on a wide variety of computer  platforms.   GNUstep
   is  based on the original OpenStep specification provided by NeXT, Inc.
   (now Apple and called Cocoa).

   GNUstep is written in Objective-C, an object-oriented superset of the C
   programming  language,  similar  to  SmallTalk.  However  there exist a
   number of bridges and interfaces  to  develop  GNUstep  programs  using
   other languages like JAVA or Ruby.

   The  GNUstep  core  system  consists  of the following parts, which are
   jointly referred to as gnustep-core :

   gnustep-make
          A set of scripts and makefiles that heavily  ease  the  creation
          and maintenance of software projects.

   gnustep-base
          The   FoundationKit   libraries   for  non-GUI  tools  providing
          everything from string and array classes, filemanager classes to
          distributed objects.

   gnustep-gui
          The  ApplicationKit  containing  widgets,  workspace classes and
          means for applications to interact with the user.  This  is  the
          frontend of GNUstep's GUI part.

   gnustep-back
          This  is the backend of GNUstep's GUI part which does the actual
          rendering and  event  handling.  It  acts  as  a  layer  between
          gnustep-gui and the operating/drawing system. Backends exist for
          X11 (one using cairo, one using libart, one using xlib  drawing)
          and win32.

   Apart  from  the above, there exist a number of addon libraries related
   to GNUstep, like Renaissance which  allows  developers  to  specify  an
   application's user interface in xml. For database access, there is GDL2
   - the GNUstep Database Library. Please refer to the GNUstep website for
   more information.

   GNUstep  per  default  is  self-contained.  That means that all GNUstep
   applications, tools, libraries  and  add-ons  are  installed  into  the
   GNUstep  directory  hierarchy.  However  as of gnustep-make-2.0.0 it is
   also possible to install everything in compliance with other filesystem
   hierarchies.  See the FilesystemLayouts directory in the source package
   of gnustep-make for more information.

   There are four domains which are searched for files: the System domain,
   which should only contain the core system files, the Local domain which
   stores all that has later been installed on  the  system,  the  Network
   domain  which  should  be used for importing data from a remote system,
   and the User domain which resides in the user's home directory  (mostly
   ~/GNUstep).

   A  complete  description  of the default GNUstep layout can be found in
   the filesystem.pdf.

   TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS
   In the world of GNUstep the term tool refers to command  line  programs
   whereas  applications are fully fledged GUI programs.  Naturally, tools
   reside in the domains' Tools folder, applications can be found  in  the
   domains' Applications folder.

   Applications  are either launched using the openapp command or from the
   Workspace.

   SERVICES
   In  GNUstep  applications  globally  offer   functionality   to   other
   applications  through  services.   They  can  be  reached  through  the
   Services menu entry in an application's main menu. Apart from  services
   offered  by  applications,  there may be programs whose sole purpose is
   the  offering  of  services.  They  can  be  found  in   the   domains'
   Libary/Services folders.

   The  make_services  tool  makes  sure  the  services are known to other
   applications when a application is newly installed.

   BUNDLES
   A bundle is a collection of resources making up a discrete package  for
   use.   There  are  currently  three  types  of  bundles:  applications,
   frameworks and loadable bundles.

   A loadable bundle is a kind of plug-in. There are two types of loadable
   bundles, namely plug-ins and palettes. The plug-in is noramlly referred
   to as a bundle, which can make it a  bit  confusing.  A  plug-in  is  a
   bundle  that  can  be  loaded  by  an application to provide additional
   functionality, while a palette is a plug-in  for  GORM,  the  interface
   builder.  A  palette  is  used  to  extend GORM with custom UI objects.
   Palettes have a .palette extension.

   THE WORKSPACE
   The central place of the user interface is the Workspace  or  Workspace
   Manager  which  acts  as an interface between the user and parts of the
   system like files, processes, etc. The GWorkspace application  provides
   this  functionality  in  GNUstep.  See  the GWorkspace website for more
   details.

   DEVELOPER APPLICATIONS
   What would a development environment be  without  the  applications  to
   create  applications?  The  applications  provided by GNUstep for Rapid
   Application Development are:

   GORM   GORM is the interface modeler. With GORM you can quickly  create
          the graphical interface of your application.

   Project Center
          Project  Center  is  the  program  where  you  can  develop your
          program. It offers you automatic generation  of  GNUmakefiles  ,
          project maintenance and of course a code editor.

SEE ALSO

   gcc(1), gdnc(1), gdomap(8), gopen(1), gpbs(1), make(1), openapp(1)

   GNUstep Websites:

   http://www.gnustep.org/
          Official GNUstep website

   http://wiki.gnustep.org/
          GNUstep Wiki (lots of useful information)

   http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gnustep/
          GNUstep Project Page

   http://gnustep.made-it.com/
          GNUstep Documentation Library

   http://www.collaboration-world.com
          Collaboration World, the home of GNUmail

   http://www.gnustep.it/
          The  home  of  GWorkspace,  JIGS,  Renaissance  and  programming
          tutorials.

   Mailinglists

   http://www.gnustep.org/information/gethelp.html
          Mailing lists and mailing list archives.

   IRC

   #GNUstep on FreeNode
          You are invited to join the #GNUstep  IRC  channel  on  FreeNode
          (irc.freenode.net).

HISTORY

   GNUstep  was  at  first  a collaboration of two projects that wanted to
   create  a  single  GNUstep  project  that  complied  to  the   OpenStep
   specification  provided  by  NeXT  Computer,  Inc.  and  SunSoft,  Inc.
   Development of this joint effort started around 1993-1994. For  a  more
   detailed  history  description  see  the  GNUstep Documentation Library
   referenced in the SEE ALSO section.

   GNUstep is developed and maintained by a large number of people. Please
   see <http://www.gnustep.org/developers/whoiswho.html> for a list.

AUTHORS

   This   man-page   was  first  written  by  Martin  Brecher  <martin@mb-
   itconsulting.com> in august of 2003.

   In December 2007 it was expanded by Dennis  Leeuw  <[email protected]>
   and made to comply with the gnustep-make-2.0.x releases.

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