SCO Skunkware

Open Source Software

Table of Contents

Updates To These Notes

The very latest Release Notes for SCO Skunkware can be found at http://skunkware.dev/skunkware/2000/relnotes.html or ftp://ftp.sco.com/skunkware/relnotes.html

What is it ?

SCO Skunkware is the generic name for a free collection of software prebuilt for SCO systems. This distribution is SCO Skunkware and is targeted mainly at the SCO OpenServer platform. To obtain SCO Skunkware pre-built for use on UnixWare, see the SCO Skunkware Web Site or you may wish to order the Skunkware 7 CD.

Distributions are released on CD periodically and a repository of this and previous distributions as well as updates and corrections can always be found at http://skunkware.dev/skunkware/2000.

SCO Skunkware is software for entertainment, education, experimentation, and often real work. It is provided for free and is not formally supported by SCO.

The software on the SCO Skunkware CD-ROM is licensed under a variety of terms. Much of it is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Some is licensed under the GNU Library General Public License. Other components are licensed under the Artistic License. Many of the components are "freeware" with no restrictions on their redistribution while a few components are "shareware" meaning the author would like you to try the software and, if you wish to use it, send her some money. A few components are commercial products which can be used freely for non-commercial purposes (e.g. msql). Some components simply restrict their use to non-commercial purposes.

To determine the licensing conditions for a particular component, see the corresponding source in the source directory. With the infrequent exception of SCO proprietary code, all Skunkware components are accompanied by the source used to build them. The source is archived in the src subdirectory by category. The categories are:

SCO Skunkware Software Categories
audio emulators libraries shellutil fileutil mail sysadmin db net
textproc devtools interp news video editors lib shells www
X11 Graphical Categories
apps fonts games graphics misc savers utils viewers winman

Many of the components of SCO Skunkware may be viewed as productivity and development tools to be taken seriously. Don't let its whimsical nature fool you. Examples of serious tools on SCO Skunkware include:
  • The GNU C Compilation system
  • Mtools - DOS filesystem manipulation tools
  • Scripting languages (Tcl, Tk, Python, Expect)
  • Internet/Network tools (apache, squid, xdir, ldap, many more)
  • Editors and text processing tools (xcoral, xemacs, ghostscript, vim, xhtml)
  • Many many more
Of course, Skunkware also contains fun stuff. Gotta have something to keep the polecats entertained thru the night. Examples include:
  • Games (xdoom, xgalaga, xboing, xpool)
  • Graphics (mathematical recreations, animation viewers, image manipulators)
  • Audio (audio players and editors, mixers, CD players, games with sound)
  • Stuff (view astrology charts, graphical fish tank, lots more)
Several of the components on this CD should be considered experimental. Consider Skunkware a research tool. Examples:
  • Egcs, the Experimental GNU Compilation System from Cygnus.
  • Alpha or pre-release versions of window managers and graphical tools
  • A variety of Java classes and applications from Acme Laboratories
  • VRwave, a Java based VRML 2.0 browser
  • Endo, a tool for exploring dynamical systems in the plane

Remember, Skunkware is freely distributed and unsupported software. No warranty is made on any of the Skunkware components. Support and assistance with this software is not provided by SCO. In many cases, however, an e-mail to skunkware@ronrecord.com describing any problem you might have may result in a reply/fix/solution. And ...

The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. and SCO Skunkware are not related to, affiliated with or licensed by the famous Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (R), the creator of the F-117 Stealth Fighter, SR-71, U-2, Venturestar(tm), Darkstar(tm), and other pioneering air and spacecraft.

Getting Started

  • Mounting the SCO Skunkware CD-ROM

    [Note that it is not necessary to mount the SCO Skunkware CD-ROM in order to install the custom installable packages. See the section below on installing the SCO Skunkware software.]

    To mount the SCO Skunkware CD-ROM on an SCO UnixWare system, use the command: 

        # mount -r -f cdfs /dev/cdrom/c1b0t0l0 /mount-point
    where mount-point refers to the full pathname of the directory on which you wish to mount the CD-ROM (e.g. /mnt). Note also that the CD-ROM device name may vary from system to system (the exact name for the cdrom device is usually the only entry in /dev/cdrom).

    On an SCO OpenServer Release 5 system issue the command: 

        # mount -r /dev/cd0 /mount-point

  • Making room for the SCO Skunkware software

    The installation of all the SCO Skunkware components requires about 500 MB of free space on the root partition (/opt/K/SKUNK2000). If your root partition does not have sufficient space, or you wish to utilize an alternate filesystem for the SCO Skunkware components, prior to installing SCO Skunkware create a symbolic link in /opt/K as follows: 

            # mkdir /u/skunk2000
        # cd /opt/K
        # ln -s /u/skunk2000 SKUNK2000
    The above commands assume a separate /u filesystem with sufficient disk space. The exact name of the alternate filesystem mount point is system dependent.

    You may also wish to place your /usr/local file hierarchy on a separate filesystem. To do so, create the appropriate symbolic link - e.g. 

        # ln -s /u/local /usr/local

  • Installing the SCO Skunkware Software

    The installation of all the SCO Skunkware components requires about 500 MB of free space on the root partition for OpenServer (/opt/K/SKUNK2000).

    After mounting the SCO Skunkware CD (mount -r /dev/cd0 /mnt), as root run the command: 

        # /mount-point/INSTALL
    The Skunkware INSTALL script will allow you to select from a menu of Skunkware "software sets" including All Components, Development Tools, Shells, Audio/Video Components, etc. The INSTALL script acts as a front-end for a non-interactive installation using the Software Manager (/etc/custom).

    Alternatively, an interactive graphical installation can be performed by running the Software Manager (/etc/custom) as root. Select "Software" -> "Install New". If your Skunkware CD is inserted in the local CD-ROM drive, install from the local host and select the appropriate CD-ROM drive as the Media Device.

    After the Software Manager has read the Skunkware product database, you can select which components you wish to install or choose to install the full product (see notes above on disk space considerations).

    NOTE: A full installation of SCO Skunkware will consume over 500 Megabytes of disk space and take a couple of hours.

    To install an individual package, execute the command: 

        # custom -p SKUNK2000:default:Package -i -m /dev/rcd0
    where "Package" is the name of the desired component. See the file /mount-point/osr5/COMPONENTS for the list of available components.

  • Configuring your system for use with SCO Skunkware

    If, as root, you are running the X.Desktop, then you can configure your system to mount the SCO Skunkware CD-ROM by double-clicking the System Administration folder -> Filesystems -> Filesystem Manager. Alternatively, at a root shell prompt, type "scoadmin f" to bring up the Filesystem Manager. Next select Mount -> Add Mount Configuration -> Local and enter /dev/cd0 for the device and a mount point. Change the "Can Users Mount" to Yes and uncheck the "At System Startup" mount. After completing this operation, you should be able to mount and unmount the SCO Skunkware CD-ROM by typing "mnt mount-point and "umnt mount-point as any user.

    After completing the installation of the SCO Skunkware components you desire, you may wish to add /usr/local/bin to your PATH and /usr/local/man to your MANPATH. You may also wish to add /usr/local/java to your CLASSPATH. It should not be necessary to add /usr/local/lib to your LD_LIBRARY_PATH as the SCO Skunkware shared libraries have been built with the appropriate flags.

  • Browsing the SCO Skunkware HTML Documents

    For an introductory tour, point a web browser at /mount-point/index.html 

        # /usr/bin/X11/netscape file:/mount-point/index.html
    If you do not have Netscape Navigator installed, download a trial copy from http://www2.sco.com or (for OpenServer) install NCSA Mosaic off of this CD: 
        # custom -p SKUNK2000:default:Mosaic -i -m /dev/rcd0
    or use any browser that supports tables and open the URL file:/mount-point/index.html (assuming you mounted the CD on /mount-point).

    If you do not have or want a graphical browser, you can install Lynx 2.7.1 (a character browser) off of this CD (OpenServer only, if you are running UnixWare 7 then Lynx is included by default). 

        # custom -p SKUNK2000:default:Lynx -i -m /dev/rcd0
    Then execute the command: 
        # lynx file:/mount-point/index.html

    SCO Skunkware contains files suitable for installation on SCO OpenServer systems with the Software Manager facility (/etc/custom). In addition, there are compressed archives of pre-compiled utilities which can be extraced manually. Finally, there are hundreds of source archives (almost everything on the CD is accompanied by the source used to build it).

  • Removing the SCO Skunkware software

    On SCO OpenServer systems, use the Software Manager (/etc/custom) to remove SCO Skunkware components. This can be done interactively by running custom and selecting the component(s) you wish to remove, or non-interactively by issuing a command like the following: 

        # custom -p SKUNK2000:default -r <package-list>

    Accessing the CD on other platforms

    On any other system, after mounting or otherwise making the High-Sierra Rockridge CD-ROM filesystem accessible, point your WWW browser to mount-point/index.html where mount-point indicates the UNIX directory or Windows drive representing the CD-ROM.

    Source Code Distribution

    In almost all cases, source code is also provided, so you can rebuild for earlier SCO releases or other platforms. A full source archive for this and previous Skunkware releases is available at either http://skunkware.dev/skunkware/2000/src/ or ftp://ftp.sco.com/skunkware/src/.

    Source code is provided in the src directory. In some cases, source code is provided but no compiled binaries. The source distributions are in gzip-compressed tar or cpio format. In order to extract these, use the command: 

        $ gzcat /mount-point/src/<directory>/<package>.tar.gz | tar xf -
    or, in the case of a compressed cpio archive: 
        $ gzcat /mount-point/src/<directory>/<package>.cpio.gz | cpio -icdu
    Where <directory> refers to the top-level source directory and <package> is the package name (e.g. gzip-1.2.4).

    If you do not have gzcat installed (part of the gzip package), you can install it off of the SCO Skunkware CD via the command: 

            (OpenServer systems)
        # custom -p SKUNK2000:default:GZIP -i -m /dev/rcd0

        (UnixWare 7 systems)
        # pkgadd -d /mount-point/uw7/gzip.pkg

        (UnixWare 2.x systems)
        # pkgadd -d /mount-point/uw2/gzip.pkg

    Technical Library Supplements

    You may also find the SCO Technical Library Supplements to be of interest. These are drawn from the SCO Support Online System, and are accessible via anonymous ftp on the Internet from ftp.sco.com or via web facilities at http://www.sco.com

    Default Package Configurations

    Many of the Skunkware packages contain configuration files. In order to avoid excessive user interaction during installation and to provide a consistent and well integrated set of configurations, the SCO Skunkware packages have been pre-configured (with the exception of xmcd which will prompt you for your CD-ROM make and model; and inn which may prompt for a "news" user password).

    Generally, you will not need to alter the default configurations but you may choose to do so. Some of the package pre-configurations are as follows:

    Known Limitations and Problems

    • A full installation of the SCO Skunkware media images for SCO OpenServer requires approximately 500 Mb of disk space. If your system's root filesystem does not contain sufficient disk space (a check is performed at the beginning of the installation), then you may wish to perform the following workaround (rather than removing files from the root partition): 
            # cd /opt/K
      # ln -s /u/local local
      Where /u/local resides on an additional disk with sufficient space.

    • Prior to installing the Mini SQL relational database management system, it may be necessary to shutdown any existing mSQL daemon running on port 1114. To do so, issue the command: 
          # /usr/local/Hughes/bin/msqladmin shutdown

    • The LDAP slurpd program is not included in SCO Skunkware. Slurpd is the database replication program for the ldap server.

    • Some programs - including the xfishtank animated background and the xgrabsc command - may need a PseudoColor visual. Before attempting to run either xfishtank or xgrab, the front-end for xgrabsc, you may need to configure your X server to run in 256 color mode. Sorry.

    • On OpenServer 5.0.4 and earlier there may be no /var/tmp directory. Some Skunkware components (e.g. nvi) may attempt to use this directory for temporary files. A /var/tmp directory can be created as follows: 
          # ln -s /usr/tmp /var/tmp
    • Alternate window managers - The SCO Skunkware window managers (Fvwm 2, AfterStep, WindowMaker, Kde) should be considered experimental. Of the four, Fvwm 2 is the most stable and well tested. Some color-intensive X clients may not be able to allocate sufficient color cells, particularly with WindowMaker. Additional window managers and updated versions of these will be available at the Skunkware web site.

    • The K Desktop Environment (KDE), release 1.0, was added to SCO Skunkware at the last minute. KDE installs in the /usr/local/kde directory. Very little testing of kde was possible. Documentation for KDE can be found at the KDE web site and in the SCO Skunkware installation of KDE at http://localhost/docs/kde (assuming you have installed KDE, Apache and Squid).

      Source for KDE can be retrieved either from the KDE ftp site at ftp.kde.org or from the Skunkware ftp site at ftp://ftp.sco.com/skunkware/src/x11/winman/kde/

      It is hoped that this remarkable new desktop environment will please the graphical SCO Skunkware user.

    • Exiting the alternate window managers does not always exit the X session and return you to the graphical login. If this happens, switch to another screen (ctrl-alt-fkey) and kill the X server process for your display: 
          # ps -ef | grep X
    # kill <pid>

    • Exiting Midnight Commander under WindowMaker can be difficult as the WindowMaker window manager grabs F10.

    • Xboing minimum height exceeds that of an 800x600 display. To play xboing effectively, the screen resolution must be set larger than a 600 pixel height.

    • Adding freefont directory to your font path can be accomplished with the following commands: 
          $ xset -fp /usr/local/share/fonts/freefont
    $ xset +fp /usr/local/share/fonts/freefont
    $ xset fp rehash
      The gimp command has been wrappered with a shell script which does this for you.

    • The SCO OpenServer 5 man command expects the man pages to be in directories named man.suffix and cat.suffix. Many public domain packages place their manual pages in directories like man1, man8, cat1, cat8 and so on. Further, these directories are usually located in /usr/local/man rather than /usr/man. To remedy this, add /usr/local/man to your MANPATH (see /etc/default/man) and create symbolic links from mann to man.n, catn to cat.n and so on.

    • Xdoom needs -nosound argument if no audio. If the OSS audio driver is not installed, in order to run the Xdoom video game you will need to invoke it with the "-nosound" argument. For instance: 
          $ xdoom -nosound

    • The "makecd" package has been replaced by the much more versatile and robust Cdrtools package which includes mkisofs and cdrecord. This package allows you to author both music and data CD-ROM's. Support on SCO platforms is limited to SCSI writeable CD-ROM drives.

    • On OpenServer, if you use g++ to link an ELF binary, libg++ and libstdc++ will be linked in automatically, regardless of whether they are actually used by your program. Such binaries will not run on machines that do not have the libg++ and libstdc++ shared libraries installed. If you know your program does not need these libraries, you can link it using gcc and they will not be included. In programs that do use libg++ or libstdc++, you can maintain portability by using the "-static" flag which makes a statically-linked binary.

    • Endo default window sizes may appear too small. Although the pre-configured scripts in /usr/local/mathrec/endo do create correct window sizes, invoking the endo program with no arguments may create windows with a minimum height. If this is the case, simply enlarge the window(s) by clicking on and dragging the window border(s).

    • Apparently xlincity needs a pseudo-color visual. That is, if you have configured your video for use with more than 256 colors, xlincity fails with "Major opcode of failed request: 89 (X_StoreColors)". If you find you can run xlincity in TrueColor mode, let us know.
    Comments

    We are interested in your general comments about this distribution and about development tools in general. Please feel free to e-mail skunkware@ronrecord.com with comments, criticisms and suggestions.

    Ronald Joe Record SCO rr@ronrecord.com
    Open Source Program Architect
    400 Encinal St. Santa Cruz, CA 95061 FAX: 831-427-5417 Voice: 831-427-7604

    Last Updated: Thursday Jul 27, 2000 at 16:46:28 PDT

Copyright © 1995-2000 The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy statement.