Table of Contents


Updates To These Notes

The very latest Release Notes for Skunkware 98 can be found at http://skunkware.dev/skunkware/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 Skunkware 98 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.

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 Skunkware 98 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:

Skunkware 98 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 Skunkware 98 include:
Of course, Skunkware also contains fun stuff. Gotta have something to keep the polecats entertained thru the night. Examples include:
Several of the components on this CD should be considered experimental. Consider Skunkware a research tool. Examples:

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