
This file documents how to install and run the binary distribution of
emacs 19.30 for msdos. The binaries are packed in four zip archives:

   em1930b.zip:  executables and some indispensable support files.
   em1930l1.zip,
   em1930l2.zip: lisp files
   em1930ei.zip: info and misc files from etc

For proper operation you need all four of them but if you are just
curious, the file em1930b.zip contains a (bare-bones) runnable emacs.
There is a fifth archive, em1930d.zip. This contains the dos-support
additions that were made to the original sources. If you want to
compile emacs yourself grab this file. Everything herein is also in
em1930b.zip.

To install emacs, 

 + Unpack the archives in a directory on your hard drive, preferably
   c:\emacs although other drives and paths should work.  Make sure
   that the directory structure is retained when unpacking the
   archives.

 + Put the bin/ directory in your PATH.  This is needed because
   emacs.exe executes the dos-extender go32.exe.  If you already have
   go32.exe in a directory in your PATH, you can invoke emacs with
   its full pathname and not set it in your PATH.

 + If you do not have a coprocessor, you need to tell go32.exe about
   the 387-emulator.  Set the environment variable go32, thusly: `set
   go32=emu c:/emacs/bin/emu387'.  Note that 387-emulation will not
   work in DPMI memory, i.e. in a ms-windows dos box. For more
   information about go32 and the environment variable options, please
   obtain the djgpp run time package, dj112eoe.zip and consult its
   documentation, and the djgpp faq (faq102.zip).

You are now ready to run emacs. On startup, emacs reads commands
from a file called _emacs. If emacs.exe is in a directory named bin/,
it will search for _emacs in its parent directory, else in the
directory where the executable itself is.  Emacs' startup files are
subject to personal taste but if you are at a loss for one, check out
_example. 

In packing the binaries, I've been quite anal about space
considerations.  My choice in what to include in this package was
admitteldy arbitrary, and if you disagree you're more than welcome to
pick up the original distribution.  I've omitted lisp files and
documentation about almost anything pertaining to multiple users,
background processes, and networking operations, as these do not
work. In addition, I think most changelogs are left out (they're
huge!). Also, most lisp files other than those used for basic
operation are not byte-compiled. I recommend that you byte-compile
every lisp file as soon as you find that you actually use it.

If you want to rebuild emacs for dos yourself, please note that there
are some patches applied to the sources that did not make it into the
original distribution. They are in em1930d.zip, in file patches.zip.
This version of emacs was built with djgpp 1.12 m4. I would be very
interested in experiences with other compilers, e.g. djgpp v2 or emx
gcc. You can obtain the original sources for emacs from gnu mirror
sites around the globe. As per the last faq (C-h F, question 80:)
these were:

    /col.hp.com:mirrors/gnu/
    /ftp.uu.net:packages/gnu/
    /ftp.win.tue.nl:pub/gnu/
    /gatekeeper.dec.com:pub/GNU/
    /nic.funet.fi:pub/gnu/
    /src.doc.ic.ac.uk:gnu/ (available via FTP, NIFTP, FTAM)
    /utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp:ftpsync/prep/
    /wuarchive.wustl.edu:systems/gnu/

If you encounter any problems with emacs, please bear in mind that
msdos is a very limited os and emacs is a very limiteless editor. It
was squeezed hard and important functionality was lost in the process.
The squeezing was done by hard-working volunteers in their spare time.
Note that this was not me! Eternal gratitude and virtual beers are due
to Morten Welinder, Eli Zaretskii, Kim Storm, and Kevin Gallagher.
They did the _real_ work for the dos port. It will not do much good to
bug them (or me) personally with the problems you encounter though.
Instead, I commend you in the capable hands of the good folk at
comp.emacs or gnu.emacs.{help,misc}.


May your mileage vary,

Marc Fleischeuers
marc@mpi.nl
