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---- == Read Me First ==
=== Introduction ===
What licence suits best for a TeX like system is a matter oftaste. Personally we dislike any licence that needs more than afew pages of dense legal code to get the message accrossacross. A TeXrelated system like ConTeXt is a hybrid of programs, scripts and/or macro code as well as documentation and sample code, includinggraphics. TeX related systems also have a long standing traditionofof providing support structures for users. In order to makesupport feasablefeasible, a TeX based system like ConTeXt assumes acertain logic and structure in the way the related files arenamed and organized in a tree structure. Even a small change inone of the elements may let such a system behave differently thanmanuals suggest. Swap a font, change some style defaults, leaveout some pieces, and users may end up in confusion. A licencedoes not give a user any guarantees! 
In order to satisfy those responsible for distributing ConTeXt,we need to choose a licence that makes them feel comfortable.Unfortunately we don't feel that comfortable with a licence thatdoes not provide the guarantees that a system will not be adaptedin such ways that the advertised behaviour changes. On the otherhand, it is the responsibility of those distributing andextending the system to make sure that this does not happen.However, users should not automatically assume that what they getshipped is the same as the original, which is why we stress thatsupport (from our side) will only be given on unaltered systems.
First of all, what is ConTeXt? It's just a bunch of macros,written in TeX and METAPOSTMetaPost, meant for typesetting documents. Themacros are accompanied by some scripts, written in Perl (mainlythe older scripts) Ruby (the official also olderones) and Lua (for embeddedusagethe current fashion). The ConTeXt distribution comes with a few fonts, filesthat help manage resources (e.g. map filesneeded for MkII), as well aspatterns (based on official ones, so this is a derived work).
The ConTeXt distribution is packaged in a zip file organized organised in the tds TDSstructure.
<table>
<tr><td><tt>cont-tmf.zip</tt></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;The the main distributionthat has all relevant files</td></tr><tr><td><tt>cont-tst.7z</tt></td><td>a bunch of test files that can also serve as examples</td></tr><tr><td><tt>cont-imgmpd.zip</tt></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;A few extra resourcesa MetaPost to PDF converter (not needed in ConTeXt)</td></tr><tr><td><tt>cont-ppc. zip</tt></td><td>a macro package for typesetting chemistry (not needed in ConTeXt)</td></tr><tr><td><tt>cont-extsci.zip</tt></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;Third party modules. configuration files for using ConTeXt in the SciTE editor</td></tr>
</table>
When we talk about ConTeXt we also mean its graphical companion
MetaFun and foXet, an xml related product. All these are included
in the main distribution archive. The documentation can be
downloaded from our website, one of its mirrors, the TeX
collection as distributed by TeX user groups. For some manuals,
source code is available in a subversion repository. The
archives are also kept on ctan.
There are two flavours of ConTeXt: MkII and MkIV. The first one is frozen andwill not be extended. It runs on top of PdfTeX or XeTeX. The MkIV version isactively developed and runs on top of LuaTeX (an engine that is developedalongside ConTeXt but that can also be used for other macro packages). The documentation can be downloaded from our website or the Wiki. Some manualsship with source code. We might ship more source code but only when the source isstable and clean and can serve as an example. That said, what licence does apply? We need to distinguishbetween things that resemble a program on the one hand anddocumentation on the other hand. We (currently) use a differentlicence for either of them.
=== The Code ===
 The program code (i.e. anything not under the <tt>/doc</tt> subtree)isis distributed under the
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For practical purposes distributers may also choose the LaTeX projectlicence, which is considered to be a bit more TeX friendly. (BSD alikelicences alsolicences, the Ruby Licence and the Apache are all licences that applywell for ConTeXt.) In practice, users may forget about the legal part, if only because I haven'teven read (and understood) it completely myself, so let's stick to what CreativeCommons makes of it:
In practice, users may forget about the legal part, if only because I
haven't even read (and understood) it completely myself, so let's
stick to what Creative Commons makes of it:
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* The freedom to improve the program and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
You may exercise the freedoms specified here provided that you comply with the
express conditions of this license. The principal conditions are:
You may exercise must conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy distributed anappropriate copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty and keep intact all the freedoms specified here provided notices that you complyrefer to this License and to the absence of any warranty; and giveany other recipients of the Program a copy of the GNU General Public Licensealong with the express conditions Program. Any translation of this licensethe GNU General Public License must beaccompanied by the GNU General Public License. The principal conditionsare:
You must conspicuously and appropriately publish on each If you modify your copydistributed an appropriate copyright notice and disclaimer or copies of warrantyand keep intact all the notices that refer to this License and to theabsence of any warranty; and give program or any other recipients portion of it, or developa program based upon it, you may distribute the Programresulting work provided you do soa copy of under the GNU General Public License along with the Program. Anytranslation of the GNU General Public License must be accompanied bythe GNU General Public License.
If you modify your copy or copies of distribute the program or any portion of , you must accompany it,with the completecorresponding machine-readable source code or develop with a program based upon itwritten offer, you may distribute the resultingvalid for atwork provided you do so under least three years, to furnish the GNU General Public License. Anycomplete corresponding machine-readable sourcetranslation of the GNU General Public License must be accompanied bythe GNU General Public Licensecode.
If you copy or distribute the program, you must accompany it with thecomplete corresponding machine-readable source code or with a writtenoffer, valid for at least three years, to furnish the completecorresponding machine-readable source code. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from thecopyrightcopyright holder.
Your fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above.
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Many source filed mention the <q>ConTeXt Development Team</q> as
copyright holder. This is because over time users submit patches and whenever
something happens to the main author, those involved in development can take
over without the need to bother about derived work. In the end the ConTeXt
group is the place to get more information.
=== Recommendations ===
Here are a few recommendations in case you want to distribute, extendof embed ConTeXt in applications:
* You can best leave the code base untouched. Most of ConTeXt provides hooks and it's relatively easy to overload code. Leave the lower level system code untouched: changes may backfire when you update. Asking for more hooks is the best way to go.
* Put your own code in the right subpaths, i.e. modules approved by the development team under <tt>.../third</tt>, and styles and whatever else under <tt>.../user</tt>. This way your code will not interfere with existing code and updating will give less problems. Keep in mind that TeX systems have their own way and order in locating files, and the load order often matters.
* Don't copy styles and change a few lines, but load the base one and built/patch on top of that. In the end you may benefit from improvements to the base style.
* Be original. The whole idea behind ConTeXt is that you can write your own styles. On the ConTeXt mailing list as well as on the Wiki there are enough advanced users to help you make a start.
* Don't hesitate to submit bugs reports and ask for extensions. It may even be that what you want is already present but yet undocumented.
* If things don't work as expected, check to what extend your system matches the (more or less) standard. We provide so called minimal ConTeXt trees that can serve as a reference. Because ConTeXt evolves, make sure your system is up to date. The ConTeXt garden provides ways to install and update the standard distribution.
* The scripts can best be called using texmfstart<tt>mtxrun</tt>. This lessens dependencies on the location in the tree and ensures upward compatibility. It also prevents clashes with similary named similar scripts.
* Some scripts depend on each other. Don't mess around with the existing functionality and names of the scripts and then feed them back into the standard distributions.
=== Documents ===
The documentation is provided under another Creative Commons licence :
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The non-commercial If you distribute ConTeXt and related software on electronic media as part is mostly a safeguard. We don't mind if userofgroups distribute printed copies, publish TeX distributions (parts ofeither or not for money) , you may also distribute themanuals and/or iftheir sources in electronic form, preferable as provided by theauthors use example code in manuals and books about maintainers of ConTeXt.
Keep in mind that logos and cover designs are not meant to be copied.We provide the source code for some manuals, but we don't alwaysprovide all graphics and other resources. For instance, in somemanuals we use commercial fonts and you have to buy those yourself.
We provide the typeset manuals at our website. Those are the officialones. We appreciate it if you do not to distribute manuals compiled onyour own system as substitutes. The manuals are a showcase for whatConTeXt provides. Help us to assure the quality.
=== More information ===
We're not going to fill ''n'' pages with legal stuff, so if youwant to know more, you have to consult the web for the legalitiesmentioned. Here are a few starting points:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/ <br> http://creativecommons.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/legalcode   http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ <br> http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/legalcode  ConTeXt itself can be fetched from the main site or the garden:  http://www.pragma-ade.com <br> http://context.aanhet.net  These always ship the latest versions. Alternatively you can install the wholeTeX distribution, which is a yearly snapshot:
http://creativecommonswww.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/ <br>http://creativecommonstug.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/legalcode texlive
httpA starting point for support can be found at://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ <br> http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/legalcode
ConTeXt itself can be fetched from the main site or its primary mirror http: //www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context <br> http://contextgarden.net
httpAnd of course there is the ConTeXt group://www.pragma-ade.com <br>http://context.aanhet.net
A starting point for support can be found at http: //group.contextgarden.net
httpBugs and feature requests can be registered at the collector://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context <br>http://contextgarden.net
Bugs and feature requests can be registered with the ConTeXt testing project http: //tracker.luatex.org
httpsReleases are announced at://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contexttest
Releases are announced at http: //www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ann-context
httpThe developers can be met at://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ann-context
The developers can be met at http: //www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/dev-context
http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/dev-context=== Disclaimer ===
=== Disclaimer === To play safe we include a disclaimer here, taken from theBSD style licence. For some reason such a text is always in unreadable capitals, so ...
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THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIEDWARRANTIESWARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AREDISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS ORSERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISINGIN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THEPOSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
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... and don't bother discussing licence issues and related things with
us for the mere sake of discussing licence stuff.
... and don't bother discussing licence issues and related things with us
for the mere sake of discussing licence stuff.
: PRAGMAHans Hagen: PRAGMA Advanced Document Engineering : Ridderstraat 27 : 8061GH Hasselt NL : tel: +31 (0)38 477 53 69 : email: [mailto:pragma@wxs.nl pragma@wxs.nl]: internet: [http://www.pragma-ade.com www.pragma-ade.com]

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