# Copyright (c) 2001 Steven Knight
# __FILE__ __REVISION__ __DATE__ __DEVELOPER__


                 SCons - a software construction tool

                         Version __VERSION__


This is an alpha release of SCons, a tool for building software (and
other files).  SCons is implemented in Python, and its "configuration
files" are actually Python scripts, allowing you to use the full power
of a real scripting language to solve build problems.  You do not,
however, need to know Python to use SCons effectively.

See the RELEASE.txt file for notes about this specific release,
including known problems.  See the CHANGES.txt file for a list of
changes since the previous release.


LATEST VERSION
==============

Before going further, you can check that this package you have is
the latest version by checking the SCons download page at:

        http://www.scons.org/download.html


INSTALLATION
============

To install this package, simply run the provided Python-standard setup
script as follows:

        # python setup.py install

This will install the scons script in the default script directory
(/usr/bin or C:\Python*\Scripts, for example) and the build engine in an
appropriate SCons library directory (/usr/lib/scons or C:\Python*\SCons,
for example).

You should have system installation privileges (that is, "root" or
"Administrator") when running the setup.py script.


DOCUMENTATION
=============

See the RELEASE.txt file for notes about this specific release,
including known problems.  See the CHANGES.txt file for a list of
changes since the previous release.

The scons.1 man page is included in this package.

Additional documentation for SCons is available at:

        http://www.scons.org/doc.html


LICENSING
=========

SCons is distributed under the MIT license, a full copy of which is
available in the LICENSE.txt file. The MIT license is an approved Open
Source license, which means:

        This software is OSI Certified Open Source Software.  OSI
        Certified is a certification mark of the Open Source Initiative.

More information about OSI certifications and Open Source software is
available at:

        http://www.opensource.org/


REPORTING BUGS
==============

You can report bugs either by following the "Tracker - Bugs" link
on the SCons project page:

        http://sourceforge.net/projects/scons/

or by sending mail to the SCons developers mailing list:

        scons-devel@lists.sourceforge.net


MAILING LISTS
=============

A mailing list for users of SCons is available.  You may send
questions or comments to the list at:

        scons-users@lists.sourceforge.net

You may subscribe to the mailing list at:

        http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/scons-users

There is also a low-volume mailing list available for announcements
about SCons.  Subscribe at:

        http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/scons-announce


FOR MORE INFORMATION
====================

Check the SCons web site at:

        http://www.scons.org/


AUTHOR INFO
===========

Steven Knight
knight at baldmt dot com
http://www.baldmt.com/~knight/

With more than a little help from the SCons Development team:
        Chad Austin
        Charles Crain
        Steve Leblanc
        Anthony Roach
        Steven Shaw