This is the README file of the `tie' distribution.
 The current version is 2.4.
 This file was created on 18 Dec 92.


SUBJECT:

`Tie' is a program which was first developed to allow WEB programmers
(be it Pascal-, C- or any other WEB) to add more than one change file
to their programs.

 But it can be used to create new versions of the WEB file with
incorporated changes as well. This feature does not depend on any
special WEB dialect, nor on using WEB at all, as the only controls to
be interpreted are the change requests in the change files (delimited
by @x, @y and @z).
 This makes `tie' also usable for any other language, or even data
files. See the documentation tiedoc.tex and the example file tie.tie.

 Actually, this gives a second file update mechanism besides `patch'.
Whereas patch relies on line numbers and/or precise contexts produced
by diff, tie depends on the order of changes and on a an amount of
context lines determined manually.


REQUIREMENTS:

This version of `tie' is written in CWEB. To preprocess and compile
the source you will need a working `ctangle'.
 A pretangled tie.c is supplied which has been compiled successfully
on a variety of workstations using either the manufacturer supplied
C compiler in the K&R or ANSI version, or gcc (version 1.40).
 Please note, that the CWEB by Silvio Levy and Donald E. Knuth must
be at least at version 2.8, to process and compile `tie' without
problems.


DISTRIBUTION:

The reference version of tie may be retrieved by anonymous ftp from

	ftp.th-darmstadt.de [130.83.55.75]
	directory pub/tex/src/webware
	file tie-<version>.tar.Z

where <version> is the most current version number.
 See the source file tie.w for details of the distribution policy.


BUGS/ENHANCEMENTS:

If you detect bugs in the implementation of `tie' or have 
suggestions to enhance functionality or improve portability, 
please send a message to

	Klaus Guntermann <guntermann@iti.informatik.th-darmstadt.de>