NGPT 1.9.90, NGPT 2.0 RELEASE CANDIDATE 1 RELEASED

NGPT Release 1.9.90 is the first release candidate of NGPT 2.0.  This
release is fully suitable as a
replacement for LinuxThreads by either a single user or group or and entire
distribution.  The NGPT team
plans to do at least one more release candidate before the final 2.0
release.

In this release, we've fixed a few problems and added "thread_db" support.
This support is turned on
and stable but cannot be utilized until the patch for gdb is released.
This should occur in time
for the 2.0 release.  This code is still "unstable" and could cause some
problems although, we haven't
seen anything major to worry about.

The binary RPMs supplied with this release are based on and built for use
with a 2.4.19pre10 or better
kernel that has the new "officially" sanctioned support for NGPT.  In
addition it is necessary for
you to apply the new patch-futex-2.4.19 patch, included in this release.
This patch is based on
new functionality already provided in the 2.5 kernel that will eventually
be backported to the 2.4
kernel and support.  There is also a patch, patch-kngpt-2.4.18, that is
designed to be installed over a
standard 2.4.18 kernel from kernel.org.  NGPT takes advantage of the
functionality provided by these patches
to efficiently handle mutexes, both shared and non-shared.  This patch is
**ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED**.  NGPT
will not function without it.  The installation instructions have changed a
bit as well since 1.2.2 and
you should check the INSTALL file for the updated instructions.

Of note to early 1.9.x adopters of NGPT, you should apply the kernel
patches enclosed with this release.
They've changed since 1.9.3 to include bug fixes for problems in the futex
kernel handling.  These patches,
barring any last minutes problems should be the final patches that are
released with 2.0.

You can build the library from source by downloading the source tarball or
source rpm and
consulting the INSTALL file.

If you are running with a 2.5.x experimental kernel, it's best that run
with 2.5.17 or higher since
it will already have the required changes for NGPT.  You will also have to
rebuild NGPT from either
the source tarball or rpm.

As an UNSTABLE RELEASE, this release is not suitable for use in a
production environment, however, it
should be noted that we have done fairly extensive testing and you should
find this release relatively
free of problems.  If you encounter any problems with this release please
post them to the NGPT website
and the development team will address them.

The NGPT website and download area can be accessed here: http://oss.
software.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/pthreads