HistView

HistView is an application that assists in creating formatted HTML pages by taking an ASCII changelog as input. When developers work on a software project, they typically record their development history in an ASCII file, using characters such as "+" for new additions and "!" for bug fixes. After a while, when the package is ready for release, users may ask for a list of changes to help decide if an update is worth it. While plain text files can be utilized as a solution, it's more efficient and professional-looking to convert the changelog to a formatted HTML document.

HistView is a helpful tool for this task, as it reads the history file and formats it in HTML, provided that a similar style to what the developer has used is utilized. To use the application, you'll need PHP 4.

Configuration of HistView is straightforward, and it typically installs executables to /usr/local/bin, configuration files to /etc, and documentation to /usr/local/share/doc/. For web apps, installation takes place in /usr/local/share/, which links to /var/www/ if the directory/file/link doesn't exist. If you prefer a different installation location, you may edit some variables at the top of the Makefile, including prefix, datarootdir, sysconfdir, and WEBROOT.

Installation is as easy as running "make install" from the directory where the Makefile is located. You can also override the configuration options using "make prefix=/opt install," but remember them to uninstall later. The uninstall process is similar, where you can invoke "make uninstall" or "make prefix=/opt uninstall" if you overrode installation options. Keep in mind that HistView only removes what it has installed, not any modifications made by users themselves.