  
  [1X1 [33X[0;0YIntroduction[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  [5XUtils[105X  package provides a space for utility functions from a variety of
  [5XGAP[105X  packages to be collected together into a single package. In this way it
  is  hoped  that they will become more visible to other package authors. This
  package was first distributed as part of the [5XGAP[105X 4.8.2 distribution.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe package is loaded with the command[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XLoadPackage( "utils" );[127X[104X
    [4X[28Xtrue[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YFunctions have been transferred from the following packages:[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YConversion of a [5XGAP[105X group to a [22XMagma[122X output string, taken from various
        sources including [11Xother.gi[111X in the main library.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YTransfer is complete (for now) for functions from the following packages:[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Y[5XAutoDoc[105X [GH16] (with function names changed);[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Y[5XResClasses[105X [Koh17b];[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Y[5XRCWA[105X [Koh17a];[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Y[5XXMod[105X [WAOU17].[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  package  may  be obtained either as a compressed [10X.tar[110X file or as a [10X.zip[110X
  file, [11Xutils-version_number.tar.gz[111X, by ftp from one of the following sites:[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Ythe [5XUtils[105X GitHub release site: [7Xhttps://gap-packages.github.io/utils/[107X.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Yany                  [5XGAP[105X                 archive,                 e.g.
        [7Xhttps://www.gap-system.org/Packages/packages.html[107X;[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe      package      also      has      a     GitHub     repository     at:
  [7Xhttps://github.com/gap-packages/utils[107X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YOnce  the  package  is loaded, the manual [10Xdoc/manual.pdf[110X can be found in the
  documentation  folder.  The  [10Xhtml[110X  versions, with or without [22XMathJax[122X, may be
  rebuilt as follows:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XReadPackage( "utils", "makedoc.g" ); [127X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  is  possible  to  check that the package has been installed correctly by
  running the test files (which terminates the [5XGAP[105X session):[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XReadPackage( "utils", "tst/testall.g" );[127X[104X
    [4X[28XArchitecture: . . . . . [128X[104X
    [4X[28Xtesting: . . . . . [128X[104X
    [4X[28X. . . [128X[104X
    [4X[28X#I  No errors detected while testing[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote  that functions listed in this manual that are currently in the process
  of  being  transferred are only read from the source package [5XHome[105X (say), and
  so  can  only  be  used  if  [5XHome[105X has already been loaded. There are no such
  functions in transition at present.[133X
  
  
  [1X1.1 [33X[0;0YInformation for package authors[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YA  function  (or  collection  of  functions) is suitable for transfer from a
  package [5XHome[105X to [5XUtils[105X if the following conditions are satisfied.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YThe  function  is  sufficiently non-specialised so that it might be of
        use to other authors.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YThe function does not depend on the remaining functions in [5XHome[105X[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YThe  function  does not do what can already be done with a [5XGAP[105X library
        function.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YDocumentation of the function and test examples are available.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YWhen  there is more than one active author of [5XHome[105X, they should all be
        aware (and content) that the transfer is taking place.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAuthors  of  packages may be reluctant to let go of their utility functions.
  The  following  principles  may help to reassure them. (Suggestions for more
  items here are welcome.)[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YA  function  that  has  been  transferred to [5XUtils[105X will not be changed
        without the approval of the original author.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YThe  current  package  maintainer has every intention of continuing to
        maintain  [5XUtils[105X.  In  the  event  that this proves impossible, the [5XGAP[105X
        development team will surely find someone to take over.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YFunction  names  will  not be changed unless specifically requested by
        [5XHome[105X's author(s) or unless they have the form [10XHOME_FunctionName[110X.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YIn  order  to  speed  up the transfer process, only functions from one
        package  will  be in transition at any given time. Hopefully a week or
        two will suffice for most packages.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YAny  package  author  who transfers a function to [5XUtils[105X will become an
        author  of [5XUtils[105X. (In truth, [5XUtils[105X does not have [13Xauthors[113X, just a large
        number of [13Xcontributors[113X.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  process  for  transferring  utility  functions  from  [5XHome[105X  to [5XUtils[105X is
  described in Chapter [14X13[114X.[133X
  
