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<sect1 id="Introduction">
  <title>WinMergeの紹介</title>

  <para>WinMerge is an <ulink url="http://www.opensource.org/">Open
  Source</ulink> visual text file differencing and merging tool for Windows.
  WinMerge can compare folders and files and present differences in easy to
  understand and handle format.</para>

  <para>WinMerge is highly useful for determining what has changed between
  project versions, and then merging changes between versions. WinMerge can be
  used as external differencing/merging tool or as standalone
  application.</para>

  <para>In addition WinMerge has a lot of helping and supporting features
  making comparing and synching/merging as easy and useful as possible.
  Several programming languages and other fileformats are syntax
  highlighted.</para>

  <para>WinMerge is not an hex-editor. WinMerge can show binary files contents
  and differences in them. But that information is meant for viewing only, and
  editing binary files with WinMerge can break the files.</para>

  <para>Goal of WinMerge development is to make comparing and synch/merge of
  folders and files easy and fast. While maintaining maximum reliability. Easy
  of use reduces errors. Latest 2.8 version is considered a stable and
  reliable program to use.</para>

  <para>Please note that WinMerge is not a freeware (unlike lots of sites in
  web say), but it is <ulink
  url="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html">GPL</ulink> licenced. We have
  given you a good tool for free, so please follow our licence and submit your
  improvements back to us. We are happy to get help improving WinMerge
  further. It is advantage for all WinMerge users.</para>

  <sect2>
    <title>WinMergeのバージョン</title>

    <para>There are three kind of versions available in <ulink
    url="https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=13216">downloads</ulink>
    page.</para>

    <sect3>
      <title><indexterm>
          <primary>安定版</primary>
        </indexterm>安定版</title>

      <para><ulink
      url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=13216&amp;package_id=11248">Stable
      versions</ulink> are recommended for most users. If you are unsure about
      what version to use - use latest stable version. Stable versions have
      even second number, for example 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8.</para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3>
      <title><indexterm>
          <primary>ベータ版</primary>
        </indexterm>ベータ版</title>

      <para><ulink
      url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=13216&amp;package_id=29158">Beta
      versions</ulink> are for people who want to test latest features and
      improvements done after last stable version. Beta versions are not so
      extensively tested as stable versions are and probably have some bugs.
      Beta versions have odd second number, for example 2.5 and 2.7. Beta
      versions can be used in production, they are not expected to have major
      bugs. But there is always a risk with using beta-level release, so
      consider it carefully. We have tried to release new stable series once a
      year, so it may be worth waiting for few months for next stable
      release...</para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3>
      <title><indexterm>
          <primary>実験版</primary>
        </indexterm>実験版</title>

      <para><ulink
      url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=13216&amp;package_id=92246">Experimental
      versions</ulink> are snapshot releases from version control
      (Subversion). They have all the latest features and improvements. Some
      features may still be buggy and/or incomplete. These releases are made
      available to allow users to try out the current code without needing to
      compile, and participate in development discussions concerning new and
      changing features. We also appreciate any help testing the current code.
      Use with care and enable backups! And please <ulink
      url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=13216&amp;atid=113216">report
      bugs</ulink> you find using these builds, it really helps with WinMerge
      development!</para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3>
      <title>バージョンツリー</title>

      <para>All this text about different versions may sound confusing if you
      never have worked with this kind of model. Lets see this with picture
      below:</para>

      <para><mediaobject>
          <imageobject>
            <imagedata fileref="art/WinMerge_versions.png" format="PNG" />
          </imageobject>

          <caption><para> WinMerge stable and development
          versions</para></caption>
        </mediaobject>This picture presents how our releases and different
      versions relate to each other. Development always happens with
      development versions (experimental versions and beta versions). At
      proper points we create a new branch for stable releases. In above
      picture arrows for 2.2.x and 2.4.x are two current stable branches.
      Picture does not show 2.6 which is the latest stable branch.</para>

      <important>
        <para>Branch always means a separate development. There is no any
        automation to copy improvements or fixes from development versions to
        stable versions. Or in opposite direction. Changes are always selected
        by hand and then merged (with WinMerge, of course..).</para>
      </important>

      <para>After a branch is created, we try to keep code in it as stable as
      possible. Usually this means we copy only tested bugfixes from
      development versions to stable versions. Unfortunately this is not
      always an easy task and errors can happen. And new bugs appear also in
      stable versions sometimes. It is just a real-life software development.
      However, in general quality in branches increases and 2.6.14 is better
      release than 2.4.0, and using the latest stable branch release is always
      recommended.</para>

      <para>What this branching also means is that stable versions don't get
      many new features after a branch is created. Stable versions 2.6.0 and
      2.6.14 are pretty much similar feature-wise. After 2.6 stable branch we
      have already a created new stable branch 2.8. It has many improvements
      and fixes done after 2.6 branch was created.</para>

      <para>Many software vendors always increase their version numbers and
      say version with biggest version number is what people should use. If
      WinMerge was developed as closed-source software users would see only
      versions from stable branches and that would be true for WinMerge too.
      But as WinMerge is an open source software project we want to keep our
      development as open as possible. And do a lots of development version
      releases. The latest development version can have version number 2.9.1.0
      and the latest stable version can have version number 2.6.14.</para>
    </sect3>
  </sect2>

  <sect2>
    <title><indexterm>
        <primary>サポート</primary>

        <secondary>バグの報告</secondary>
      </indexterm>サポートとバグの報告</title>

    <para><ulink
    url="http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=41637">Open
    discussion forum</ulink> is the fastest way to get help. Please be
    patient, it may take some time anybody answers.</para>

    <para>If you have found a bug, please submit it as a <ulink
    url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=13216&amp;atid=113216">bug
    report</ulink>. Please attach as much information as you can, at least the
    version number of WinMerge you are using. If you can, attach also
    configuration log which you can see from menu <menuchoice>
        <guimenu>Help</guimenu>

        <guimenuitem>Configuration...</guimenuitem>
      </menuchoice> Good information in bug report means better change for bug
    to be fixed faster.</para>

    <important>
      <para>Include version number in bug reports. Version number can be
      checked from <menuchoice>
          <guimenu>Help</guimenu>

          <guimenuitem>About WinMerge</guimenuitem>
        </menuchoice> dialog.</para>
    </important>

    <para>We prefer that you <ulink
    url="https://sourceforge.net/account/registration/">register</ulink>
    with <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/">SourceForge.net</ulink> before
    posting a bug report (registration is public and free), so that you may
    get email notifications if we post follow-up questions to your bug. It is
    not at this time required that you register to post a bug report
    (although, we do generally give less priority to unregistered bug reports,
    because it has been our experience that unregistered posters often do not
    remember to return and check to answer follow-on questions).</para>
  </sect2>

  <sect2>
    <title><indexterm>
        <primary>WinMergeの開発</primary>
      </indexterm>WinMergeのソースコードと開発</title>

    <para>WinMerge source codes are available in <ulink
    url="https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=13216">downloads</ulink>
    page and from <ulink
    url="https://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=13216">public Subversion
    server</ulink>. We welcome everybody to download the sources, study them
    and alter them. If you find (and fix) bugs, improve something etc, please
    submit your changes back to us as <ulink
    url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=13216&amp;atid=313216">patches</ulink>
    and help improve this product! If you publish your altered version, you
    are required to publish changes source code too, it is what <ulink
    url="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html">GPL</ulink> licence is
    about. Please respect it.</para>

    <para>While WinMerge development has been fast in last couple of years,
    all this work is done by people in their spare time. Nobody gets paid for
    improving WinMerge. We try to fix bugs as we find them or somebody reports
    them to us. We really try - we use WinMerge too. But there is absolutely
    no promises for new features. We always appreciate any help with WinMerge,
    be it testing, documenting, translating or coding.</para>

    <sect3>
      <title>WinMergeの開発への参加</title>

      <para>As mentioned above, we look for help in many areas, not just
      coding. Translations, documentation and testing are important
      too.</para>

      <para>The <ulink url="http://wiki.winmerge.org/">Developers-Wiki</ulink>
      is a good source of information if you want to help with WinMerge
      development. There is a <ulink
      url="http://winmerge.org/Wiki/Help_Needed">Help Needed</ulink> -page in
      the wiki for more information about how to help with WinMerge
      development.</para>

      <para><ulink url="http://winmerge.org/support/mailing-lists.php">
      Development-mailing</ulink> list is the preferred place for development
      discussions. Another place is in <ulink
      url="http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=41639">Developers-forum</ulink>.
      If you are interested in helping with WinMerge development, let us know.
      If you want to fix one of our <ulink
      url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=13216&amp;atid=113216"
      userlevel="">bugs</ulink> or implement a <ulink
      url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=13216&amp;atid=363216">new
      feature</ulink>, let us know.</para>
    </sect3>
  </sect2>
</sect1>