ESS is based on Olin Shivers' excellent comint package (which is supplied
@cindex comint
@cindex authors
@cindex credits
with version 19 of GNU Emacs).  The original version of ESS (then known
as `S-mode') was written by Doug Bates (@email{bates@@stat.wisc.edu}) and
Ed Kademan (@email{kademan@@stat.wisc.edu}).  Frank Ritter
(@email{ritter@@psy.cmu.edu}) then merged this version with his own
S-mode mode to form @file{S.el} version 2.1.

Version 2.1 of @file{S.el} was then updated and expanded by David Smith
to form version 3.4.  This was then updated for Emacs 19 to create
version 4.  Most bugs have now been fixed (and several new ones
introduced) and many new features have been added.  Thanks must go to
the many people who have helped with the development of the present
version of ESS:

@itemize @bullet
@item
The multiple process code, and the idea for
@code{ess-eval-line-and-next-line} are by Rod Ball.

@item
Thanks to Doug Bates for many useful suggestions.

@item
Thanks to Martin Maechler for reporting and fixing bugs, providing many
useful comments and suggestions, and for maintaining the S-mode mailing
list.

@item
Thanks to Frank Ritter for updates from the previous version, the menu
code, and invaluable comments on the manual.

@item
Thanks to Ken'ichi Shibayama for his excellent indenting code, and many
comments and suggestions.

@item
Last but definitely not least, thanks to the many beta testers of the
S-mode and ESS mailing lists.
@end itemize

The new version, @emph{ESS} version 5, is being developed and currently
maintained by

@include authors.texi
