change NEWS and README to markdown format

NEWS → NEWS.md

-====== libFirm 1.19.0 (1011-03-15) ======
+libFirm 1.19.0 (1011-03-15)
+---------------------------
+
 * Includes "SSA-Based Register Allocation with PBQP"
 * Improved Sparc backend
 * New (optimistic) fixpoint based value-range propagation/bit analysis
 * Code cleanup and refactoring
 * Bugfixes
 
-====== libFirm 1.18.1 (1010-05-05) ======
+libFirm 1.18.1 (1010-05-05)
+---------------------------
+
 * Fix bug where stackframe was not always setup for -fno-omit-frame-pointer
 * bugfixes in Asm handling
 
-====== libFirm 1.18.0 (2010-04-15) ======
+libFirm 1.18.0 (2010-04-15)
+---------------------------
+
 * Includes "Preference Guided Register Assignment" algorithm
 * Experimental Value Range Propagation
 * Loop Inversion and experimental Loop Unrolling code
@@ -19,7 +25,9 @@
 * code cleanup, smaller improvements in API specification
 * bugfixes
 
-====== libFirm 1.17.0 (2009-05-15) ======
+libFirm 1.17.0 (2009-05-15)
+---------------------------
+
 * bugfixes
 * advanced load/store optimisation which hoists loads out of loops
 * Internal restruturing: Alot of node structures are automatically generated
@@ -29,14 +37,19 @@
 * Support and optimisations for trampolines
 * fix PIC support
 
-====== libFirm 1.16.0 (2009-01-28) ======
+libFirm 1.16.0 (2009-01-28)
+---------------------------
+
 * bugfixes
 * support for builtin nodes
 
-====== libFirm 1.15.0 (2008-12-01) ======
+libFirm 1.15.0 (2008-12-01)
+---------------------------
 * bugfixes
 
-====== libFirm 1.14.0 (2008-11-22) ======
+libFirm 1.14.0 (2008-11-22)
+---------------------------
+
 * Implementation of Clicks Combined Analysis/Optimisations
 * New switch lowering code
 * support for global asm statements
@@ -49,7 +62,8 @@
 * improve peephole optimisations for x86
 * bugfixes
 
-====== libFirm 1.13.0 (2008-07-31) ======
+libFirm 1.13.0 (2008-07-31)
+---------------------------
 
 * VanDrunen's GVN-PRE fixed
 * operator strength reduce fixed and improved
@@ -69,12 +83,14 @@
 * ARM Backend: fixed frame access
 * support for special segments (like constructors, destructors)
 
-====== libFirm 1.12.1 (2008-02-18) ======
+libFirm 1.12.1 (2008-02-18)
+---------------------------
 
 * bugfixes for new style initializers with bitfield types
 * make lowerer look at constant initializers too
 
-====== libFirm 1.12.0 (2008-02-14) ======
+libFirm 1.12.0 (2008-02-14)
+---------------------------
 
 * dependency on libcore and libobstack dropped
 * there's an alternative easier to use way to construct compound initializers
@@ -83,7 +99,8 @@
 * speed improvements
 * optimisation of known libc functions
 
-====== libFirm 1.11.0 (2008-11-05) ======
+libFirm 1.11.0 (2008-11-05)
+---------------------------
 
 * Lots of bugfixes
 * Compilation speed improved
@@ -94,5 +111,4 @@
 * New backend peephole optimisations
 * Explicit status flag modeling (only for x86 for now)
 * Improvements of Load/Store optimisation and alias analysis
-
--> All C benchmarks from Spec CINT2000 work now (with our edg frontend)
+* All C benchmarks from Spec CINT2000 work now (with our edg frontend)

README → README.md

-                                   libFirm
-                   A graph based SSA intermediate representation
-
-Contents:
-1. Introduction
-2. Building and Installation
-3. Usage
-4. Contact
-
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+libFirm -- A graph based SSA intermediate representation
+========================================================
 
 1. Introduction
+---------------
 
 The Firm library implements the Firm intermediate representation (ir). An old
 description of Firm can be found in [TLB:99].
@@ -17,9 +10,10 @@ description of Firm can be found in [TLB:99].
 libFirm contains algorithms for construction of the SSA form directly from the
 attributed syntax tree. A set of analyses and optimisation phases is provided.
 This version includes a complete backend for the IA32 architecture, as well as
-some unfinished backends for MIPS, ARM, PPC32.
+some unfinished backends for SPARC, ARM
 
 1.1. Features
+-------------
 
 - works exculsively on a graph based SSA represenation up to the code emission.
   Based on the work of C. Click and M. Trapp
@@ -46,44 +40,44 @@ some unfinished backends for MIPS, ARM, PPC32.
   spilling and copy coalescing. Instruction and block scheduling, support for
   ABI handling.
 - working ia32 backend with support for x87 and SSE2 floating point
-- unfinished backends for MIPS, ARM, PPC32
+- unfinished backends for SPARC, ARM
 
 - connections to the Edison Design Group C and java frontends available.
 
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 2. Building and Installation
+----------------------------
 
-These are instruction for the gcc compiler on unix variants or cygwin.
-
- 1. Change into the directory containing libfirms source
-
- 2. Create a directory named build 'mkdir build'. Change into this directory
-    and execute the configure script. 'cd build ; ../configure'
+Prerequisites for the build:
 
- 3. Type 'make' to compile the package
+* python (>=2.4)
+* perl
+* an ANSI C89 compiler (gcc, msvc known to work)
 
- 4. You may install libfirm as super user by typing 'make install'
+Building on unix variants/cygwin:
 
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+1. Change into the directory containing libfirms source
+2. Create a directory named build 'mkdir build'. Change into this directory
+   and execute the configure script. 'cd build ; ../configure'
+3. Type 'make' to compile the package
+4. You may install libfirm as super user by typing 'make install'
 
 3. Usage
+--------
 
 To generate FIRM code from a compiler frontend read the documentation
 "libFIRM: A Library for Compiler Optimization Reaserch Implementing
 Firm", UKA tech-report 2002-5. About Firm you can learn in UKA
 tech-report 1999-14.
 
-
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
 4. Contact
+----------
 
 You can contact us at
-	firm@ipd.info.uni-karlsruhe.de
+	<firm@ipd.info.uni-karlsruhe.de>
 
 There's a mailing list here:
-	https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/libfirm-user
+	<https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/libfirm-user>
 
 We have a bugtracker at:
-	http://pp.info.uni-karlsruhe.de/~firm/bugs
+	<http://pp.info.uni-karlsruhe.de/~firm/bugs>