The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
README file
n.
Hacker's-eye introduction traditionally included in the top-level directory
of a Unix source distribution, containing a pointer to more detailed
documentation, credits, miscellaneous revision history, notes, etc. In the
Mac and PC worlds, software is not usually distributed in source form, and
the README is more likely to contain user-oriented material like
last-minute documentation changes, error workarounds, and restrictions.
When asked, hackers invariably relate the README convention to the famous
scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland in which Alice
confronts magic munchies labeled ?Eat Me? and ?Drink Me?.
The file may be named README, or READ.ME, or rarely ReadMe or readme.txt or
some other variant. The all-upper-case spellings, however, are universal
among Unix programmers. By ancient tradition, real source files have
all-lowercase names and all-uppercase is reserved for metadata, comments,
and grafitti. This is functional; because 'A' sorts before 'a' in ASCII,
the README will appear in directory listings before any source file.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
README file
A text file traditionally included
in the top-level directory of a software distribution,
containing pointers to documentation, credits, revision history,
notes, etc. Originally found in Unix source distributions, the
convention has spread to many other products. The file may be
named README, READ.ME, ReadMe or readme.txt or some other variant.
In the Macintosh and IBM PC worlds, software is not
usually distributed in source form, and the README is more
likely to contain user-oriented material like last-minute
documentation changes, error workarounds, and restrictions.
The README convention probably follows the famous scene in Lewis
Carroll's "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" in which Alice
confronts magic munchies labeled "Eat Me" and "Drink Me".
[Jargon File]
(1995-02-28)