[libfaim.git] / README


libfaim pre-0.90 or so
----------------------

This is libfaim, the purpose of which is to implement as much as the
AOL AIM/OSCAR protocol as possible (which should be all of it).  After
over a year of development, its still nowhere close.  

This is not a full client and never will be.  libfaim only implements
the routines to implement a client (ie, there's no user interface).  

Status
------

I would not recommend using this version of libfaim in any form yet.  It's
beta-quality and I know it leaks memory quite badly.  It seems fairly
stable, however.  YMMV, YAYOR, etc.  I suppose I should say regardless of
that warning, that several clients use it and people use those clients
on a daily basis (in particular, me).


Building
--------

Everything in this libfaim dist should build cleanly on any UNIX(-like)
operating system.  Originally developed on Linux+glibc.  Past versions 
known to work on Linux+libc5, FreeBSD, HP/UX, Solaris, Mac OS X Server, 
Win32 using VC++ 98/6 and others.

libfaim builds as both libfaim.a and libfaim.so.  If your platform for
some reason does not support dynamic libraries (eg, you get errors when
building libfaim.so), you'll have to tweak the makefiles a bit to get
the utils/ directory to build.  

Otherwise, just do a 'make'.  I don't believe I use any specific features
GNU make, but if something fails, make sure you have it.  And bash too.


Accessories
-----------

In utils/, you'll find a few things extra:

  faimtest:   very rudimentary front-end.  no user interface, but does
              illustrate the basics of logging in and sending/recieving
              messages and buddy list notifications.  Potential front-
              end authors start here.

  aimpasswd:  utility to change an AIM password without using a full
              client.  Note that at the time of this writing, this
              didn't work quite right yet.  See the top of the code for
              latest status.

License
-------

libfaim is covered under my copyright under the terms of the Lesser GNU
Public License, as documented in the file COPYING in the top level directory.


Documentation
-------------

Unfortunatly, there is not currently any documentation on the libfaim API.
Use the source and utils/faimtest/faimtest.c as a reference when coding
front-ends.  


Contact Info
------------

The author (Adam Fritzler), can be reached at afritz@iname.com or mid@auk.cx.

I did have mailing lists available for faim-related discussion, but they
have dwindled and eventually broke and to my knowledge have yet to fix 
themselves.

Front-end information:
  http://www.auk.cx/faim/
Protocol information:
  http://www.auk.cx/faim/protocol/
Commit	Line	Data
9de3ca7e	1
	2	libfaim pre-0.90 or so
	3	----------------------
	4
	5	This is libfaim, the purpose of which is to implement as much as the
	6	AOL AIM/OSCAR protocol as possible (which should be all of it). After
	7	over a year of development, its still nowhere close.
	8
	9	This is not a full client and never will be. libfaim only implements
	10	the routines to implement a client (ie, there's no user interface).
	11
	12	Status
	13	------
	14
	15	I would not recommend using this version of libfaim in any form yet. It's
	16	beta-quality and I know it leaks memory quite badly. It seems fairly
	17	stable, however. YMMV, YAYOR, etc. I suppose I should say regardless of
	18	that warning, that several clients use it and people use those clients
	19	on a daily basis (in particular, me).
	20
	21
	22	Building
	23	--------
	24
	25	Everything in this libfaim dist should build cleanly on any UNIX(-like)
	26	operating system. Originally developed on Linux+glibc. Past versions
	27	known to work on Linux+libc5, FreeBSD, HP/UX, Solaris, Mac OS X Server,
	28	Win32 using VC++ 98/6 and others.
	29
	30	libfaim builds as both libfaim.a and libfaim.so. If your platform for
	31	some reason does not support dynamic libraries (eg, you get errors when
	32	building libfaim.so), you'll have to tweak the makefiles a bit to get
	33	the utils/ directory to build.
	34
	35	Otherwise, just do a 'make'. I don't believe I use any specific features
	36	GNU make, but if something fails, make sure you have it. And bash too.
	37
	38
	39	Accessories
	40	-----------
	41
	42	In utils/, you'll find a few things extra:
	43
	44	faimtest: very rudimentary front-end. no user interface, but does
	45	illustrate the basics of logging in and sending/recieving
	46	messages and buddy list notifications. Potential front-
	47	end authors start here.
	48
	49	aimpasswd: utility to change an AIM password without using a full
	50	client. Note that at the time of this writing, this
	51	didn't work quite right yet. See the top of the code for
	52	latest status.
	53
	54	License
	55	-------
	56
	57	libfaim is covered under my copyright under the terms of the Lesser GNU
	58	Public License, as documented in the file COPYING in the top level directory.
	59
	60
	61	Documentation
	62	-------------
	63
	64	Unfortunatly, there is not currently any documentation on the libfaim API.
65	Use the source and utils/faimtest/faimtest.c as a reference when coding
66	front-ends.
67
68
69	Contact Info
70	------------
71
72	The author (Adam Fritzler), can be reached at afritz@iname.com or mid@auk.cx.
73
74	I did have mailing lists available for faim-related discussion, but they
75	have dwindled and eventually broke and to my knowledge have yet to fix
76	themselves.
77
78	Front-end information:
79	http://www.auk.cx/faim/
80	Protocol information:
81	http://www.auk.cx/faim/protocol/
82