[libsigrok.git] / README

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
README
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sigrok project aims at creating a portable, cross-platform,
Free/Libre/Open-Source signal analysis software suite that supports various
device types (such as logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, multimeters, and more).

libsigrok is a shared library written in C which provides the basic API
for talking to hardware and reading/writing the acquired data into various
input/output file formats.


Status
------

libsigrok is in a usable state and has had official tarball releases.

While the API can change from release to release, this will always be
properly documented and reflected in the package version number and
in the shared library / libtool / .so-file version numbers.

However, there are _NO_ guarantees at all for stable APIs in git snapshots!
Distro packagers should only use released tarballs (no git snapshots).


Requirements
------------

 - git
 - gcc (>= 4.0)
 - make
 - autoconf >= 2.63
 - automake >= 1.11
 - libtool
 - pkg-config >= 0.22
 - libglib >= 2.28.0
 - libusb >= 1.0.9 (for most hardware)
 - libzip >= 0.8
 - libftdi >= 0.16 (for some hardware)
 - libudev >= 151 (for some hardware)


Building and installing
-----------------------

In order to get the libsigrok source code and build it, run:

 $ git clone git://sigrok.org/libsigrok
 $ cd libsigrok
 $ ./autogen.sh
 $ ./configure
 $ make

For installing libsigrok:

 $ make install

Please see the following wiki pages for more detailed instructions:

 http://sigrok.org/wiki/Linux
 http://sigrok.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X
 http://sigrok.org/wiki/Windows
 http://sigrok.org/wiki/FreeBSD


Firmware
--------

Some devices supported by libsigrok need a firmware to be uploaded before the
device can be used. 

The default location where libsigrok expects the firmware files is:

  $prefix/share/sigrok-firmware

($prefix is usually /usr/local or /usr, depending on your ./configure options)

For further information see:

  http://sigrok.org/wiki/Firmware


Mailing lists
-------------

There are two mailing lists for sigrok/libsigrok:

 https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/sigrok-devel
 https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/sigrok-commits


IRC
---

You can find the sigrok developers in the #sigrok IRC channel on Freenode.


Website
-------

 http://sigrok.org/wiki/Libsigrok
Commit	Line	Data
	1	-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	2	README
	3	-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	4
	5	The sigrok project aims at creating a portable, cross-platform,
	6	Free/Libre/Open-Source signal analysis software suite that supports various
	7	device types (such as logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, multimeters, and more).
	8
	9	libsigrok is a shared library written in C which provides the basic API
	10	for talking to hardware and reading/writing the acquired data into various
	11	input/output file formats.
	12
	13
	14	Status
	15	------
	16
	17	libsigrok is in a usable state and has had official tarball releases.
	18
	19	While the API can change from release to release, this will always be
	20	properly documented and reflected in the package version number and
	21	in the shared library / libtool / .so-file version numbers.
	22
	23	However, there are _NO_ guarantees at all for stable APIs in git snapshots!
	24	Distro packagers should only use released tarballs (no git snapshots).
	25
	26
	27	Requirements
	28	------------
	29
	30	- git
	31	- gcc (>= 4.0)
	32	- make
	33	- autoconf >= 2.63
	34	- automake >= 1.11
	35	- libtool
	36	- pkg-config >= 0.22
	37	- libglib >= 2.28.0
	38	- libusb >= 1.0.9 (for most hardware)
	39	- libzip >= 0.8
	40	- libftdi >= 0.16 (for some hardware)
	41	- libudev >= 151 (for some hardware)
	42
	43
	44	Building and installing
	45	-----------------------
	46
	47	In order to get the libsigrok source code and build it, run:
	48
	49	$ git clone git://sigrok.org/libsigrok
	50	$ cd libsigrok
	51	$ ./autogen.sh
	52	$ ./configure
	53	$ make
	54
	55	For installing libsigrok:
	56
	57	$ make install
	58
	59	Please see the following wiki pages for more detailed instructions:
	60
	61	http://sigrok.org/wiki/Linux
	62	http://sigrok.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X
	63	http://sigrok.org/wiki/Windows
	64	http://sigrok.org/wiki/FreeBSD
	65
	66
	67	Firmware
	68	--------
	69
	70	Some devices supported by libsigrok need a firmware to be uploaded before the
	71	device can be used.
	72
	73	The default location where libsigrok expects the firmware files is:
	74
	75	$prefix/share/sigrok-firmware
	76
	77	($prefix is usually /usr/local or /usr, depending on your ./configure options)
	78
	79	For further information see:
	80
	81	http://sigrok.org/wiki/Firmware
	82
	83
	84	Mailing lists
	85	-------------
	86
	87	There are two mailing lists for sigrok/libsigrok:
	88
	89	https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/sigrok-devel
	90	https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/sigrok-commits
	91
	92
	93	IRC
	94	---
	95
	96	You can find the sigrok developers in the #sigrok IRC channel on Freenode.
	97
	98
	99	Website
	100	-------
	101
	102	http://sigrok.org/wiki/Libsigrok
	103