zint/readme

Zint and libzint 2.1.1
----------------------

Zint is a front end program and library which provides support for over 40 barcode symbologies
in an open source package released under the GNU General Public License. Currently supported
symbologies include:

Code 11, Standard Code 2 of 5, IATA Code 2 of 5, Industrial Code 2 of 5, Interleaved Code 2 of 5,
Code 2 of 5 Data Logic, ITF-14, Deutche Post Leitcode, Deutche Post Identcode, UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-2,
EAN-5, EAN-8, EAN-13, UK Plessey, MSI Plessey, Telepen Alpha, Telepen Numeric, Code 39,
Extended Code 39, Code 93, PZN, Code 23, LOGMARS, Codabar, Pharmacode, Code 128, EAN-128, NVE-18,
Code 16k, PDF417, MicroPDF417, Two-Track Pharmacode, PostNet, PLANET, Australia Post 4-State Symbols,
RM4SCC, USPS OneCode, GS1 DataBar, DataBar-14, DataBar Limited, DataBar Extended, DataBar Stacked,
Composite Symbology, Data Matrix, QR Code, Maxicode, Aztec Code, EAN-13, Codablock-F, Micro QR,
Korea Post Barcode, HIBC Code 128, HIBC Code 39, HIBC Data Matrix, HIBC PDF417, HIBC MicroPDF417,
HIBC QR Code, HIBC Codablock-F, FIM and Flattermarken.

Full documentation is included in the 'docs' directory. The libzint back end code is included
in the 'backend' directory, and the front end command line program 'zint' is included in the
'frontend' directory. See the HTML documentation for full installation instructions. The file
DEVELOPERS in the backend folder gives a brief guide to which symbologies are handled by which
source code files.

SUPPORT ZINT
------------

The Zint project is committed to providing the open source community with encoding software for
all public domain barcode standards. For this we need access to the standard documentation and,
unfortunately, this is not free. Your donation will contribute towards the purchase of standard documents
from ANSI. Standards which we hope to add to Zint in this way include Aztec Mesas, Code 49, 
Supercode, Code One and many others.

To donate to this project go to: http://sourceforge.net/project/project_donations.php?group_id=199350


QT FRONT END
------------

This package includes a Qt4 GUI front end. This feature is still under development but if you would
like to give it a try then here is how to get to it: You will need Qt4 and cmake to compile the code.
cd to the folder that contains this README file then...

mkdir 'build'
cd build
cmake ..
make -j2

This will make libzint library and a Qt specific version of the library. To install these do the following
as root:

make install

You can then execute the Qt front end with

./frontend_qt4/QZint_frontend


CONTACT ME
----------

The home of libzint is

http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/zint

and the home for information about Zint is at:

http://www.zint.org.uk

I am keen to hear your ideas / recieve bug reports at robin@zint.org.uk

Thanks for your interest in libzint.
Happy encoding.

Robin.


THINGS TO DO
------------

If you are interested in expanding the functionality of this library then here are a few
things which you may like to attempt:

Frontend
--------
	The Qt front end needs a lot of work. It needs to be able to:
	* Show barcode images properly
	* Allow saving of generated barcodes to file
	* Allow copying of generated barcodes to the clipboard

Packaging
---------
	Binary packages are needed for distribution in the following formats
	* RPMs for various Linux distros
	* DEB package for Debian
	* Install binaries for MS Windows
	* Install binaries for Mac OSX

Translations
------------
	Documentation is currently only in English. If you have the knowledge and the
	time please consider translating into other languages.

Research
--------
	The following standards would be welcomed in Zint but the full documentation has
	not yet been found.
	* DPD Code
	* Italian Postal Code
	* Japanese Postal Code

Coming Soon
-----------
	Features which it is hoped will appear in this library soon:
	* Extended Channel Interpretations
	* Code 49
	* Code One