diff --git a/readme b/readme index 6718926c..8baa0316 100644 --- a/readme +++ b/readme @@ -1,9 +1,8 @@ Zint and libzint 2.2 -------------------- - -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: +Zint is a suite of programs to allow easy encoding of data in any of the wide range of public domain +barcode standards and to allow integration of this capability into your own programs. This version +of Zint is able to encode data in the following formats: 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, @@ -16,73 +15,91 @@ Korea Post Barcode, HIBC Code 128, HIBC Code 39, HIBC Data Matrix, HIBC PDF417, HIBC QR Code, HIBC Codablock-F, Japanese Postal Code, Code 49, Channel Code, Code One, FIM and Flattermarken. -Full documentation is now available from the project website at http://www.zint.org.uk - -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, Supercode, -Code One and many others. - -To donate to this project go to: http://sourceforge.net/project/project_donations.php?group_id=199350 +Full documentation is available at project website: http://www.zint.org.uk -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... +PROJECT STATUS +-------------- +With the release of version 2.2 of this project the status will change to a "maintainance mode". +This means that for the near future I do not expect to be adding new features and development work +will consist of fixing bugs when they appear. In the long term the only advances planned are the +addition of six more public domain barcode standards: Dot Code A, PosiCode, SuperCode, DataStrip, +Aztec Mesas and Grid Matrix. If you would like to see this process accelerated then please consider +donating to this project at http://sourceforge.net/project/project_donations.php?group_id=199350 -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 +If you would like to see this project expanded in other ways then your suggestions are very +welcome. Contact details are given below. If you want to expand it yourself there are some +ideas below and I am very happy to answer questions regarding the code or the barcode standards +which are supported. -CONTACT ME ----------- +COMPILING THE CODE +------------------ +This package includes files for compiling in a number of ways depending on what functionality you +want and what platform you are targeting. Zint has been tested on both 32 and 64-bit systems. +It does not use any unusual memory manipulation and so should easily port to a wide range of hardware. -The home of libzint is +GNU/Linux and OpenBSD: +To compile the Zint library for you will need libpng and libz pre-installed. You can compile +with or without QR Code support. If you want QR Code support you will need qrencode installed. Then: -http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/zint + make + make install -and the home for information about Zint is at: +If you do not want QR Code support: -http://www.zint.org.uk + make zint_noqr + make install -I am keen to hear your ideas / recieve bug reports at robin@zint.org.uk +For some distributions it may be necessary to run -Thanks for your interest in libzint. -Happy encoding. + ldconfig -Robin. +as root before libzint can be used. + +To install the GUI interface you will need Qt4 and cmake. Follow these steps: + + cd build + cmake .. + make -j2 + make install + +The command line program can be accessed by typing + + zint {options} -d {data} + +Notice that the data needs to be entered after all other options. Any options given after the +data will be ignored. The GUI can be accessed by typing + + zint-qt + +MS Windows: +On the Windows platform you have the choice of compiling with MinGW or with the native compiler, +Microsoft Visual C++. To compile with MinGW follow the instructions for Linux above substituting +the MinGW makefiles for the default Linux ones. For compiling with MS Visual Studio open the +libzint.vcproj project file in the win32 folder and compile in the usual way. + +Mac OSX: +To compile on Macintosh you will need Qt4 and cmake. Follow the steps for the GUI interface +as given in the Linux section above. THINGS TO DO ------------ +If you are interested in improving this package then here are a few ideas. -If you are interested in expanding the functionality of this package then here are a few -things which need to be done! +Backend +------- + * Create filters for more output file formats. + * Add ECI character support to allow encoding in more languages than are covered + by the Latin-1 character set. + * The code was developed to be easy to understand rather than efficient so may benefit + from some memory optimisation for embedded systems. -Frontend --------- - * Allow copying of generated barcodes to the clipboard with "Copy" button +GUI Frontend +------------ + * Allow copying of generated barcodes to the clipboard with a "Copy" button. * Allow dragging and dropping to external apps. - NOTE: Although I have tried to add these functions I have not been succesful in - making them useful. Therefore, although I would like to see this added, - I have abandoned this. Packaging --------- @@ -103,6 +120,23 @@ Research * DPD Code * Italian Postal Code -Coming Soon ------------ - The next symbology to be added may be Dot Code A or ISS PosiCode + +CONTACT ME +---------- +The home of libzint is: + + http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/zint + +and the home for information about Zint is: + + 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. + + +