
			       asmutils
			       ********

			    (version 0.18)

			http://linuxassembly.org


Legal stuff
===========

 All programs in this package are *copyrighted* by their authors,
 as stated in the source code and in the CREDITS file. The bulk
 of code is written by Konstantin Boldyshev, with contributions
 of various hackers all over the world.

 These programs are free software; you can redistribute and/or modify
 them under the terms of the version 2 (and only version 2) of the GNU
 General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation.

 These programs are distributed in the hope that they will be useful,
 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty
 of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
 See the version 2 of the GNU General Public License for more details
 <http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html>.

 Authors are not responsible for any damage these programs can do.
 This is development version, use solely at your own risk.

Description
===========

 asmutils is a set of miscellaneous utilities written in assembly language,
 targeted on embedded systems and small distributions (e.g. installation
 or rescue disks); also it contains a small libc and a crypto library.
 It features the smallest possible size and memory requirements,
 the fastest speed, and offers fairly good functionality.
 Now project supports Linux and BSD family (FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD);
 Unixware, Solaris, and AtheOS support is in beta stage (also there's
 no more supported BeOS port), and it is /theoretically/ possible to
 port it to any i386 OS. 

 Another goal of this package is to provide a *portable* framework,
 and to encourage assembly programmers to write for Linux/UNIX.
 Usually UNIX is associated with C, and no one wants to deal with assembly..
 Browse the source, look -- it is simple. Read the docs, start to write,
 and you will like it; assembly programming is a lot of fun, especially
 when you deal with a UNIX-like operating systems.

 In addition, this package has some "special bonus" like small intros,
 games, and other various assembly snippets.

 These utilities also may be useful for system administrators;
 there were several reports that they have rescued when libc
 crashed and it was not possible to use usual system utilities.

 Hey, we are a light in the darkness of bloatware. Do you see?

How to install
==============

 REQUIREMENTS:

	1) i386 (however some programs may require higher CPU);
	   some programs may require FPU (or kernel emulation)

	2) UNIX-like kernel

	3) ELF/AOUT executable format (actually not a requirement,
	   you just need to write startup stack preparation
	   for your executable format on your own)

 For details on compilation process examine doc/Asmutils-HOWTO,
 then edit MCONFIG, run '[g]make' and hopefully all will be done.

 '[g]make install' creates bin directory in the source tree and stores
 compiled files there (it doesn't copy files elsewhere, neither to /bin
 or /usr/bin, nor to /usr/local/bin).

 You may also want to examine a-Linux -- a floppy-based mini-distribution
 consisting of Linux kernel and asmutils; it is available for download
 from the asmutils homepage as well.

 WARNING:
 
 Before using any utility first DO LOOK AT ITS SYNTAX; some utils may
 work not as you have expected. Syntax can be found in the appropriate
 source file (.asm) from the src directory (do not expect any answer
 from program on --help switch or without switches).


Feedback
========

 Contributions are welcome! If you want to contribute some code,
 please read the Asmutils-HOWTO in the doc directory.
 At least send a bugreport or a success story :)

 $Id: README,v 1.17 2006/02/18 10:13:42 konst Exp $
