GnuTLS README -- Important introductory notes. Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc. See the end of this document for copying conditions. GnuTLS implements the TLS/SSL (Transport Layer Security aka Secure Sockets Layer) protocol. GnuTLS is a GNU project. Additional information can be found at and . README ------ This README is targeted for users of the library who build from sources but do not necessarily develop. If you are interested in developing and contributing to the GnuTLS project, please see README-alpha and visit http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/manual/html_node/Contributing.html. COMPILATION ----------- A typical command sequence for building the library is shown below. A complete list of options available for configure can be found by running './configure --help'. cd gnutls-2.10.3 ./configure --prefix=/usr make sudo make install The commands above build and install the static archives (libgnutls.a and libgnutls-extra.a), the shared object (libgnutls.so and libgnutls-extra.so), and additional binaries such as certtool and gnutls-cli. The library depends on libnettle OR libgcrypt (but never both). GnuTLS currently uses libnettle as the default cryptographic library. Versions 2.10.3 and prior used libgcrypt as the default cryptographic library. Nettle can be found at http://www.gnu.org/software/nettle/, while libgcrypt can be found at . To configure libnettle for installation and use by GnuTLS, a typical command sequence would be: cd nettle-2.1 ./configure --prefix=/usr --disable-openssl --enable-shared make sudo make install For the Nettle project, --enable-shared will instruct automake and friends to build and install both the static archive (libnettle.a) and the shared object (libnettle.so). In case you are compiling for an embedded system, you can disable unneeded features of GnuTLS. In general, it is usually best not to disable anything (for future mailing list questions and possible bugs). Depending on your installation, additional libraries, such as libtasn1 and zlib, may be required. DOCUMENTATION ------------- See the documentation in doc/ and online at http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/manual/html_node/index.htm. EXAMPLES -------- See the examples in doc/examples/ and online at 'How To Use GnuTLS in Applications' at http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/manual/html_node/How- to-use-GnuTLS-in-applications.html#How-to-use-GnuTLS-in-applications. The examples include client, server, and multi-threaded examples. SECURITY ADVISORIES ------------------- The project collects and publishes information on past security incidents and vulnerabilities. Open information exchange, including information which is [sometimes] suppressed in non-open or non-free projects, is one of the goals of the GnuTLS project. Please visit http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/security.html. MAILING LISTS ------------- The GnuTLS project maintains mailing lists for users, developers, and commits. Please see http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/lists.html. LICENSING --------- Since version 0.4.2, the GnuTLS library has been released under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). Previous versions were licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). We changed the license for most of the GnuTLS components because other free libraries exist and offer similar functionality with lax licenses. We want GnuTLS to be usable in the same places as those other libraries. We kept some parts of GnuTLS under the GPL because they are unique, and the terms of the license under GPL provides free software projects (which deserve our help) an advantage over non-free projects (which do not deserve our help, since they refuse to share with us). For information, see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-not-lgpl.html. The GNU LPGL applies to the main gnutls library, while the gnutls-extra library is under the GPL. The gnutls-extra library contains the code for "GnuTLS Inner Application" support and the OpenSSL compatibility layer. The gnutls library is located in the lib/ directory, while the gnutls-extra library is at libextra/. BUGS ---- Currently GnuTLS needs testing. Thorough testing is very important and expensive. Often times, the developers do not have access to a particular piece of hardware or configuration to reproduce a scenario. Notifying the developers about a possible bug will greatly help the project. If you believe you have found a bug, please report it to bug-gnutls@gnu.org together with any applicable information. A web interface for the system is available at http://savannah.gnu.org/support/?group=gnutls. Applicable information would include why the issue is a GnuTLS bug (if not readily apparent), output from 'uname -a', the version of the library or tool being used, a stack trace if available ('bt full' if under gdb), and perhaps a network trace. Vague queries or piecemeal messages are difficult to act upon and don't help the development effort. Additional information can be found at the project's Bug Report page at http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/manual/html_node/Bug-Reports.html. PATCHES ------- Patches are welcome and encouraged. Details of contributing can be found at http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/manual/html_node/Contributing.html. Patches are submitted through the bug tracking system or to the mailing list. When submitting patches, please be sure to use sources from the git repository, and preferrably from the master branch. To create a patch for the project from a local git repository, please use the following commands. 'gnutls' should be the local directory of a previous git clone. cd gnutls git add the-file-you-modified.c another-file.c git commit the-file-you-modified.c another-file.c git format-patch For more information on use of Git, visit http://git-scm.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification, are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright notice and this notice are preserved.