How to compile, package, and use the library
SERDISPLIB
==========

Written by                  Wolfgang Astleitner (mrwastl@users.sourceforge.net)

Project's homepage:         http://serdisplib.soureforge.net
Latest version available:   http://sourceforge.net/projects/serdisplib/
SVN development infos:      http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/serdisplib/


See the file COPYING for license information.


DISCLAIMER
----------
THIS IS EXPERIMENTAL SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
THE DEVELOPER(S) OF THIS SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE CAN NOT BE HELD LIABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FOR 
DAMAGE TO HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE, LOST DATA, OR OTHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGE RESULTING FROM THE 
USE OF THIS SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED 
TO USE OR FURTHER DISTRIBUTE THIS SOFTWARE OR TO USE ANY TEMPLATES FOR BUILDING HARDWARE PRESENTED HERE.


HISTORY
-------
see separate file 'HISTORY'


AUTHORS
-------
see separate file 'AUTHORS'


KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS
--------------------------
see separate file 'BUGS'


DESCRIPTION
-----------
serdisplib is a library with support for certain serial and parallel lc-displays connected 
to the parallel port (and also serial port with i2c-displays). Some USB-displays are
supported since version 1.97.x.


Supported displays / controllers
--------------------------------
--> look at http://serdisplib.sourceforge.net/index.html#displays


IOCTL vs. DIRECT-IO
-------------------
The default output-method uses 'ioctl'-calls using device names (eg: /dev/parport0).
serdisplib also supports using direct-IO (using port-addresses).
direct-IO is only available on architectures supporting it.

ioctl:
  +  not restricted to root-only (users qualified for eg. /dev/parport0 may control a display connected to it)
  +  universal (usable with more unix-derivats)
  -  slower than direct-IO

direct-IO (non libusb):
  +  faster
  -  root-only
  -  i386-compliant architectures only (*bsd-support planned)

direct-IO (libusb / usb-based devices):
  +  should be usable on all unixes with libusb support (linux, solaris, *bsd)
  -  brain-damaged preparation for working libusb-support on some systems



INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION
------------------------------

NOTA BENE: on some systems you'll have to use 'gmake' instead of 'make'


1.  unpack the tarball to some directory

2a. enter ./configure to generate Makefiles

   or if you use a RedHat/Fedora-based/compliant linux-distribution:
   
2b. enter rpmbuild -tb serdisplib-<version>.tar.gz to generate three RPMs:
    serdisplib-<version>.<arch>.rpm         ... library files
    serdisplib-devel-<version>.<arch>.rpm   ... header files and static library
    serdisplib-tools-<version>.<arch>.rpm   ... tools (testserdisp, multidisplay)

    eg.: rpmbuild -tb serdisplib-2.01.tar.gz   on an x86-arch will generate:
    
    * serdisplib-2.01.i386.rpm, serdisplib-devel-2.01.i386.rpm, serdisplib-tools-2.01.i386.rpm
    
    
    RPM-install these files and you're done with installing serdisplib

    
    ATTENTION: if you have installed a pre-RPM-version of serdisplib, 
               uninstall/remove that before installing the RPM-version!
               (/usr/local (make install) vs. /usr (RPM-install) problem!)


3.  to build the library and the tools, enter:

    make    (or gmake - ./configure will tell which one to use.
             on linux 'make' and 'gmake' are usually the same)

4.  to install the library and the tools:

    make install

    this will install the shared and static library into /usr/local/lib/
    and the include-files to /usr/local/include/serdisplib.

    tools (e.g. 'testserdisp' and 'multidisplay') will be installed into /usr/local/bin.



configure options:
  --prefix=PREFIX             install files in PREFIX                               default: /usr/local

  --enable-experimental       enable experimental code                              default: no

  --enable-dynloading         enable support for loading dynamic libraries
                              using dlopen()/dlsym()                                default: auto

  --enable-statictools        link tools (eg. testserdisp) to static version of
                              serdisplib                                            default: yes


  --with-drivers=<list>       compile drivers given in <list>, see ./configure --help for details


  only if --disable-dynloading is activated:
  --enable-libusb             enable support for libusb, required by driver
                              'acoolsdcm' and USB-based output devices              default: auto
  --enable-libSDL             enable support for libSDL,
                              required by driver 'directgfx'                        default: auto
  --enable-libdlo             enable support for libdlo,
                              required by driver 'displaylink'                      default: auto
  --enable-pthread            enable multithreading support,
                              required by events and GPIs                           default: auto

  examples:
              ./configure --prefix=/usr         ... use /usr instead of /usr/local as base installation dir
              ./configure --enable-statictools  ... link static version of serdisplib to testserdisp and
                                                    tools in tools/ (e.g. multidisplay)
              ./configure --disable-dynloading  ... disable support for loading libraries using dlopen()



Annotations:
------------
* multidisplay requires libgd. if libgd is not installed, ./configure will not include multidisplay

* GIF-support is included in recent versions of libgd only!
  ./configure will automatically detect missing GIF-support and disable GIF-specific code-segments

* solaris 10:
  ./configure should manage to find most of the binaries / required libraries.
  if not so, adapt 'configure.in' and run 'autoconf'
  if multidisplay should be built, 'libgd' needs to be installed from the compagnion disc.

* opensolaris:
  install package 'SUNWsfwhea' to be able to compile with libusb-support
  (if using package manager: search for: 'sfwhea')


DISPLAY NAME STRINGS SUPPORTED (case insensitive)
-------------------------------------------------

  display name  alias names        description
  ------------- ------------------ -----------------------------------
  OPTREX323                              Optrex 323 display                 
  LSU7S1011A       ALPS                  ALPS display with display module kit by pollin
  E08552                                 EPSON E0855-2 display with display module kit by pollin
  PCD8544                                generic driver for PCD8544-based displays
  PCF8511                                generic driver for PCF8511-based displays
  LPH7366                                LPH7366 display with backlight     
  LPH7690                                LPH7690 display                    
  NOKIA7110        SED1565               Nokia 7110 display (SED1565-based) 
  NEC21A           SKYPER                NEC 21a (Skyper) display module    
  LPH7508                                LPH7508 display module with display module kit by pollin
  HP12542R                               Hyundai HP12542R display module with display module kit by pollin
  ERICSSONT2X      E///T2X               Ericsson T20/T28/T29 i2c-displays  
  ERICSSONR520     E///R520,R520         Ericsson R520/T65 i2c-displays     
  T6963            T6963C                generic driver for T6963-based displays
  TLX1391                                Toshiba TLX1391 display (T6963-based)
  T6963SERMOD                            T6963-based display module with built-in parallel to serial converter
  SED133X          SED1330,SED1335       generic driver for SED1330/SED1335-based displays
  S1D13700                               generic driver for S1D13700-based displays
  USB13700                               displays driven by USB13700 USB module
  N3510I           N3530                 driver for Nokia 3510i/3530 displays (S1D15G14-based)
  S1D15G10         N6100                 driver for Nokia 6100 and compliant displays (S1D15G10-based)
  KS0108                                 generic driver for KS0108-based displays
  CTINCLUD                               c't includ USB-display             
  LH155                                  generic driver for LH155-based displays
  SHARP240                               Sharp M078CKA 240x64 (LH155-based) 
  OLED96X36X1                            Pictiva 96X36 OLED 1bit            
  OLED96X64X16                           Pictiva 96X64 colour OLED 16bit    
  OLED128X64X4                           Pictiva 128X64 yellow OLED 4bit    
  BL160128A                              Bolymin BL160128A colour OLED 18bit
  4DOLED282815     4DOLED128             4DOLED-282815 colour OLED 18bit    
  L4ME5I                                 linux4media USB-interface E-5i-USB 
  L4M132C                                linux4media USB-interface w/ 132x65 colour display
  GOLDELOX         UOLED160,UOLED128     displays driven by GOLDELOX-MD1 module
  STV8105          OLED256X64X4          Pictiva 256X64 yellow OLED 4bit    
  ALPHACOOL                              Alphacool USB-displays 200x64 or 240x128
  SDCMEGTRON                             SDC-Megtron USB-displays 240x128   
  SDL                                    direct output to SDL window        
  EAKIT128GXT                            Electronic Assembly EA KIT128-GXT  
  OMAURA                                 Omaura OLED                        
  DG16080                                DG-16080 160x80                    
  DG1608011                              DG-16080-11 160x80 (non-square pixels)
  L4M320T          DD320T                Linux4Media L4M-2.8T320LCD USB LCD 320 Touch
  FRAMEBUFFER      FB                    Framebuffer device                 
  GLCD2USB                               GLCD2USB based device              

with --enable-experimental:
  REMOTE                                 server connection via TCP


TESTING
-------
serdisplib contains a test program called 'testserdisp'. (it is automatically built if you compiled serdisplib
using 'make', 'make all', or 'make testserdisp')


at the prompt enter: 'testserdisp -h

this will show all options supported by testserdisp.

at least -n <display name> is needed (supported display names: look at table above)

testserdisp will show a test picture and you get a prompt. enter 'help' to see all test commands available.


information:
it is not required to install serdisplib prior to be able to use testserdisp. 
just enter 'src/testserdisp' instead of 'testserdisp' at the prompt where you compiled the library.



MULTIDISPLAY
------------
multidisplay is a tool for displaying pictures and text (and even both combined).

at the prompt enter: 'multidisplay -h' for help

examples:
  display an image:          multidisplay -n nokia7110 -f pic.jpg
  display some text:         multidisplay -n sed1330 -o "WIRING=1" -M 'serdisplib is the win'
  use a different font:      multidisplay -n sed1330 -o "WIRING=1" -F tiny -M 'tiny font'
  use truetypefont, size 16: multidisplay -n nokia7110 -F font.ttf:16 -M 'test'

  NOTA BENE:  
  option -c (executing a command and display result) is dangerous and should be handled with care
  for security concerns, -c is only executed when combined with -y
  
  example:
    display load average:    multidisplay -n sed1330 -c "uptime |sed -e 's/.*load.average..//'" -y

there will be a separate documentation for multidisplay in a later release.
for now, multidisplay is a tiny tool to play around with


information:
it is not required to install serdisplib prior to be able to use multidisplay. 
just enter 'tools/multidisplay' instead of 'multidisplay' at the prompt where you compiled the library.

multidisplay will only be compiled if libgd is installed (at least libgd version 2)



API-DOCUMENTATION
-----------------
--> documentation can be generated using

    doxygen DOCS/Doxyfile

    which creates an HTML-based documentation which starts at DOCS/html/index.html.

or

--> look at http://serdisplib.sourceforge.net/docs/index.html



OPTIONS
-------
--> look at http://serdisplib.sourceforge.net/docs/options.html#options


WIRINGS
-------
--> local file PINOUTS (online here: http://serdisplib.sourceforge.net/docs/PINOUTS.html)
--> http://serdisplib.sourceforge.net/docs/options.html#options


VDR-GRAPHLCD SUPPORT
--------------------
since graphlcd 0.1.2-pre5 graphlcd uses serdisplib if installed. 
user action (make-flags, includes, ...) is no longer needed
graphlcd needs no longer be recompiled for using serdisplib!!

also have a look at  docs/DRIVER.serdisp included in graphlcd-base



KNOWN PROBLEMS
--------------
 - serial port damn slow on solaris and when using USB->RS232 adapters.
 - multidisplay: -f not always working correctly if not last parameter

please mail to my address if you find bugs!



TODO
----
* better documentation
* more comments in source code

* more displays/controllers


PLANNED DISPLAYS (or: 'display queue')
----------------
* Ericsson R320
...



CONTRIBUTORS (alphabetically sorted)
------------

contributors of additional display support can be found in 'AUTHORS'.

testing / bug reports:
* Daniel Badberg ... testing, bug reports
* Reuben Bond    ... testing, bug reports, chardisp (generate text using serdisplib. superseded by multidisplay)
* Alan Carvalho  ... bug report in makefile
* Andreas Regel  ... testing of t6963c-driver
* Bernhard Walle ... pointing out potential linking problem in src/Makefile

and all others who helped me with different questions (c, electronics, proof-reading, ...), especially:
* Andreas Fierlinger
* Michael Fuereder


this list is not up-to-date and will be reworked/extended in a later release of serdisplib.


Have fun!

Wolfgang Astleitner <mrwastl@users.sourceforge.net>