ebcf5e1754
git-svn-id: http://repo.ham.fi/svn/aprsc/trunk@636 3ce903b1-3385-4e86-93cd-f9a4a239f7ac |
||
|---|---|---|
| .. | ||
| BUILDING.md | ||
| INSTALLING.md | ||
| README.md | ||
| TODO | ||
| test-packets | ||
README.md
aprsc - an APRS-IS server in C
aprsc (pronounced a-purrs-c) is a plain APRS-IS server intended to be used on the core and Tier2 APRS-IS servers. It is written in the C language, and it runs on Linux and Unix servers.
If you need igate or other radio-interfacing features, aprsc is not for you.
If you need to run a server on Windows, aprsc is not for you. Sorry!
A word of warning
The aprsc software is brand new, under active development, and release cycles are currently very quick - be ready to upgrade on a short notice when new versions are announced. Like any new software, aprsc is likely to contain new bugs, and some upgrades might have a high priority.
If you're not prepared to upgrade often, please wait for a few months – it should be more peaceful then. Documentation is not there yet, either, but if you're an experienced APRS-IS server operator, there should be no big surprises around.
Features (lack of)
aprsc has been designed strictly for use within the APRS-IS core, hub and Tier2 servers. It includes only the basic functionality required by those servers. It does not, and will not, have any additional functions such as igating, digipeating, interfacing to radios, D-PRS or other gateway functions, or object generation. It will not work on Windows.
If you need a nice, compact igate software for Linux, please take a look at either aprsg, aprx, or aprs4r. If you need to run an APRS-IS server on Windows or some other platform not supported by aprsc, or if you need the features existing in javAPRSSrvr which are missing from aprsc, javAPRSSrvr is the right choice for you – it's got a lot of good features that many of you need, and it works on virtually all operating systems. If you need an igate for Windows, APRSIS32 should be good.
Licensing, environments and requirements
aprsc is open source, licensed under the BSD license. It has about 11000 lines of relatively clean C code, built using the usual ./configure && make && make install method. The embedded HTTP status server is built using the libevent2 library, no other extra libraries are needed. Linux and OS X are the main development environments and will receive premium support, but FreeBSD and Solaris 11 are known to work too. Packaged binaries for Debian and Ubuntu will be available shortly for super-easy installations and automatic upgrades.
Quality control
aprsc comes with an APRS-IS server test suite, implemented using the Perl Test framework. A "make test" executed in the tests/ subdirectory will execute automated tests for all of the basic functions of the server in about 2 minutes. Individual test scripts run fake APRS-IS servers, clients and peers around the tested server, and pass various valid and invalid packets through the server, checking for expected output.
Test-driven development methods have been used during the development: a testing script has been implemented first, based on existing documentation and wisdom learned from the mailing lists and communication with other developers, the test case has been validated to match the functionality of javAPRSSrvr (by running javAPRSSrvr through the test suite), and only then the actual feature has been implemented in aprsc. This approach should ensure a good level of compatibility between the components and prevent old bugs from creeping back in.
Who's who, and how long did it take
aprsc has been developed between 2008 and 2012 by Matti Aarnio, OH2MQK (aprx), and Heikki Hannikainen, OH7LZB (aprs.fi). Design phase and most of the core development happened during 2008, but the final sprint for feature completeness happened during the summer of 2012. Substantial code reuse happens between aprx, aprsc and other projects of the authors.
Discussion group
aprsc has it's own discussion group and mailing list. If you run aprsc, please subscribe to the list to keep updated on new versions.