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librfid_1999/README

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+librfid - low-level RFID access library
+(C) 2005-2007 by Harald Welte <laforge@gnumonks.org>
+======================================================================
+
+This library intends to provide a reader- and (as much as possible)
+PICC / tag independent API for RFID applications.
+
+1. Supported Protocols:
+
+At this early stage of implementation, it offers only ISO 14443-2, ISO 14443-3
+A and B as well as ISO 14443-4 (T=CL) support.  Other protocols, both open
+(such as ISO 15693) and proprietary are to be added as soon as I find some
+more time.
+
+2. Supported Readers:
+
+At this time, the Omnikey Cardman 5121/5321 and the OpenPCD readers are supported. 
+
+2.1 Omnikey Cardman 5121/5321 RFID (http://www.omnikey.de/)
+
+The cm5121 is a relatively stupid piece of hardware.  Basically a contact-based
+cm3121 that was enhanced by putting a Philips CL RC632 reader ASIC next to it.
+There is no RFID protocol implementation on the cm5121, everything is done on
+the host (PC) software.  Four primitives (read/write byte/fifo) are provided
+via simple PC_to_RDR_Escape CCID messages.
+
+The cm5321 seems to be an improved version of the 5121, mainly with different
+antenna geometrics for better communications reliability.
+
+2.2 OpenPCD (http://www.openpcd.org/)
+
+The OpenPCD reader is completely free.  You get the full schematics, the PCB
+design, and the source code to the device firmware (written in C, to be
+compiled with the free GNU toolchain).  Also, all required development tools
+are available under Free Software licenses!
+
+In addition, it has various headers for access to the intermediate signal
+processing steps.
+
+This makes it the ideal device to learn and play with RFID, since you don't
+have any (proprietary) software interfere and puts you in full control of
+everything.
+
+This is now the primary development target for librfid.  However, this doesn't
+mean that we don't want to support as many readers as possible.
+
+Another interesting new option is to cross-compile librfid to fit it _inside_
+the OpenPCD firmware, enabling a fully autonomous RFID stack (and RFID
+applications) on the reader, without any requirement for a host PC!
+
+2.3 Philips Pegoda
+
+This reader is not yet supported.  Some initial experiments have shown that
+adding support for it is 
+
+2.x Further Readers
+
+Support for more devices shouldn't be too difficult to add, provided the
+devices are stupid enough.  More sophisticated readers like Integrated
+Engineering or Philips Pegoda do much of the protocol handling in firmware on a
+microcontroller.  This makes them (at least till now) faster, but also of
+limited use, especially in education and research.
+
+So if you happen to run into any other dumb RFID readers, especially those
+based on Philips CL RC622, RC531 and RC632, adding support should be very
+straightforward.  If you want to contract me for implementing a driver
+backend, don't hesitate to contact me.
+
+
+3. Building / Installing
+
+In the default configuration, librfid only includes the driver for the OpenPCD
+dumbreader firmware.
+
+If you want support for Omnikey Cardman 5121/5321, you have to add
+'--enable-reader-cm5x21' to the './configure' command, _and_ choose the backend
+you want to use, either:
+
+3.1 (new) native CCID backend
+
+If you add the '--enable-ccid' option to the './configure' command, then the new
+native CCID driver (courtesy of Werner Koch) will be linked into the library.
+This requires a working libusb with development headers.  
+
+In order to use the reader, you will need to set the permissions of the
+respective /proc/bus/usb or /sys/bus/usb files (or run the application as
+root, if you trust my code, which you shouldn't).
+
+If you run udev, just use the 'etc/udev/librfid.rules' udev rulefile, which should
+change the group of the usb device to 'users'.
+
+3.2 (old) OpenCT backend
+
+This backend has the advantage that it will allow you to use the contact-based
+part and the contactless part of the CM5121 simultaneously.  However, it requires
+a patched version of OpenCT.
+
+A patch against openct-0.6.7 is available as openct-0.6.7-librfid.patch.
+
+Please note that while librfid in this configuration _uses_ OpenCT as a
+lower-layer transport interface, it doesn't actually provide a virtual reader
+interface to it, i.e. you can't use CT-API/OpenCT/PCSC API's to access RFID
+transponders.
+
+In order to use this backend, you need to use the
+'--enable-openct' option and - if it is not installed in a default
+location like /usr or /usr/local - set the environment variables
+PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH and PKG_CONFIG_PATH so all files are found.
+
+
+4. Testing
+
+In the 'utils' directory, you will get a 'librfid-tool' binary.  It is very
+minimalist, and mainly an example on how to use the librfid API. For an ICAO
+compliant passport, you may try "--layer2 iso14443a --protocol tcl".  For a
+mifare ultralight transponder, "--layer2 iso14443a --protocol
+mifare-ultralight" will give you a full dump of the transponder.
+
+The most basic command to get started is "librfid-tool --scan" to make it
+auto-detect the first available (and supported) transponder
+
+
+5. Help and Support
+
+If you run into any problems using librfid, the primary contact address is the
+mailinglist of librfid developers at librfid-devel@lists.gnumonks.org.  Please
+note that while the development community is trying to provide the best level
+of support, response times might vary.
+
+You can subscribe to this list at 
+	https://lists.gnumonks.org/mailman/listinfo/librfid-devel
+
+If you are interested in commercial grade support of librfid, feel free to
+contact me privately to discuss your requirements and provide you with a quote.
+
+6. Licensing
+
+Pleas read the file LICENSING.
+
+-- Harald Welte <laforge@gnumonks.org>
+