NAME

libgutenfetch - Client-side library to retrieve listings and books availiable from Project Gutenberg.

DESCRIPTION

This is an overview of how to use libgutenfetch in C programs. There are specific man pages for each function mentioned within this manual.

All applications that wish to use libgutenfetch must include the gutenfetch.h header file. The application must also call gutenfetch_init() at startup and wait for it to return before calling any other libgutenfetch functions. When the application is finished using the library, gutenfetch_shutdown() must also be called to free all internal resources.

There are a handful of useful functions provided by the library. These include the following.

gutenfetch_init(): Initialize internal resouces used by libgutenfetch.
gutenfetch_shutdown(): Release resources held internally by libgutenfetch.
gutenfetch_version(): Returns a NULL-terminated string with the version of the library you are using.
gutenfetch_is_threadsafe(): Returns 1 if the library is compiled to be thread-safe, 0 otherwise.
gutenfetch_list_servers(): Get a list of potential servers to use for fetching etexts from Project Gutenberg.
gutenfetch_get_active_server(): Return the gutenberg server we are currently using to satisfy requests.
gutenfetch_get_aussie_server(): Return the australian server used to satisfy requests for etexts available only from/to Australia.
gutenfetch_set_active_server(): Set the current server to use.
gutenfetch_set_active_server_full(): Set the current server to use more explicitly than the previous function.
gutenfetch_new_server(): Build a new gutenfetch server to use.
gutenfetch_duplicate_server(): Return a dupliacte gutenfetch_server_t structure.
gutenfetch_free_server(): Free the resources held by a gutenfetch_server_t structure.
gutenfetch_free_servers(): Free all resources held by an array of gutenfetch_server_t structures.
gutenfetch_get_listing(): Get a list of all electronic texts available from Project Gutenberg.
gutenfetch_get_raw_listing(): This returns the unaltered contents of the GUTINDEX.ALL file from the current server.
gutenfetch_detail_etext(): This function fetches detailed information about a particular electronic text, returning information about the different formats that the book is available in.
gutenfetch_detail_all_etexts(): This function is like the one above except that it gets information for all known electronic texts.
gutenfetch_get_etext(): Fetch the contents of a particular electronic text.
gutenfetch_error_to_string(): This function generates a human readable string for any of the internal errors which may be generated by libgutenfetch.
gutenfetch_cache_flush(): Remove all cached files from the hard disk.
gutenfetch_cache_set_expires(): Set the length of time files can remain cached on disk without being accessed.
gutenfetch_cache_get_expires(): Return the length of time files can remain cached on disk without being accessed.
gutenfetch_cache_enable(): This function allows the application to enable or disable caching of electronic texts and intermediate files on the local disk.
gutenfetch_cache_is_enabled(): This function determines whether caching is currently enabled or disabled.
gutenfetch_ms_strip_text_buffer()
gutenfetch_ms_strip_text_file()
gutenfetch_ms_strip_text_fd(): These three utility functions strip the '^M' symbol from the end of the lines in text files created in the Microsoft world. And allow the text file to be displayed properly on UNIX and Macintosh machines.
gutenfetch_ms_clothe_text_buffer()
gutenfetch_ms_clothe_text_file()
gutenfetch_ms_clothe_text_fd(): These three utility functions add the '^M' to the end of lines in text files which are created in the UNIX and Macintosh worlds. This allows Windows users to properly display electronic texts created elsewhere.

PORTABILITY

libgutenfetch should compile easily and work the same on any platform which is out there. If it doesn't, please let me know by reporting it as a bug.

THREADING

If libgutenfetch is compiled with threading support, it should be completely thread-safe as long as you wait for gutenfetch_init() to return before calling any other functions. If libgutenfetch is not compiled with threading support, you should not call multiple functions from different threads. It's behavior may be unpredictable and quite possibly wrong!

COPYRIGHT

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA

BUGS

Probably, if you find them please take the time to let me know about them by filling out a bug report at the following URL.

http://www.sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=104733&func=browse

AUTHORS

Russell Francis <johntabularasa@users.sf.net>