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1. What is this library about ?

The STR library consists of string handling functions. These
functions can be separated into 4 groups:

A. String matching functions. A variety of algorithms are available
	for string matching:
			brute force
			Rabin-Karp
			Knuth-Morris-Pratt
			Boyer-Moore

B. String printing functions (similar to sprintf). These functions offer
	2 significant advantages over sprintf:
		1) they include functions that will *not* overrun the string buffer 
			provided
		2) they include functions returning "char *" as well as functions
			returning "int" so that one can pick the most appropriate one.

C. String parsing functions. These functions offer an easy way of breaking
	a string into pieces.

D. String utility functions. This group includes functions that will
	convert a string to upper/lower case etc.


2. Setting up the STR library

All you need to do is type 'make'. This will create the library in the
current directory.  The string printing functions use (and therefore
require) the underlying format conversion facility of my SIO (Stream
I/O) library.  If you don't want to bother with it, you can define the
flag NO_SIO in the Makefile (check the Makefile comments on how to do
this) which will turn all string printing function to no-ops.  The SIO
library is available from mystique.cs.colorado.edu in the directory
pub/libs (it may also be available at other places).  Make sure you get
SIO version 1.6.2 or later; versions prior to 1.6.2 will result in
identical behavior between the strx_*print* and the str_*print*
functions.

To install the library and the associated man pages and include files
type 'make install'. This will install the library in LIBDIR, the man
pages in MANDIR and the include files in INCLUDEDIR.  LIBDIR,
INCLUDEDIR, and MANDIR are Makefile variables that you can edit in the
Makefile or override when you invoke 'make'.



3. Epilogue

Feel free to modify the library to suit your needs. Please let me know of
any bugs you find.

If you want to distribute your modifications, please read the COPYRIGHT
file.  It basically says that you are free to redistribute as long as
you retain the original copyright notice and you make sure that your
modifications are identifiable. In order to achieve this I have
reserved the first 3 components of the version number (for example,
1.4.2) and you can identify your mods by appending another component to
that version number (for example, 1.4.2.A2). Also, if you distribute a
modified version of the library, you take full responsibility for any
bugs in the code (not just your code; the whole thing).

