ANN: Tryst 108

[Chris Vetter]

Hi,

almost 2 and a half year, I'm happy to announce the release of a new 
version of Tryst (yes, I WAS still working on it :-)


* What is it?

Tryst is a library implementing the missing NSNetService and 
NSNetServiceBrowser classes.

Bonjour [1], formerly known as Rendezvous, allows you to register a 
network service, such as a printer or file server, so that it can be 
found by name or browsed for by service type and domain.

Using Tryst, applications can discover what services are available on 
the network, along with all necessary access information such as name, 
IP address, and port number for a given service.

As examples, currently two applications are included
- TBrowser, a simple browser that scans your network for Bonjour 
services
- TChat, a (very!) simple 1-to-1 chat client


* Status

This new version is a complete rewrite to ensure thread-safety 
(depending on your GNUstep installation) and a complete implementation 
according to Apple's specs on NSNetService and NSNetServiceBrowser.

Tryst is only fully tested on FreeBSD and Solaris, and in networks 
with Bonjour-enabled Windows and OSX installations.


* Known bugs

While monitoring TXT record updates, occasionally a previous entry is 
returned instead of the new one.

If you DO find any other bug (I'm sure someone will, though it's been 
thoroughly tested err used for almost a year) and/or have patches for 
your operating system of choice, please do not hesitate to contact.


* Requirements

- a recent installation of GNUstep-base that includes NSStream

- either
-- Apple's own mDNSResponder [2]
-- Avahi with mDNSResponder compatibility [3]

Please note that Avahi is untested, but should work in mDNSResponder 
compatibility mode. Howl is not, and probably will not be, supported 
(unless someone sends patches :-)


* License

First off, I usually use the BSD license.

However I do understand that lots of people do not feel comfortable 
with it. Therefor Tryst is put under a dual BSD/GPL license. So take 
your pick whichever suits your needs.


* Where to get it

I'm currently working on setting up a web site, probably with SVN/CVS 
access. Until this site is up and running, it's mail only... Sorry. 
(Don't worry about size -- a TGZ of the source is only about 50K)


* Links / Further reading

[1] http://developer.apple.com/networking/bonjour/index.html
[2] http://www.opensource.apple.com/darwinsource/
[3] http://www.avahi.org/

--
Chris