				    GOCR API
				    --------
				OCR to the world

IMPORTANT
---------
This is a development version. Do not expect full functionality, and expect
bugs. We have tried our best to make this release usable. As a special note, do
not do a "make install", specially since there is no reason to do it; it won't
work anyway. However, do a (cd tests/; make) and run the tests there. To get
the docs, do a (cd doc/; make). You should have LaTeX to get the reference
guide, and Doxygen to get the automatic documentation. Or you can get the
docs in gocr's homepage.
Any comments are appreciated: brunobg@sourceforge.net.


INTRODUCTION
------------
libGOCR is a library, released under the LGPL, intended to make life easier to 
the developers of OCR algorithms. It handles all the internal problems, 
structures, data, images, etc, freeing the programmer of all this burden. All 
one has to do is to write a plugin (using, for example, the Module Development 
Kit), which "simply" processes the image of a character and returns its value.
Easy.

GOCR API is a child from the original GOCR program, created by Joerg
Schulenburg (which will be adapted and renamed to "Main Module). It was noted 
that, instead of writing only a OCR program, a library would be more interesting,
because it would allow new additions painlessly. It was decided then to write
the library, with support to plugins, or, as in out terminology, modules; no
recompilation is necessary. Just install the module (by a make install) and you
have a new module adding more power to your OCR. This system also allows the
development of less available recognition patters (such as mathematical
formulae, music partitures, and anything else), since you only have to focus in
your problem. Not only this, but the library allows several frontends, to make
the user life easier. 


GETTING
-------
GOCR's official homepage is:

http://jocr.sourceforge.net			(YES, with a J)

You can also access one of the mirrors:

http://altmark.nat.uni-magdeburg.de/~jschulen/ocr/index.html

You will need to get NetPBM too. It's available at:

http://netpbm.sourceforge.net/

(we recommend that you have a version newer than August 2000, i.e., one 
with PAM functions. If you do, there's a pam.h file in your system).

INSTALLING
----------
It's the usual configure/make/make install. See the INSTALL file for more 
information.


BUGS
----
This is a development version. Expect bugs. Please report them to 
brunobg@sourceforge.net.
