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diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ea42ae8 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.rst @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +Axolotlpp +========= + +An implementation of the axolotl ratchet written in C++11 and exposed as a C +API. + +Building +-------- + +To build axolotlpp as a shared library run: + +.. code:: bash + + ./build_shared_library.py + +To run the tests run: + +.. code:: bash + + ./test.py + + +To build the javascript bindings run: + +.. code:: bash + + javascript/build.py + +Design +------ + +Axolotlpp is designed to be easy port to different platforms and to be easy +to write bindings for. + +Error Handling +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +All C functions in the API for axolotlpp return ``axolotl_error()`` on error. +This makes it easy to check for error conditions within the language bindings. + +Random Numbers +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Axolotlpp doesn't generate random numbers itself. Instead the caller must +provide the random data. This makes it easier to port the library to different +platforms since the caller can use whatever cryptographic random number +generator their platform provides. + +Memory +~~~~~~ + +Axolotlpp avoids calling malloc or allocating memory on the heap itself. +Instead the library calculates how much memory will be needed to hold the +output and the caller supplies a buffer of the appropriate size. + +Output Encoding +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Binary output is encoded as base64 so that languages that prefer unicode +strings will find it easier to handle the output. + +Dependencies +~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Axolotlpp uses pure C implementations of the cryptographic primitives used by +the ratchet. While this decreases the performance it makes it much easier +to compile the library for different architectures. |