In this file:

* About kdepimlibs
* What's included
* Licensing
* Reporting Bugs
* Debugging
* Mailing List, Getting involved
* More Info


About kdepimlibs
----------------
This module includes libraries that are central to the development and
execution of a KDE-PIM application.

The KDE-PIM project aims to bring together those who wish to help design,
implement, test, etc. anything that's to do with personal information
management.

This rather broad scope encompasses mail clients, addressbooks, usenet news,
scheduling and even sticky notes.


What's Included
---------------
Here is an alphabetical list:

* akonadi: client access library for using the Akonadi PIM data server.
* kblog: C++ API for weblogging access
* kcal:  C++ API for the iCalendar and vCalendar formats
         (Deprecated by kcalcore and kcalutils)
* kcalcore: C++ API for the iCalendar and vCalendar formats
* kcalutils: C++ library containing utility functions on top of kcalcore.
* kholidays: C++ library for calendar holidays
* kimap: C++ API for IMAP support
* kldap: C++ API for LDAP access
* kmime: C++ API for MIME handling
* kontactinterface: The glue for embedding KParts into Kontact
* kpimidentities: C++ API for shared identities for mail applications
* kpimutils: A library for general purpose PIM utilities
* ktnef: C++ API for the handling of TNEF data
* kxmlrpclient: An XML-RPC client library
* mailtransport: C++ API and support code for managing mail transport
* microblog: a library for microblogging
* syndication: An RSS/Atom feed parser library
* qgpgme: A C++ wrapper for gpgme
* kioslaves/sieve: Sieve kioslave
* kpimtextedit: Provides a textedit with PIM-specific features and
                can convert the textedit content to various markup formats

Licensing
---------
The libraries themselves are covered by the GNU Library General Public
License (LGPL). Any other programs (such as the examples) are covered
by the GNU General Public License (GPL). All the gory details for the
LGPL reside in COPYING.LIB, and for the GPL reside in COPYING.

Various parts are also covered under a BSD style license, detailed in
COPYING.BSD. Currently, code covered under such license is copyrighted by
Theo de Raadt.

When in doubt, check the individual file, they should all have license
headings and other identifying marks.


Mailing List, getting involved
------------------------------

If you'd like to get involved with the project, subscribe to kde-pim@kde.org
with an email to kde-pim-request@kde.org with the subject line:
subscribe my@email.address

If you have questions relating to development of this module please post them on
the developers mailing list (kde-pim@kde.org).  If you have user questions,
please use kdepim-users@kde.org

If you are interested in kmail development use the mailing list
kmail-devel@kde.org.


Debugging
---------
You can use --enable-debug with the configure script, if you want to have
debug code in your KDE libs. If you have the space and can stand code that's
somewhat slower, this is worth it. The extra information really
helps debugging and thus bugfixing.

On the other hand, --disable-debug removes all debug messages, leading
to a faster and cleaner desktop.

See also the file DEBUG.


Reporting Bugs
--------------
Reporting bugs is an art. Why?  Because bug reports can help and hinder.

They hinder if the developers are just buried in an avalanche of bug reports.
They spend hours figuring out which bug reports are valid and which aren't,
which bug reports are due to bugs or due to installation problems.

They can be of tremendous help to notify developers on problems in areas that
they normally don't have access (e.g. KDE on AIX) to.

So, here are some tips on bug reporting:

* make sure your bug is due to KDE ... and not due to a packaging problem of
  your Linux distributor. For example, most "I can not install the XYZ.rpm"
  problem are due to packaging issues. Refer with such questions to your
  Linux Distributor and his appropriate mailing list or bug reporting tool.

* The chance is high that your bug has already been dealt with ... so look
  if there is a newer version of kdepimlibs available. Reporting bugs for
  older, deprecated versions usually don't get that much attention :-)

* Also the chance is high that another one experienced your problem. The
  bug report wizard at http://bugs.kde.org will help you to find out if your
  problem has already been reported.

* The best bug report for a project based on voluntary work is of course one
  that comes with a patch that solves the problem. :-)


More info
---------
http://www.kde.org is a good starting point for info on KDE. If you are a
developer, you may also point your browser to http://developer.kde.org.
There is a plethora of mailing lists available, you can gain an overview
quickly by looking at http://lists.kde.org.

