path: root/README

VNC 4.0 Source Distribution for Unix platforms
==============================================

Copyright (C) 2002-2004 RealVNC Ltd.  All Rights Reserved.

This software is distributed under the GNU General Public Licence as published
by the Free Software Foundation.  See the file LICENCE.TXT for the conditions
under which this software is made available.  VNC also contains code from other
sources.  See the Acknowledgements section below, and the individual files for
details of the conditions under which they are made available.


There are six programs here:

  vncviewer - this is the VNC viewer, or client, program for X.

  Xvnc - this is the X VNC server - it is both a VNC server and an X server
         with a "virtual" framebuffer.  You normally use the vncserver script
         to start Xvnc.

  vncserver - this is a wrapper script which makes starting an X VNC server
              (i.e. desktop) more convenient.  It is written in Perl, so to use
              the script you need that.

  vncpasswd - this program allows you to change the password used to access
              your X VNC desktops.  The vncserver script uses this program when
              you first start a VNC server.

  vncconfig - this program is used to configure and control a running instance
              of Xvnc.

  x0vncserver - this is an inefficient VNC server which continuously polls any
                X display, allowing it to be controlled via VNC.  It is
                intended mainly as a demonstration of a simple VNC server.

In addition to these standalone programs, this distribution can also be used to
turn the native X server for a platform into a VNC server.  For XFree86 version
4 servers, this is done using a module loaded at run-time.  For other X servers
it requires replacing the native X server binary.

To build this distribution you need a C++ compiler as well as a C compiler.
You also need a reasonably recent version of the X window system installed.
This comes as standard with most unix machines.  If you don't have it
installed, see http://www.xfree86.org or http://www.x.org

To build everything but Xvnc, do:

  % ./configure
  % make

This should build first some libraries - zlib, rdr, network, Xregion, rfb and
tx - then vncviewer, vncconfig and vncpasswd.  If you already have zlib
installed on your system you can run "./configure --with-installed-zlib" if you
prefer (this is strongly advised on FreeBSD, since we've been told there are
problems otherwise).

Building Xvnc
=============

Building Xvnc and the VNC support for native X servers is much more complex.
If you don't need to build it, skip to the section below on installing.

Xvnc differs from the other programs in that it is built inside the X source
tree.  Unlike previous versions of Xvnc, we do not provide an X source tree
with this distribution.  We have designed the distribution to be as independent
as possible of the X tree used.

We have successfully used XFree86 version 4.3.0, 4.2.0 and 3.3.6 (available
from http://www.xfree86.org).  You could also try the original X.org tree
available from http://www.x.org but this does not build as easily because of
lack of support for C++, no support for building server only, and other issues.
Note that the X tree is enormous and notoriously difficult to deal with -
building it is not for the faint-hearted!

Once you have a copy of the X source tree, make sure it is unpacked at the top
level of this distribution, so that the xc directory of the X source tree
matches the xc of this distribution, for example:

  % tar xzf X420src-1.tgz

Then you must apply a patch to some files in the X source tree:

  % patch -Np0 <xc.patch

If this works, you should be able to build the entire X tree, including Xvnc:

  % cd xc
  % make World

This will take a long time, and will quite probably fail for one reason or
another!  If you are having trouble, we suggest you try to build the X tree in
isolation first before attempting it with the VNC additions.

If successful, in the xc/programs/Xserver directory you should find an Xvnc
binary, plus the native X server binary(ies) for your platform with VNC support
compiled in.  If you are building from an XFree86 version 4 tree on a supported
platform, you should also find a vnc.so module in
xc/programs/Xserver/vnc/modules.

Exactly which X extensions and features are built into Xvnc and the native X
server binary is determined by the settings in xc/config/cf.  The file vnc.def
contains the settings we use to build our binary distributions.  You may need
to edit this and the other files as appropriate.

Installing
==========

Different unix platforms have different conventions for where software should
be installed.  To copy the programs to some directory which is in your PATH
environment variable, such as /usr/local/bin, there is a script called
vncinstall which you can use:

  % cd ..
  % ./vncinstall /usr/local/bin

This will also attempt to install the manual pages in an appropriate directory.
You can specify an alternative directory as a second argument to vncinstall:

  % ./vncinstall /usr/local/bin /usr/local/man

It will also try to install the vnc.so XFree86 version 4 module if appropriate.
This will be copied to the /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions directory and can
be enabled like any other module by adding a Load "vnc" line to the Module
section of XF86Config.  The parameters listed in the Xvnc manual page can be
set as options in XF86Config e.g. Option "passwordFile" "/root/.vnc/passwd".
Note that for some reason options cannot be set in the Module section of
XF86Config - try the Screen section.

If you want to use the Java VNC viewer, you should copy the files from
the java directory to some suitable installation directory such as
/usr/local/vnc/classes:

  % mkdir -p /usr/local/vnc/classes
  % cp java/* /usr/local/vnc/classes

We recommend that you use the vncserver script to run Xvnc for you.  You can
edit the script as appropriate for your site.  Things you may need to change
include:

 * The location of Perl - if Perl is not installed in /usr/bin you'll need
   to edit the "#!/usr/bin/perl" first line of vncserver.

 * Xvnc's font path and color database.  If you have an installation of
   X which is not in the standard place you may need to add arguments to the
   Xvnc command line to set these.  These should be appended to the $cmd
   variable at the comment "# Add font path and color database...".

 * $vncJavaFiles - this specifies the location of the files for
   the VNC viewer Java applet.  The default is /usr/local/vnc/classes.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
================

This distribution contains public domain DES software by Richard Outerbridge.
This is:

    Copyright (c) 1988,1989,1990,1991,1992 by Richard Outerbridge.
    (GEnie : OUTER; CIS : [71755,204]) Graven Imagery, 1992.


This distribution contains software from the X Window System.  This is:

 Copyright 1987, 1988, 1998  The Open Group
 
 Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its
 documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that
 the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that
 copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting
 documentation.
 
 The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
 all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
 
 THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
 IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
 FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
 OPEN GROUP BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
 AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
 CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
 Except as contained in this notice, the name of The Open Group shall not be
 used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings
 in this Software without prior written authorization from The Open Group.
 
 
 Copyright 1987, 1988 by Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Massachusetts.
 
                         All Rights Reserved
 
 Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its 
 documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, 
 provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
 both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in 
 supporting documentation, and that the name of Digital not be
 used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the
 software without specific, written prior permission.  
 
 DIGITAL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING
 ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL
 DIGITAL BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR
 ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS,
 WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION,
 ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS
 SOFTWARE.


This distribution contains zlib compression software.  This is:

  Copyright (C) 1995-2002 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler

  This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied
  warranty.  In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
  arising from the use of this software.

  Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
  including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
  freely, subject to the following restrictions:

  1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
     claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
     in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
     appreciated but is not required.
  2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
     misrepresented as being the original software.
  3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.

  Jean-loup Gailly        Mark Adler
  jloup@gzip.org          madler@alumni.caltech.edu


This distribution contains Java DES software by Dave Zimmerman
<dzimm@widget.com> and Jef Poskanzer <jef@acme.com>.  This is:

    Copyright (c) 1996 Widget Workshop, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
    documentation for NON-COMMERCIAL or COMMERCIAL purposes and without fee
    is hereby granted, provided that this copyright notice is kept intact.
    
    WIDGET WORKSHOP MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE
    SUITABILITY OF THE SOFTWARE, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT
    NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A
    PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WIDGET WORKSHOP SHALL NOT BE
    LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES SUFFERED BY LICENSEE AS A RESULT OF USING,
    MODIFYING OR DISTRIBUTING THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS DERIVATIVES.
    
    THIS SOFTWARE IS NOT DESIGNED OR INTENDED FOR USE OR RESALE AS ON-LINE
    CONTROL EQUIPMENT IN HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING FAIL-SAFE
    PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT
    NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, DIRECT LIFE
    SUPPORT MACHINES, OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS, IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF THE
    SOFTWARE COULD LEAD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE
    PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE ("HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES").  WIDGET
    WORKSHOP SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF
    FITNESS FOR HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES.

    Copyright (C) 1996 by Jef Poskanzer <jef@acme.com>.  All rights
    reserved.

    Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
    modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
    are met:
    1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
       notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
    2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
       notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
       documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

    THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
    ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
    IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
    PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS
    BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
    CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
    SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR
    BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY,
    WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR
    OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
    ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

    Visit the ACME Labs Java page for up-to-date versions of this and other
    fine Java utilities: http://www.acme.com/java/