The Java SSH Client Library
===========================

The latest distribution of the JSSH library can always be found at:

    http://www.pitman.co.za/projects/jssh/

The JSSH library was designed as a reusable software component that can
be embedded in larger Java applications to provide Secure Shell client
functionality.

It is compatible with version 1.5 of the SSH protocol. The library is 
intended for use in Java applications, not applets (it needs to access
the local filesystem to check whether the server's host key is in the
known_hosts file). The library was written in pure Java.

The JSSH library is derived from Cedric Gourio's "java-ssh":

    http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~fapp2/software/java-ssh/

I have changed the object model so that (IMHO) it is more object-oriented,
and I have added port-forwarding, data-compression and RSA user
authentication (the original version supported username-password 
authentication only).

JSSH also uses some GPL-licensed cryptographic code from "The Java Telnet 
Applet", which can be found at:

    http://javassh.org


The JSSH library is licensed in accordance with the GNU General Public 
License.

This distribution of the JSSH library contains the following directories:

/src	    Contains the Java source files as well as the Makefile for
	    building the class files, the JAR file and the documentation.
	    You must use GNU Make to process the Makefile.

/classes    Contains all the class files (after running "make").

/lib	    Contains the JAR file jssh.jar (after running "make").

/doc	    Contains the API documentation (after running "make docs").

The class "jssh.ClientProtocolHandler" is the class which provides an API to
user applications. To get an idea of how to use the library, view the HTML
documentation of this class (in the /doc directory) with a web browser.
The class "jssh.SSHClient" is a complete example of how to use the library
in an interactive SSH session, using the stdin and stdout streams.

If you download this software and find it useful, I would appreciate a 
postcard saying so. My snail-mail address is:

    Pitman Computer Consulting
    8 Pickwood Road
    Irene 0062
    South Africa

If you find bugs or have suggestions for improvements, please send an email
to:

    rob@pitman.co.za
