Improve README and demo

README.markdown

@@ -1,18 +1,5 @@
-libsearpc 1.0
-
-Last Modified: 2011-4-8
-
-This file is free software; as a special exception the author gives
-unlimited permission to copy and/or distribute it, with or without
-modifications, as long as this notice is preserved.
-
-This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
-WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law; without even the
-implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
-
-
 Introduction
-======
+============
 
 Searpc is a simple C language RPC framework based on GObject system. Searpc
 handles the serialization/deserialization part of RPC, the transport
@@ -40,33 +27,33 @@ Client
 
 In the client side, you need to:
 
-* Define your RPC function with the our marco.
+* Define your RPC function with our marco.
 * write code to send the request to server and get the resonpse from it.
 
 
 ### Define your RPC function ###
 
 The client define RPC functions using macros defined in
-**`searpc-client.h`**. To call the functions, the client needs to create
+`searpc-client.h`. To call the functions, the client needs to create
 a SearpcClient object and supply a transport function. For example:
 
     /* 
      * define a RPC function which takes a string argument and returns
-     * an integer. The xxx_int__string naming convention is used to
+     * an integer. The xxx_INT__STRING naming convention is used to
      * indicate the types of the param(string) and the return value(int).
     */
-    SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_INT__STRING(searpc_demo_int__string)
+    SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_INT__STRING(searpc_strlen)
 
     /* create an rpc_client and supply the transport function. */
     SearpcClient *rpc_client;
     rpc_client = searpc_client_new();
     rpc_client->transport = transport_callback;
     rpc_client->arg = &sockfd;
 
-The **`SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_XXX__YYY`** macro defines a client side RPC function.
+The `SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_XXX__YYY` macro defines a client side RPC function.
 **XXX** stands for the return type and **YYY** stands for the param type. If there
 are multiple params, just append every param type there. For example,
-**`SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_INT__STRING_STRING`** defines a RPC function which takes two
+`SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_INT__STRING_STRING` defines a RPC function which takes two
 string params and returns an integer value.
 
 
@@ -90,10 +77,10 @@ The prototype of the transport function is:
     /* 
      * arg: rpc_client->arg. Normally a socket number.
      * fcall_str: the JSON data stream generated by Searpc.
-     * fcall_len: the length of **`fcall_str`**.
+     * fcall_len: the length of `fcall_str`.
      * ret_len: place to get the length of the returned json data stream.
-     * Returns: the JSON data stream ready for transporting.
-    */
+     * Returns: A newly allocated string stores the JSON data stream.
+     */
     static char *transport_callback (void *arg, const char *fcall_str, size_t fcall_len, size_t *ret_len);
 
 
@@ -109,24 +96,25 @@ And Searpc handles the others for you.
 
 ### Concepts ###
 
-* **`Marshal`**: The process of packing the result of the RPC function
-    into JSON data format stream is called marshalling, and the
-    function used to pack the result is called a **`marshal`**.
+* **Marshal**: The process of unpacking the function arguments from
+    JSON data, call the RPC function and packing the result into JSON
+    data format is called marshalling. The function used to
+    pack the result is called a **marshal**.
 
-* **`Signature`**: Signatures are used to identify different types of
+* **Signature**: Signatures are used to identify different types of
     marshals. After the execution of a RPC function on the server side,
     different types of results need different marshals.
 
-* **`Function table`**: The hash table used to store the (funcname, func)
+* **Function table**: The hash table used to store the (funcname, func)
     pairs.
 
-* **`Marshal table`**: The hash table used to store the (signature,
+* **Marshal table**: The hash table used to store the (signature,
     marshal) pairs.
 
 
 ### Register your function ###
 
-The **`seaprc_server_register_function`** routine registers a function as
+The `seaprc_server_register_function` routine registers a function as
 a RPC function. It inserts your function into the function table. The
 prototype of this function is:
 
@@ -139,23 +127,23 @@ prototype of this function is:
     */
     gboolean searpc_server_register_function (void *func, const gchar *fname, const gchar *signature)
 
-    Before calling **`searpc_server_register_function`**, you need to call
+    Before calling `searpc_server_register_function`, you need to call
 **`searpc_server_init()`** to do the initialization work.
 
 
 ### Call the RPC fucntion  ###
 
 After the registration, you should listen to the socket and wait for the
 incoming request data stream. Once you get a valid request, call the
-**`searpc_server_call_function()`** routine, which will automatically do the
+`searpc_server_call_function()` routine, which will automatically do the
 following work for you:
 
 * Parse the JSON data stream to resolve the function name and the data.
 * Lookup the function in the function table according to the funcname.
 * If a proper function is found, call the function with the given params.
 * Packing the result into a JSON data string.
 
-The prototype of **`searpc_server_call_function`** is:
+The prototype of `searpc_server_call_function` is:
 
     /*
      * data:    The incoming JSON data stream.
@@ -165,24 +153,20 @@ The prototype of **`searpc_server_call_function`** is:
     */
     gchar* searpc_server_call_function (gchar *data, gsize len, gsize *ret_len)
 
-The value returned by **`searpc_server_call_function()`** is the JSON data
-ready for transportation, which you can send to the client directly. 
-
-In the client side, Searpc would unpack the data stream and return the value
-contained within it as the return value of the client-side RPC function defined
-in the macro **`SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_XXX__YYY()`**.
+The value returned by `searpc_server_call_function()` is the JSON data
+ready to send back to the client. 
 
 
 Pysearpc
-======
+========
 
 **Pysearpc** is the Python binding of **Searpc**. Only the client side function is
 supported. To use it, simply define a class which inherits **SearpcClient**, and
-provide a **`call_remote_func_sync`** method, which is equivalent to the
-**`transport_callback`**.
+provide a `call_remote_func_sync` method, which is equivalent to the
+`transport_callback`.
 
-To define your RPC funtion, use the **`@searpc_func`** decorator. It is
-equivalent to **`SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_XXX__YYY`** macro. To define a RPC
+To define your RPC funtion, use the `@searpc_func` decorator. It is
+equivalent to `SEARPC_CLIENT_DEFUN_XXX__YYY` macro. To define a RPC
 function which accepts multiple params, here is an example:
 
     class SampeSearpcClient(SearpcClient):
@@ -207,16 +191,17 @@ There are well-commented demos in both C and Python.
 * **searpc-demo-client.c**: The client side demo in C
 * **pysearpc-demo-client.py**: The client side demo in Python
 
-To run the demo, run the server demo in a shell, and run the client demo(either
-the C or Python demo) in another.
+To run the demo, run the server demo in a shell, and run the client
+demo in another. To run the python demo, you should first install the
+package and setup the **PYTHONPATH** appropriately.
 
 
 Thread Safety
-======
+=============
 
 
 Extend Searpc
-======
+=============
 
 To support new rpc function types, 
 
@@ -227,7 +212,7 @@ To support new rpc function types,
 
 
 Dependency
-=====
+==========
 
 The following packages are required to build libsearpc:
 
@@ -237,8 +222,3 @@ The following packages are required to build libsearpc:
 *  pygobject-2.0 >=        2.0 (if you choose to build pysearpc)
 
 
-License
-======
-
-You may redistribute copies of libsearpc under the terms of the GNU LGPL(Lesser General Public License). For
-more information about these matters, see the files named 'LICENSE' and 'COPYING'.

configure.ac

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ AC_CONFIG_HEADERS([config.h])
 AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([m4])
 
 
-AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.9])
+AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.9 foreign])
 # Checks for programs.
 AC_PROG_CC
 AC_PROG_LIBTOOL