Provided by: libhamlib-utils_3.3-10build1_amd64 
NAME
hamlib - radio and rotator control library
DESCRIPTION
The Ham Radio Control Libraries, Hamlib for short, is a development effort to provide a consistent
interface for programmers wanting to incorporate radio and rotator control in their programs.
Hamlib is not a complete user application, rather, it is a software layer intended to make controlling
various radios and other amateur radio station (shack) hardware much easier. Hamlib will allow authors
of software such as logging programs, digital communications programs, or those wanting to develop the
ultimate radio control software to concentrate on the user interface and the basic function of the
program rather than radio control. Hamlib consists of several parts, the programming library, utility
programs, and library interfaces to other programming languages.
Most recent amateur radio transceivers allow external control of their functions through a serial
interface. Unfortunately, control commands are not always consistent across a manufacturer's product
line and each manufacturer's product line differs greatly from its competitors.
Hamlib attempts to solve this problem by presenting a virtual radio to the programmer by providing an
interface to actions such as setting a given Variable Frequency Oscillator's (VFO) frequency, setting the
operating mode, querying the radio of its current status and settings, and giving the application a list
of a given radio's capabilities. Unfortunately, what can be accomplished by Hamlib is limited by the
radios themselves and some offer very limited capability.
Other devices, such as antenna rotators, can be placed into the Hamlib control scheme. Other recent
developments include network interface servers and a USB interface capability. Language bindings are
provided for C, C++, Perl, Python, Lua and TCL (more to come).
Overview
Hamlib is a front end library providing a C language Application Programming Interface (API) to
programmers wishing to integrate radio or rotator control in their applications. Hamlib presents a
virtual radio or virtual rotator that is a consistent interface to an application despite wide
differences in radio and rotator interfaces and capabilities.
The front end library uses a number of back end libraries to translate from the front end to the various
individual radio and rotator models. A back end library handles conversion of the front end variables to
the format needed by the radio or rotator device it controls. The back end libraries are generally
grouped by manufacturer and in some cases by a common control protocol.
Hamlib also provides an interface library for each of several common scripting languages such as Perl
⟨http://www.perl.org⟩, Python ⟨http://www.python.org⟩, Lua ⟨https://www.lua.org⟩, and TCL
⟨http://www.tcl.tk⟩. These language bindings are generated through the use of SWIG
⟨http://www.swig.org⟩, a parser/generator for multiple language interfaces to a C library. A natively
generated C++ language interface is also provided.
Besides the C and supplemental APIs, Hamlib also provides a pair of network daemons that provide a text
command based API for controlling an attached radio or rotator through a TCP/IP network connection. The
daemons then handle the interface to the Hamlib C API.
More than one type of device, radio or rotator, may be controlled at a time, however, there is generally
a limit of one device per serial port or other port.
Hamlib project information
The Hamlib Project was founded by Frank Singleton, VK3FCS/KM5WS in July 2000. Shortly after Stephane
Fillod, F8CFE, joined Frank on the Hamlib project and the API and implementation development led to a
reasonable level of maturity in a few years. A major milestone was reached when Hamlib 1.2.0 was
released in March 2004. The API and Application Binary Interface (ABI) interfaces have remained stable
since that time up to the latest release of 3.2 in early 2018.
Development continues through the major version number 3.x series and beyond. While some API tweaks are
planned, ABI compatibility with the prior 1.2.x releases remains a priority. Other goals include
streamlining the build system (done), improving the SWIG generated language bindings (done), improving
the overall documentation (this man page with more in progress), and other updates as warranted.
The Project is hosted by SourceForge.net ⟨https://sourceforge.net⟩ at the Hamlib project page
⟨https://sourceforge.net/projects/hamlib/⟩. As GitHub ⟨https://github.com⟩ has become a very popular
project hosting site, Hamlib also has a dedicated GitHub project page ⟨https://github.com/Hamlib/Hamlib⟩.
GitHub also hosts the hamlib.org ⟨http://www.hamlib.org⟩ Web site and the Hamlib Wiki
⟨https://github.com/Hamlib/Hamlib/wiki⟩.
Development discussion and most user support take place on the hamlib-developer mailing list
⟨https://sourceforge.net/p/hamlib/mailman/⟩. While there are SourceForge.net discussion forums
⟨https://sourceforge.net/p/hamlib/discussion/⟩, they are rarely used and not as closely read by the
developers as the mailing list.
For source code management, the project uses Git ⟨http://git-scm.com/⟩, a fast, distributed content
tracker. Among its features is that every developer has the complete Hamlib development history
available locally. For more information on using Git, see hamlib-git(7).
Note: while a canonical Git repository is hosted at SourceForge, its availability is not essential
to continued development although development work flows would change temporarily. Several
developers find the GitHub Web interface easier to use and lately development has centered around
GitHub rather than SourceForge.
Applications using Hamlib
A number of application developers have taken advantage of Hamlib's capabilities to implement radio
and/or rotator control. While not exhaustive, a list is maintained at the Hamlib Wiki,
Applications/Screenshots ⟨https://github.com/Hamlib/Hamlib/wiki/Applications-and-Screen-Shots⟩.
Developers are encouraged to request their applications be added to the gallery by way of the hamlib-
developer mailing list.
Using Hamlib with your program
As with other Free Software projects, Hamlib relies heavily on copyleft licensing to encourage
development contributions and provide an open atmosphere for development. Hamlib's source code is
released under two licenses, the Lesser General Public License (LGPL) for the library portion, and the
General Public License (GPL) for the utility programs.
The LGPL allows the library to be used (linked) by programs regardless of their individual license.
However, any contributions to the library source remain under copyleft which means that the library
source code may not be used in violation of the terms of the LGPL.
The utility program source files are released under the GPL. Any direct use of these sources must be in
a form that complies with the terms of the GPL. Concepts learned by studying these sources for the
purpose of understanding the Hamlib API is not covered nor prohibited by the GPL, however, directly
copying GPL sources into any work that is incompatible with the terms of the GPL is prohibited.
Radios with a clone capability
Hamlib's focus is on controlling radios that employ a port and command protocol for setting frequency,
mode, VFO, PTT, etc. Most VHF/UHF transceivers do not employ such control capability but do provide for
cloning the memory contents from radio to another of the same model. A related project, CHIRP
⟨http://chirp.danplanet.com⟩, aims to support radios with such a clone capability. Please contact the
CHIRP project for support of such radios.
Pronouncing Hamlib
English speakers seem to have two alternate pronunciations for our project:
• Hamlib (Ham - lib, long ‘i’, as in library.) IPA style: /'ham læb/
• Hamlib (Ham - lib, short ‘i’, as in liberty.) IPA style: /'ham lɪb/
Then again, we have people who say Linux “L-eye-nux” and those who say “L-in-nux”...
If you're French, the above does not apply! :-)
COPYING
This file is part of Hamlib, a project to develop a library that simplifies radio and rotator control
functions for developers of software primarily of interest to radio amateurs and those interested in
radio communications.
Copyright © 2001-2018 Hamlib Group (various contributors)
This is free software; see the file COPYING for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
SEE ALSO
hamlib-primer(7)
COLOPHON
Links to the Hamlib Wiki, Git repository, release archives, and daily snapshot archives:
hamlib.org ⟨http://www.hamlib.org⟩.