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Philip Kendall
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libspectrum 1.8.0
=================
libspectrum is a library which is designed to make the input and
output of ZX Spectrum emulator files slightly easier than it would be
otherwise. It should hopefully compile and run on Unix-based systems,
Win32 and Mac OS X.
Currently supported are:
* Snapshots: .z80, .szx, .sna (all read/write), .zxs, .sp., .snp and
+D snapshots (read only).
* Tape images: .tzx, .tap, .spc, .sta, .ltp and .pzx (read/write); CSW v1/v2
(read) and v2 (write); Warajevo .tap and Z80Em (read only).
PZX writing supports native blocks and ROM/turbo/pure-data conversion;
unsupported blocks are rejected (see doc/libspectrum.txt).
* Input recordings: .rzx (read/write).
* Disk images: .dsk (both plain and extended), .d40, .d80, .fdi, .img,
.mgt, .opd, .sad, .scl, .td0, .trd and .udi (identification only).
* Timex cartridges: .dck (read only).
* IDE hard disk images: .hdf (read/write).
* Microdrive cartridge images: .mdr (read/write).
On Unix and Mac OS X, compiling libspectrum should just be as easy as
$ ./configure
$ make
and then `make install' should install it in `/usr/local' ready for
use on your system. If you want to install it somewhere other than
`/usr/local', give the `--prefix=DIR' option to `configure' to install
it under `DIR'. Once installed, some work may still be necessary to
ensure that the runtime linker can find libspectrum. For example, on
some Linux systems you may need to run `ldconfig' as root after
`make install' (for example `sudo ldconfig') before newly installed
libraries in `/usr/local/lib' are found. Otherwise, follow the
instructions printed by `make install' or your system's normal shared
library configuration procedure.
For details on the functions available, see `doc/libspectrum.txt'.
Maintainer release notes are in `doc/releasing.md'.
libspectrum is made available under the GNU General Public License,
which means that it is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See `COPYING' for
the full license.
For updates for libspectrum, its homepage is at:
http://fuse-emulator.sourceforge.net/libspectrum.php
Compiling from Git
------------------
If you're using version of libspectrum from Git rather than one
of the released tarballs, you'll need to run `autogen.sh' before
running 'configure' for the first time.
WAV input
---------
WAV input uses a dependency-free standard C reader by default. Configure with
--with-wav-backend=pcm (also the default for auto) or macos (native macOS).
WAV input is always enabled.
The portable reader supports RIFF/WAVE unsigned 8-bit and signed 16-, 24-,
and 32-bit integer PCM at any nonzero sample rate. Extensible PCM is accepted
when valid bits equal container bits. Channels are averaged equally after
conversion to signed 16-bit, without resampling; channel masks are ignored.
Zero is low, positive is high, matching the native macOS tape decoder.
Samples retain signed 16-bit precision for zero-crossing detection.
Compressed audio, IEEE float, RIFX, RF64, multiple fmt/data chunks and partial
frames are unsupported. RIFF sizes and odd-chunk padding are checked strictly.
Files must be seekable and fit the host C library's long-based fseek/ftell
range (typically below 2 GiB on Windows). Empty data is valid WAV but rejected
by the tape decoder. The common decoder still holds all samples in memory.
Compiling for the Wii
---------------------
To compile for the Wii, first make sure the dev tools are in your path
(export PATH=$PATH:$DEVKITPPC/bin). Then, use this configure line:
./configure --target=powerpc-gekko --host=powerpc-gekko \
--prefix=$DEVKITPPC \
--without-libgcrypt --with-fake-glib
That is assuming you don't have libgcrypt and glib for the
Wii. At the time of writing, those haven't been ported yet.
Then, type "make" and if everything went well, "make install".
Philip Kendall <philip-fuse@shadowmagic.org.uk>
25th October, 2026
