Various README updates

Close GH Issue 69
Close GH PR 457
Some other updates

By Rich Salz, Alessandro Ghedini, Steve Marquess, Collin Anderson

Reviewed-by: Kurt Roeckx <kurt@openssl.org>

1 files changed, 35 insertions, 78 deletions

diff --git a/README b/README
index 1ee02b3425..cc20f57d80 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -10,17 +10,17 @@
 
  The OpenSSL Project is a collaborative effort to develop a robust,
  commercial-grade, fully featured, and Open Source toolkit implementing the
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL v2/v3) and Transport Layer Security (TLS v1)
- protocols as well as a full-strength general purpose cryptography library.
- The project is managed by a worldwide community of volunteers that use the
- Internet to communicate, plan, and develop the OpenSSL toolkit and its
- related documentation.
+ Secure Sockets Layer (SSLv3) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols as
+ well as a full-strength general purpose cryptograpic library. The project is
+ managed by a worldwide community of volunteers that use the Internet to
+ communicate, plan, and develop the OpenSSL toolkit and its related
+ documentation.
 
- OpenSSL is based on the excellent SSLeay library developed from Eric A. Young
+ OpenSSL is descended from the SSLeay library developed by Eric A. Young
  and Tim J. Hudson.  The OpenSSL toolkit is licensed under a dual-license (the
- OpenSSL license plus the SSLeay license) situation, which basically means
- that you are free to get and use it for commercial and non-commercial
- purposes as long as you fulfill the conditions of both licenses.
+ OpenSSL license plus the SSLeay license), which means that you are free to
+ get and use it for commercial and non-commercial purposes as long as you
+ fulfill the conditions of both licenses.
 
  OVERVIEW
  --------
@@ -28,90 +28,39 @@
  The OpenSSL toolkit includes:
 
  libssl.a:
-     Implementation of SSLv2, SSLv3, TLSv1 and the required code to support
-     both SSLv2, SSLv3 and TLSv1 in the one server and client.
+     Provides the client and server-side implementations for SSLv3 and TLS.
 
  libcrypto.a:
-     General encryption and X.509 v1/v3 stuff needed by SSL/TLS but not
-     actually logically part of it. It includes routines for the following:
-
-     Ciphers
-        libdes - EAY's libdes DES encryption package which was floating
-                 around the net for a few years, and was then relicensed by
-                 him as part of SSLeay.  It includes 15 'modes/variations'
-                 of DES (1, 2 and 3 key versions of ecb, cbc, cfb and ofb;
-                 pcbc and a more general form of cfb and ofb) including desx
-                 in cbc mode, a fast crypt(3), and routines to read
-                 passwords from the keyboard.
-        RC4 encryption,
-        RC2 encryption      - 4 different modes, ecb, cbc, cfb and ofb.
-        Blowfish encryption - 4 different modes, ecb, cbc, cfb and ofb.
-        IDEA encryption     - 4 different modes, ecb, cbc, cfb and ofb.
-
-     Digests
-        MD5 and MD2 message digest algorithms, fast implementations,
-        SHA (SHA-0) and SHA-1 message digest algorithms,
-        MDC2 message digest. A DES based hash that is popular on smart cards.
-
-     Public Key
-        RSA encryption/decryption/generation.
-            There is no limit on the number of bits.
-        DSA encryption/decryption/generation.
-            There is no limit on the number of bits.
-        Diffie-Hellman key-exchange/key generation.
-            There is no limit on the number of bits.
-
-     X.509v3 certificates
-        X509 encoding/decoding into/from binary ASN1 and a PEM
-             based ASCII-binary encoding which supports encryption with a
-             private key.  Program to generate RSA and DSA certificate
-             requests and to generate RSA and DSA certificates.
-
-     Systems
-        The normal digital envelope routines and base64 encoding.  Higher
-        level access to ciphers and digests by name.  New ciphers can be
-        loaded at run time.  The BIO io system which is a simple non-blocking
-        IO abstraction.  Current methods supported are file descriptors,
-        sockets, socket accept, socket connect, memory buffer, buffering, SSL
-        client/server, file pointer, encryption, digest, non-blocking testing
-        and null.
-
-     Data structures
-        A dynamically growing hashing system
-        A simple stack.
-        A Configuration loader that uses a format similar to MS .ini files.
+     Provides general cryptographic and X.509 support needed by SSL/TLS but
+     not logically part of it.
 
  openssl:
      A command line tool that can be used for:
-        Creation of RSA, DH and DSA key parameters
+        Creation of key parameters
         Creation of X.509 certificates, CSRs and CRLs
-        Calculation of Message Digests
-        Encryption and Decryption with Ciphers
-        SSL/TLS Client and Server Tests
+        Calculation of message digests
+        Encryption and decryption
+        SSL/TLS client and server tests
         Handling of S/MIME signed or encrypted mail
+        And more...
 
  INSTALLATION
  ------------
 
- To install this package under a Unix derivative, read the INSTALL file.  For
- a Win32 platform, read the INSTALL.W32 file.  For OpenVMS systems, read
- INSTALL.VMS.
-
- Read the documentation in the doc/ directory.  It is quite rough, but it
- lists the functions; you will probably have to look at the code to work out
- how to use them. Look at the example programs.
-
- PROBLEMS
- --------
-
- For some platforms, there are some known problems that may affect the user
- or application author.  We try to collect those in doc/PROBLEMS, with current
- thoughts on how they should be solved in a future of OpenSSL.
+ See the appropriate file:
+        INSTALL         Linux, Unix, etc.
+        INSTALL.DJGPP   DOS platform with DJGPP
+        INSTALL.NW      Netware
+        INSTALL.OS2     OS/2
+        INSTALL.VMS     VMS
+        INSTALL.W32     Windows (32bit)
+        INSTALL.W64     Windows (64bit)
+        INSTALL.WCE     Windows CE
 
  SUPPORT
  -------
 
- See the OpenSSL website www.openssl.org for details of how to obtain
+ See the OpenSSL website www.openssl.org for details on how to obtain
  commercial technical support.
 
  If you have any problems with OpenSSL then please take the following steps
@@ -159,3 +108,11 @@
  ----------------------------
 
  See CONTRIBUTING
+
+ LEGALITIES
+ ----------
+
+ A number of nations, in particular the U.S., restrict the use or export
+ of cryptography. If you are potentially subject to such restrictions
+ you should seek competent professional legal advice before attempting to
+ develop or distribute cryptographic code.