Update version numbers in preparation for new release.

FreeRTOS-Plus/Source/Reliance-Edge/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+# Reliance Edge
+
+Reliance Edge is a small, portable, highly reliable power-fail safe file system
+for resource-constrained embedded systems like microcontrollers.  It is written
+in C and provides a familiar POSIX-like file system API, making it easy to use
+in your application; or an alternate minimalist API if your application has
+simple storage needs.  Reliance Edge is highly configurable and can be tuned to
+the precise needs of your application.
+
+## Documentation
+
+The complete documentation for Reliance Edge is distributed separately.  It
+includes an API reference and detailed discussions of various aspects of using
+Reliance Edge, including porting, building, configuring, and testing.  This
+complete documentation, called the _Developer's Guide_, can be obtained for free
+from here:
+
+<http://www.datalight.com/reliance-edge>
+
+In addition this README, see [doc/release_notes.md](doc/release_notes.md) for a
+list of updates to Reliance Edge and a list of known issues.  There is also a
+quick-start guide in the doc/ directory that describes step-by-step how to
+compile and run Reliance Edge in a simulated Windows environment.
+
+## Why Use Reliance Edge?
+
+Reliance Edge is ideal for small embedded systems with data storage
+requirements, especially if there is a chance of sudden power loss or other
+system failures.  Compared to "raw" disk access, using a file system like
+Reliance Edge removes the burden of tracking which sectors belong to which
+objects, and allows data to be updated more reliably.  Compared to the FAT file
+system, using Reliance Edge eliminates the possibility that file system data
+will be left in an inconsistent state, corrupting the disk; Reliance Edge does
+not need a fsck/CHKDSK utility.  Compared to journaling file systems, Reliance
+Edge has less overhead and results in less storage media wear for longer device
+lifetimes.
+
+Reliance Edge uses a unique transactional model that not only prevents file
+system corruption but also allows a set of changes to be made in an atomic "all
+or nothing" fashion.  This is very useful for applications that make sets of
+interrelated changes.  By using the features of Reliance Edge, a set of changes
+can be incorporated into a single atomic transaction, which is committed in its
+entirety or not at all even if interrupted by power loss; this means the
+application does not need code to recover from partially-finished updates.
+
+## Hardware
+
+The typical hardware for Reliance Edge is a 32-bit microcontroller, but other
+targets are possible.  In its typical configurations, Reliance Edge needs at
+least 4 KB to 5 KB of RAM, 11 to 18 KB of code space (on the ROM or NOR flash),
+and 500 to 700 bytes of stack.
+
+Reliance Edge is not designed for high-end embedded systems that run complicated
+operating systems like Linux or Windows Embedded Compact.  Embedded systems of
+that variety are better served by other file systems, like Datalight's
+[Reliance Nitro](http://www.datalight.com/products/embedded-file-systems/reliance-nitro).
+
+## Getting Reliance Edge Working
+
+Before you can use Reliance Edge, it must be ported and configured.  At a
+minimum, porting includes filling-in functions so that Reliance Edge can issue
+commands to your storage medium; depending on your needs, other functions may
+need to be filled in as well.  These functions reside in a subdirectory in the
+os/ directory; see os/stub/ for a blank set of functions.  Configuring includes
+creating a project directory (start by copying projects/newproj) and creating
+the two configuration files (redconf.h/redconf.c) using the Reliance Edge
+Configuration Utility (which can be downloaded from
+<http://www.datalight.com/reliance-edge>).
+
+These topics are covered in much greater detail in the _Developer's Guide_,
+linked above.
+
+## Using Reliance Edge
+
+Using Reliance Edge is a simple matter of including the primary Reliance Edge
+application header in your application (either include/redposix.h or
+include/redfse.h) and compiling and linking against Reliance Edge binaries.
+The Reliance Edge driver must be initialized before it is used (via the
+red\_init() or RedFseInit() functions) and then volumes can be mounted and file
+and directory functions invoked.  The Reliance Edge API is documented in the
+_Developer's Guide_ (linked above) and also via comments in the source code.
+
+## Licensing
+
+Reliance Edge is an open-source project licensed under the GNU General Public
+License v2 (GPLv2).  Businesses and individuals that for commercial or other
+reasons cannot comply with the terms of the GPLv2 license may obtain a
+commercial license before incorporating Reliance Edge into proprietary software
+for distribution in any form.  Visit <http://www.datalight.com/reliance-edge>
+for more information.  The commercial distribution also includes extra tests and
+tools not distributed with the GPLv2 version.
+
+See LICENSE.txt for the full license terms of this distribution of the product.
+
+## Getting Help
+
+If you need assistance using Reliance Edge, and you have already consulted the
+_Developer's Guide_, contact <RelianceEdgeSupport@datalight.com>.
+
+In the near future, a community forum or message board will be set up to
+facilitate discussion of Reliance Edge and allow users to get help from
+Datalight and from each other.  In the meantime, please use the email address
+given above.
+
+## Contributing
+
+Contributions to Reliance Edge are welcome.  Our policy is that Datalight must
+own the copyright of all code incorporated into Reliance Edge; if contributing a
+significant amount of code, you will be asked to file a copyright assignment
+agreement.  See CONTRIBUTING.txt for further details and contribution
+guidelines.
+
+To report bugs, please create a GitHub issue or contact
+<RelianceEdgeSupport@datalight.com>.
+