Introduction
------------
bcast-server.pl is a TCP service that takes input data from one source
connected via localhost (127.0.0.1), and re-sends one copy of the
input data to each connected TCP client.

The intended use of this service is for broadcasting real-time data
associated with bitcoin exchange trading.

The data format is unspecified, that is left entirely up to the
broadcaster.

Text-based formats are strongly recommended.


Dependencies
------------
You must install the following software, before you may use bcast:

1) perl
2) perl modules Net::Netmask, POE::Component::Client::TCP,
   POE::Component::Server::TCP.
   
   On Fedora/RHEL/CentOS, these packages are
   	perl-Net-Netmask
	perl-POE


Linux Installation
------------------

Copy bcast.pl and bcast-server.pl to a useful location.  Make sure
they are marked executable via

	chmod 0755 bcast.pl
	chmod 0755 bcast-server.pl



Configuration file (optional)
------------------
Many command line arguments for bcast-server.pl may be specified in a
configuration file.  In addition, the configuration file is the only available
method for filtering out abusive IP addresses.

Sample configuration file:


	#
	# Sample bcast-server.pl configuration file
	#

	# enable debug output
	debug

	# set client port
	port 27007

	# set port for our data submissions
	subport 37007

	# refuse connections from 192.168.0.*
	filter 192.168.0.0/24


Running bcast-server.pl
-----------------------

bcast-server.pl does not fork, or put itself into the background.  You must do
this yourself.  Normally, this is done via something like this:

	nohup nice /path/to/my/bcast-server.pl &



Running bcast.pl
----------------
To ease the process of connecting to the server for the purposes of
broadcasting data, you may use bcast.pl.

Broadcasting data from standard input:

	echo "BID PayPalUSD 100 0.06" | /path/to/my/bcast.pl

Broadcasting data from a file:

	/path/to/my/bcast.pl --data=/tmp/my-trade-data.txt


Additional help
---------------
Full command line help is available via "--help", and even more full 
command line help is available via "--man" for a manual page.

	# ./bcast.pl --man

		or

	# ./bcast-server.pl --help

etc.