= Welcome to !OpenSync - A Synchronization Framework =
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'''Latest News'''
 * '''2010-08-20''' [wiki:LogoContest Logo Contest] for the upcoming 0.40 stable release started. Give us your impression and feel free to design yours!
 * '''2009-09-21''' Released !OpenSync 0.39. See [wiki:opensync-0.39-notes release notes] for more information.
 * '''2009-02-16''' [wiki:news/20090216-OpenSync-0.22-in-ct OpenSync 0.22 article in c't (german magazine)]
 * '''2008-11-28''' [wiki:news/20081127-infra-update Project infrastructure changes]
 * '''2008-11-27''' [wiki:news/20081127/outage opensync.org server outage]
 * '''2008-11-21''' [http://libwbxml.aymerick.com/ libwbxml] is moving to [http://libwbxml.opensync.org/].
 * '''2008-11-13''' [wiki:meetings/irc 1st weekly IRC OpenSync project meeting].
 * '''2008-11-11''' Released !OpenSync 0.38. See [wiki:opensync-0.38-notes release notes] for more information.
 * '''2008-08-18''' Released !OpenSync 0.37. See [wiki:opensync-0.37-notes release notes] for more information.
 * '''2008-01-26''' Released !OpenSync 0.36. See [wiki:opensync-0.36-notes release notes] for more information.
[wiki:news/old Older news] are also available.
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The !OpenSync project is an ongoing effort to create a '''synchronization framework''' that 
will be a platform independent, general purpose synchronization engine utilizing modular 
plugins for content formats and different kind of connection types. !OpenSync's modularity
should allow it to be extended easily to new devices and purposes without radically 
changing the architecture itself, allowing it to support wide variety of devices used today
and in the future.

Even being a general purpose framework that keeps the doors open for many use cases,
!OpenSync's main and most practical goal is to create a solution to synchronize PIM 
(''Personal Information Management - addressbook contacts, calendar events and tasks,
personal notes, etc'') data between mobile devices like mobile phones, PDAs
(''Personal Digital Assistant''), desktop computer PIM tools and -services.

!OpenSync is a successor of project [http://multisync.sourceforge.net/ Multisync], created
by the same people. Multisync's development stalled and it is no longer maintained, so 
users using it should look to upgrade to !OpenSync when possible. The combined project history
of these projects is long and currently the future looks bright for achieving the original goals.

There is a introduction in the form of a [http://files.opensuse.org/opensuse/old-en/b/bb/OpenSync_FOSDEM_2007.pdf presentation from FOSDEM 2007].


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== For Users ==
  * [[span([wiki:GettingStarted Getting Started],title=Some instructions to get started with OpenSync)]]
  * [[span([wiki:download Download],title=OpenSync is open source software\, available for download)]]
  * [[span([wiki:plugins Plugins],title=Plugins for extending OpenSync)]] for various [wiki:peers]
  * [[span([wiki:docs Documentation],title=User documentation)]], [[span([wiki:faq FAQ],title=Frequently asked questions)]] and [[span([wiki:docs#Help Help],title=Help and support)]]
  * [[span([wiki:join Get Involved!],title=Get involved in OpenSync!)]] 
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== For Developers ==
  * Next Milestone: '''[[milestone:OpenSync 0.40|OpenSync 0.40]]'''
  * [[span([wiki:devel Developer's Corner],title=A developer portal containing all the development resources)]]
  * Urgent: '''[[span([wiki:devel/pluginPortingGuide-0.40 Plugin Porting HOWTO],title=A brief HOWTO on porting out of date OpenSync plugins to the Latest API)]]'''
  * [[span([wiki:hackers The Development Team],title=List of OpenSync developers and some further information about what they are working on)]]
  * [[span([wiki:join Get Involved!],title=Get involved in OpenSync!)]]
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== The goals of !OpenSync ==

 * Provide a framework that can be used for general synchronization
 * Reusability. The framework should be usable by many applications
 * Speed. Synchronization should be as fast as possible.
 * Flexibility. We cannot predict what formats / devices the future will bring. Therefore !OpenSync is built as flexible and modular as possible.
 * Integrity. Data must never be lost, no matter what happens.
 * Portability. The framework should run on as many platforms as possible (Linux, Windows, Mac OS, BSD, etc)
 * Language neutral. !OpenSync is extensible in using other languages like python, java and even more.
 * No dependencies on an X-server. !OpenSync is a library that can be embedded into other applications. Therefore it is possible to use GUIs, CLIs or whatever you can imagine.


== How can you help us? ==

 * Test the trunk before the 0.40 gets released
 * Write, improve the [wiki:docGuide documentation]
 * Report found problems as [http://www.opensync.org/newticket tickets.] Please check the existing Tickets first. How? see next bullet.
 * Fix bugs for the [http://opensync.org/query?status=assigned&status=new&status=reopened&order=priority&milestone=OpenSync+0.40 0.40 release]
 * [wiki:join Join] the active [wiki:hackers OpenSync community]
 * Please share your knowledge of !OpenSync: do not hesitate to use the wiki to edit and add information you deem appropriate.


== opensync.org Projects ==

 * [http://www.opensync.org/ libopensync] - Synchronization engine
 * [http://libsyncml.opensync.org/ libsyncml] - SyncML protocol library
 * [http://libwbxml.opensync.org/ libwbxml] - WBXML format library