_        ___  ____ ____  ____          _ 
  |_|_ _   / _ \/ ___/ ___||  _ \    __ _| |
  _|_||_| | | | \___ \___ \| |_) |  / _` | |
 |_||_|_| | |_| |___) |__) |  __/  | (_| | |
  |_|_|_|  \___/|____/____/|_|      \__,_|_|
                                   
  OSSP al - Assembly Line
  Version 0.9.3 (03-Oct-2005)

  ABSTRACT

  OSSP al defines an abstract data type of a data buffer that can
  assemble, move and truncate chunks of data in a stream but avoids
  actual copying. It was built to deal efficiently with communication
  streams between software modules. It especially provides flexible
  semantical data attribution through by-chunk labeling. It also
  has convenient chunk traversal methods and optional OSSP ex based
  exception handling.

  COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

  Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Ralf S. Engelschall <rse@engelschall.com>
  Copyright (c) 2002-2005 The OSSP Project <http://www.ossp.org/>
  Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Cable & Wireless <http://www.cw.com/>
  Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Michael van Elst <mlelstv@serpens.de>

  This file is part of OSSP al, an abstract data type of a data buffer
  that can assemble, move and truncate data but avoids actual copying.

  Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for
  any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that
  the above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all
  copies.

  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED
  WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
  MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.
  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS AND COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND THEIR
  CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
  SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
  LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF
  USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
  ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
  OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT
  OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
  SUCH DAMAGE.

  HOME AND DOCUMENTATION

  The documentation and latest release can be found on

  o http://www.ossp.org/pkg/lib/al/
  o  ftp://ftp.ossp.org/pkg/lib/al/