diff --git a/src/helper/fileio.c b/src/helper/fileio.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1e4353afb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/helper/fileio.c
@@ -0,0 +1,544 @@
+/***************************************************************************
+ *   Copyright (C) 2007 by Dominic Rath                                    *
+ *   Dominic.Rath@gmx.de                                                   *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ *   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ *   the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or     *
+ *   (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,       *
+ *   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of        *
+ *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the         *
+ *   GNU General Public License for more details.                          *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ *   along with this program; if not, write to the                         *
+ *   Free Software Foundation, Inc.,                                       *
+ *   59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.             *
+ ***************************************************************************/
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+#include "config.h"
+#endif
+
+#include "types.h"
+#include "replacements.h"
+#include "log.h"
+
+#include "fileio.h"
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <ctype.h>
+
+int fileio_close(fileio_t *fileio);
+int fileio_dispatch_read(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_read);
+
+int fileio_open_local(fileio_t *fileio)
+{
+	fileio_local_t *fileio_local = malloc(sizeof(fileio_local_t));
+	char access[4];
+	
+	fileio->location_private = fileio_local;
+	
+	if ((fileio->access != FILEIO_WRITE) && (fileio->access != FILEIO_READWRITE))
+	{
+		if (stat(fileio->url, &fileio_local->file_stat) == -1)
+		{
+			free(fileio_local);
+			snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING,
+				"couldn't stat() %s: %s", fileio->url, strerror(errno));
+			return ERROR_FILEIO_NOT_FOUND;
+		}
+	
+		if (S_ISDIR(fileio_local->file_stat.st_mode))
+		{
+			free(fileio_local);
+			snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "%s is a directory", fileio->url);
+			return ERROR_FILEIO_NOT_FOUND;
+		}
+	}
+	
+	switch (fileio->access)
+	{
+		case FILEIO_READ:
+			strcpy(access, "r");
+			break;
+		case FILEIO_WRITE:
+			strcpy(access, "w");
+			break;
+		case FILEIO_READWRITE:
+			strcpy(access, "w+");
+			break;
+		case FILEIO_APPEND:
+			strcpy(access, "a");	
+			break;
+		case FILEIO_APPENDREAD:
+			strcpy(access, "a+");	
+			break;
+		default:
+			free(fileio_local);
+			ERROR("BUG: access neither read, write nor readwrite");
+			return ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENTS;
+	}
+	
+	if (fileio->access == FILEIO_READ)
+	{
+		if (fileio_local->file_stat.st_size == 0)
+		{
+			/* tried to open an empty file for reading */
+			free(fileio_local);
+			snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "empty file %s", fileio->url);
+			return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+		}
+	}
+	
+	if (fileio->pri_type == FILEIO_IMAGE)
+		strcat(access, "b");
+	
+	if (!(fileio_local->file = fopen(fileio->url, access)))
+	{
+		free(fileio_local);
+		snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "couldn't open %s", fileio->url);
+		return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+	}
+	
+	if ((fileio->access != FILEIO_WRITE) || (fileio->access == FILEIO_READWRITE))
+	{
+		fileio->size = fileio_local->file_stat.st_size;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		fileio->size = 0x0;
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+//#ifdef FILEIO_BUFFER_COMPLETE_IHEX
+int fileio_ihex_buffer_complete(fileio_t *fileio)
+{
+	fileio_image_t *image = fileio->pri_type_private;
+	fileio_ihex_t *ihex = fileio->sec_type_private;
+	u32 raw_bytes_read, raw_bytes;
+	int retval;
+	u32 full_address = image->base_address;
+	char *buffer = malloc(ihex->raw_size);
+	u32 cooked_bytes = 0x0;
+	
+	ihex->raw_size = fileio->size;
+	ihex->buffer = malloc(ihex->raw_size >> 1);
+	
+	if ((retval = fileio_dispatch_read(fileio, ihex->raw_size, (u8*)buffer, &raw_bytes_read)) != ERROR_OK)
+	{
+		free(buffer);
+		ERROR("failed buffering IHEX file, read failed");
+		return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+	}
+	
+	if (raw_bytes_read != ihex->raw_size)
+	{
+		free(buffer);
+		ERROR("failed buffering complete IHEX file, only partially read");
+		return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+	}
+	
+	raw_bytes = 0x0;
+	while (raw_bytes < raw_bytes_read)
+	{
+		u32 count;
+		u32 address;
+		u32 record_type;
+		u32 checksum;
+		
+		if (sscanf(&buffer[raw_bytes], ":%2x%4x%2x", &count, &address, &record_type) != 3)
+		{
+			snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "invalid IHEX record");
+			return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+		}
+		raw_bytes += 9;
+		
+		if (record_type == 0)
+		{
+			if ((full_address & 0xffff) != address)
+			{
+				free(buffer);
+				ERROR("can't handle non-linear IHEX file");
+				snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "can't handle non-linear IHEX file");
+				return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+			}
+			
+			while (count-- > 0)
+			{
+				sscanf(&buffer[raw_bytes], "%2hhx", &ihex->buffer[cooked_bytes]);
+				raw_bytes += 2;
+				cooked_bytes += 1;
+				full_address++;
+			}
+		}
+		else if (record_type == 1)
+		{
+			free(buffer);
+			fileio->size = cooked_bytes;
+			return ERROR_OK;
+		}
+		else if (record_type == 4)
+		{
+			u16 upper_address;
+			
+			sscanf(&buffer[raw_bytes], "%4hx", &upper_address);
+			raw_bytes += 4;
+			
+			if ((full_address >> 16) != upper_address)
+			{
+				free(buffer);
+				ERROR("can't handle non-linear IHEX file");
+				snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "can't handle non-linear IHEX file");
+				return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+			}
+		}
+		else if (record_type == 5)
+		{
+			u32 start_address;
+			
+			sscanf(&buffer[raw_bytes], "%8x", &start_address);
+			raw_bytes += 8;
+			
+			image->has_start_address = 1;
+			image->start_address = be_to_h_u32((u8*)&start_address);
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			free(buffer);
+			ERROR("unhandled IHEX record type: %i", record_type);
+			snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "unhandled IHEX record type: %i", record_type);
+			return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+		}
+		
+		sscanf(&buffer[raw_bytes], "%2x", &checksum);
+		raw_bytes += 2;
+		
+		/* consume new-line character(s) */
+		if ((buffer[raw_bytes] == '\n') || (buffer[raw_bytes] == '\r'))
+			raw_bytes++;
+
+		if ((buffer[raw_bytes] == '\n') || (buffer[raw_bytes] == '\r'))
+			raw_bytes++;
+	}
+
+	free(buffer);
+	ERROR("premature end of IHEX file, no end-of-file record found");
+	snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "premature end of IHEX file, no end-of-file record found");
+	return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;	
+}
+//#endif
+
+int fileio_open(fileio_t *fileio, char *url, enum fileio_access access,
+	enum fileio_pri_type pri_type, void *pri_info, enum fileio_sec_type sec_type)
+{
+	int retval = ERROR_OK;
+	
+	if ((!url) || (strlen(url) < 3))
+	{
+		snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "invalid file url");
+		return ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENTS;
+	}
+	
+	if ((url[0] == '/') || (isalpha(url[0])) || ((url[1] == ':') && (url[2] == '\\')))
+	{
+		fileio->location = FILEIO_LOCAL;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		ERROR("couldn't identify resource location from URL '%s'", url);
+		snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "couldn't identify resource location from URL '%s'", url);
+		return ERROR_FILEIO_LOCATION_UNKNOWN;
+	}
+	
+	fileio->access = access;
+	fileio->pri_type = pri_type;
+	fileio->sec_type = sec_type;
+	fileio->url = strdup(url);
+	
+	switch (fileio->location)
+	{
+		case FILEIO_LOCAL:
+			retval = fileio_open_local(fileio);
+			break;
+		default:
+			ERROR("BUG: should never get here");
+			exit(-1);
+	}
+	
+	if (retval != ERROR_OK)
+		return retval;
+	
+	if (fileio->pri_type == FILEIO_TEXT)
+	{
+		/* do nothing for now */
+		return ERROR_OK;
+	}
+	else if (fileio->pri_type == FILEIO_IMAGE)
+	{
+		fileio_image_t *image = malloc(sizeof(fileio_image_t));
+		fileio_image_t *image_info = pri_info;
+		
+		fileio->pri_type_private = image;
+		*image = *image_info; 
+		
+		if (fileio->sec_type == FILEIO_PLAIN)
+		{
+			fileio->sec_type_private = NULL;
+		}
+		else if (fileio->sec_type == FILEIO_IHEX)
+		{
+			fileio_ihex_t *fileio_ihex;
+			
+			if (fileio->access != FILEIO_READ)
+			{
+				ERROR("can't write/append to a IHEX file");
+				snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "can't write/append to a IHEX file");
+				fileio_close(fileio);
+				return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+			}
+			
+			fileio_ihex = malloc(sizeof(fileio_ihex_t));
+			fileio->sec_type_private = fileio_ihex;
+			
+			fileio_ihex->position = 0;
+			fileio_ihex->raw_size = fileio->size;
+#ifdef FILEIO_BUFFER_COMPLETE_IHEX
+			if (fileio_ihex_buffer_complete(fileio) != ERROR_OK)
+			{
+				fileio_close(fileio);
+				return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+			}
+#endif
+		}
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_close_local(fileio_t *fileio)
+{
+	int retval;
+	fileio_local_t *fileio_local = fileio->location_private;
+	
+	if ((retval = fclose(fileio_local->file)) != 0)
+	{
+		if (retval == EBADF)
+		{
+			snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "BUG: fileio_local->file not a valid file descriptor");
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "couldn't close %s: %s", fileio->url, strerror(errno));
+		}
+
+		return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+	}
+	
+	free(fileio->location_private);
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_close(fileio_t *fileio)
+{
+	int retval;
+	
+	switch (fileio->location)
+	{
+		case FILEIO_LOCAL:
+			retval = fileio_close_local(fileio);
+			break;
+		default:
+			ERROR("BUG: should never get here");
+	}
+	
+	if (retval != ERROR_OK)
+		return retval;
+	
+	free(fileio->url);
+	
+	if (fileio->pri_type == FILEIO_TEXT)
+	{
+		/* do nothing for now */
+	}
+	else if (fileio->pri_type == FILEIO_IMAGE)
+	{
+		if (fileio->sec_type == FILEIO_PLAIN)
+		{
+			/* nothing special to do for plain binary */
+		}
+		else if (fileio->sec_type == FILEIO_IHEX)
+		{
+			fileio_ihex_t *fileio_ihex = fileio->sec_type_private;
+	
+			if (fileio_ihex->buffer)
+				free(fileio_ihex->buffer);
+			
+			free(fileio->sec_type_private);
+		}
+		
+		free(fileio->pri_type_private);
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_seek_local(fileio_t *fileio, u32 position)
+{
+	int retval;
+	fileio_local_t *fileio_local = fileio->location_private;
+	
+	if ((retval = fseek(fileio_local->file, position, SEEK_SET)) != 0)
+	{
+		snprintf(fileio->error_str, FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING, "couldn't seek file %s: %s", fileio->url, strerror(errno));
+		return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED;
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_seek(fileio_t *fileio, u32 position)
+{
+	switch (fileio->location)
+	{
+		case FILEIO_LOCAL:
+			return fileio_seek_local(fileio, position);
+			break;
+		default:
+			ERROR("BUG: should never get here");
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_local_read(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_read)
+{
+	fileio_local_t *fileio_local = fileio->location_private;
+	
+	*size_read = fread(buffer, 1, size, fileio_local->file);
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_dispatch_read(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_read)
+{
+	switch (fileio->location)
+	{
+		case FILEIO_LOCAL:
+			return fileio_local_read(fileio, size, buffer, size_read);
+			break;
+		default:
+			ERROR("BUG: should never get here");
+			exit(-1);
+	}
+}
+
+int fileio_read_ihex(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_read)
+{
+	fileio_ihex_t *fileio_ihex = fileio->sec_type_private;
+
+	if ((fileio_ihex->position + size) > fileio->size)
+	{
+		/* don't read past the end of the file */
+		size = (fileio->size - fileio_ihex->position);
+	}
+	
+#ifdef FILEIO_BUFFER_COMPLETE_IHEX
+	memcpy(buffer, fileio_ihex->buffer + fileio_ihex->position, size);
+	*size_read = size;
+#endif
+
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_read(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_read)
+{
+	if (fileio->sec_type == FILEIO_PLAIN)
+	{
+		return fileio_dispatch_read(fileio, size, buffer, size_read);
+	}
+	else if (fileio->sec_type == FILEIO_IHEX)
+	{
+		return fileio_read_ihex(fileio, size, buffer, size_read);
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_local_write(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_written)
+{
+	fileio_local_t *fileio_local = fileio->location_private;
+	
+	*size_written = fwrite(buffer, 1, size, fileio_local->file);
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_dispatch_write(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_written)
+{
+	switch (fileio->location)
+	{
+		case FILEIO_LOCAL:
+			return fileio_local_write(fileio, size, buffer, size_written);
+			break;
+		default:
+			ERROR("BUG: should never get here");
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_write(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_written)
+{
+	int retval;
+	if (fileio->sec_type == FILEIO_PLAIN)
+	{
+		retval = fileio_dispatch_write(fileio, size, buffer, size_written);
+	}
+	else if (fileio->sec_type == FILEIO_IHEX)
+	{
+		return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_NOT_SUPPORTED;
+	}
+	
+	if (retval != ERROR_OK)
+		return retval;
+		
+	fileio->size += size;
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int fileio_identify_image_type(enum fileio_sec_type *sec_type, char *type_string)
+{
+	if (type_string)
+	{
+		if (!strcmp(type_string, "bin"))
+		{
+			*sec_type = FILEIO_PLAIN;
+		}
+		else if (!strcmp(type_string, "ihex"))
+		{
+			*sec_type = FILEIO_IHEX;
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			return ERROR_FILEIO_RESOURCE_TYPE_UNKNOWN;
+		}
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		*sec_type = FILEIO_PLAIN;
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
diff --git a/src/helper/fileio.h b/src/helper/fileio.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c047cb87a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/helper/fileio.h
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+/***************************************************************************
+ *   Copyright (C) 2007 by Dominic Rath                                    *
+ *   Dominic.Rath@gmx.de                                                   *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ *   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ *   the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or     *
+ *   (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,       *
+ *   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of        *
+ *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the         *
+ *   GNU General Public License for more details.                          *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ *   along with this program; if not, write to the                         *
+ *   Free Software Foundation, Inc.,                                       *
+ *   59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.             *
+ ***************************************************************************/
+#ifndef FILEIO_H
+#define FILEIO_H
+
+#define FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING		(128)
+
+/* make buffering of complete intel-hex format files optional
+ * to account for resource-limited hosts
+ */
+#define FILEIO_BUFFER_COMPLETE_IHEX
+
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+
+enum fileio_pri_type
+{
+	FILEIO_TEXT = 0x1,
+	FILEIO_IMAGE = 0x2,
+};
+
+enum fileio_sec_type
+{
+	FILEIO_PLAIN = 0x10,
+	FILEIO_IHEX = 0x20,
+/*
+ * Possible future enhancements:
+ * FILEIO_ELF,
+ * FILEIO_SRECORD,
+ */
+};
+
+enum fileio_location
+{
+	FILEIO_LOCAL,
+/*
+ * Possible future enhancements:
+ * FILEIO_NFS,
+ * FILEIO_BOOTP,
+ * FILEIO_[XYZ]MODEM,
+ * FILEIO_HTTP,
+ * FILEIO_FTP,
+ */
+};
+
+enum fileio_access
+{
+	FILEIO_READ,		/* open for reading, position at beginning */
+	FILEIO_WRITE,		/* open for writing, position at beginning */
+	FILEIO_READWRITE,	/* open for writing, position at beginning, allow reading */
+	FILEIO_APPEND,		/* open for writing, position at end */
+	FILEIO_APPENDREAD,	/* open for writing, position at end, allow reading */
+};
+
+typedef struct fileio_s
+{
+	char *url;
+	char error_str[FILEIO_MAX_ERROR_STRING];
+	long long size;
+	enum fileio_pri_type pri_type;
+	enum fileio_sec_type sec_type;
+	enum fileio_location location;
+	enum fileio_access access;
+	void *location_private;
+	void *pri_type_private;
+	void *sec_type_private;
+} fileio_t;
+
+typedef struct fileio_text_s
+{
+} fileio_text_t;
+
+typedef struct fileio_image_s
+{
+	u32 base_address;
+	int has_start_address;
+	u32 start_address;
+} fileio_image_t;
+
+typedef struct fileio_local_s
+{
+	FILE *file;
+	struct stat file_stat;
+} fileio_local_t;
+
+typedef struct fileio_ihex_s
+{
+	u32 position;
+	u32 raw_size;
+#ifdef FILEIO_BUFFER_COMPLETE_IHEX
+	u8 *buffer;
+#endif
+} fileio_ihex_t;
+
+extern int fileio_identify_image_type(enum fileio_sec_type *sec_type, char *type_string);
+extern int fileio_write(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_written);
+extern int fileio_read(fileio_t *fileio, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_read);
+extern int fileio_seek(fileio_t *fileio, u32 position);
+extern int fileio_close(fileio_t *fileio);
+extern int fileio_open(fileio_t *fileio, char *url, enum fileio_access access,
+	enum fileio_pri_type pri_type, void *pri_info, enum fileio_sec_type sec_type);
+	
+#define ERROR_FILEIO_LOCATION_UNKNOWN	(-1200)
+#define ERROR_FILEIO_NOT_FOUND			(-1201)
+#define ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_FAILED		(-1202)
+#define ERROR_FILEIO_ACCESS_NOT_SUPPORTED	(-1203)
+#define ERROR_FILEIO_RESOURCE_TYPE_UNKNOWN	(-1204)
+#define ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_NOT_SUPPORTED	(-1205)
+
+#endif /* FILEIO_H */