diff --git a/src/target/image.c b/src/target/image.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3cc9cc5b1d928e4449b6ba7621e7ff43786f3f56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/target/image.c
@@ -0,0 +1,340 @@
+/***************************************************************************
+ *   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 <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include "image.h"
+
+#include "types.h"
+#include "replacements.h"
+#include "log.h"
+
+#include "fileio.h"
+#include "target.h"
+
+int image_ihex_buffer_complete(image_t *image)
+{
+	image_ihex_t *ihex = image->type_private;
+	fileio_t *fileio = &ihex->fileio;
+	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_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;
+	}
+	
+	image->size = 0x0;
+	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)
+		{
+			return ERROR_IMAGE_FORMAT_ERROR;
+		}
+		raw_bytes += 9;
+		
+		if (record_type == 0)
+		{
+			if ((full_address & 0xffff) != address)
+			{
+				free(buffer);
+				ERROR("can't handle non-linear IHEX file");
+				return ERROR_IMAGE_FORMAT_ERROR;
+			}
+			
+			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);
+			image->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");
+				return ERROR_IMAGE_FORMAT_ERROR;
+			}
+		}
+		else if (record_type == 5)
+		{
+			u32 start_address;
+			
+			sscanf(&buffer[raw_bytes], "%8x", &start_address);
+			raw_bytes += 8;
+			
+			image->start_address_set = 1;
+			image->start_address = be_to_h_u32((u8*)&start_address);
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			free(buffer);
+			ERROR("unhandled IHEX record type: %i", record_type);
+			return ERROR_IMAGE_FORMAT_ERROR;
+		}
+		
+		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");
+	return ERROR_IMAGE_FORMAT_ERROR;
+}
+
+int image_open(image_t *image, void *source, enum fileio_access access)
+{
+	int retval = ERROR_OK;
+	
+	if (image->type == IMAGE_BINARY)
+	{
+		image_binary_t *image_binary;
+		char *url = source;
+		
+		image_binary = image->type_private = malloc(sizeof(image_binary_t));
+		
+		if ((retval = fileio_open(&image_binary->fileio, url, access, FILEIO_BINARY)) != ERROR_OK)
+		{
+			strncpy(image->error_str, image_binary->fileio.error_str, IMAGE_MAX_ERROR_STRING); 
+			ERROR(image->error_str);
+			return retval;
+		}
+		
+		if (access == FILEIO_WRITE)
+			image->size = 0;
+		else
+			image->size = image_binary->fileio.size;
+		
+		return ERROR_OK;
+	}
+	else if (image->type == IMAGE_IHEX)
+	{
+		image_ihex_t *image_ihex;
+		char *url = source;
+		
+		if (access != FILEIO_READ)
+		{
+			snprintf(image->error_str, IMAGE_MAX_ERROR_STRING,
+				"can't open IHEX file for writing");
+			ERROR(image->error_str);
+			return ERROR_FILEIO_ACCESS_NOT_SUPPORTED;
+		}
+		
+		image_ihex = image->type_private = malloc(sizeof(image_ihex_t));
+		
+		if ((retval = fileio_open(&image_ihex->fileio, url, FILEIO_READ, FILEIO_TEXT)) != ERROR_OK)
+		{
+			strncpy(image->error_str, image_ihex->fileio.error_str, IMAGE_MAX_ERROR_STRING); 
+			ERROR(image->error_str);
+			return retval;
+		}
+		
+		image_ihex->position = 0;
+		image_ihex->raw_size = image_ihex->fileio.size;
+		
+		if ((retval = image_ihex_buffer_complete(image)) != ERROR_OK)
+		{
+			snprintf(image->error_str, IMAGE_MAX_ERROR_STRING,
+				"failed buffering IHEX image, check daemon output for additional information");
+			ERROR(image->error_str);
+			fileio_close(&image_ihex->fileio);
+			return retval;
+		}
+	}
+	else if (image->type == IMAGE_MEMORY)
+	{
+		image_memory_t *image_memory;
+		target_t *target = source;
+		
+		image_memory = image->type_private = malloc(sizeof(image_memory_t));
+		
+		image_memory->target = target;
+	}
+	
+	return retval;
+};
+
+int image_read(image_t *image, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_read)
+{
+	int retval;
+	
+	if (image->type == IMAGE_BINARY)
+	{
+		image_binary_t *image_binary = image->type_private;
+		
+		if ((retval = fileio_read(&image_binary->fileio, size, buffer, size_read)) != ERROR_OK)
+		{
+			strncpy(image->error_str, image_binary->fileio.error_str, IMAGE_MAX_ERROR_STRING);
+			return retval;
+		}
+	}
+	else if (image->type == IMAGE_IHEX)
+	{
+		image_ihex_t *image_ihex = image->type_private;
+	
+		if ((image_ihex->position + size) > image->size)
+		{
+			/* don't read past the end of the file */
+			size = (image->size - image_ihex->position);
+		}
+	
+		memcpy(buffer, image_ihex->buffer + image_ihex->position, size);
+		image_ihex->position += size;
+		*size_read = size;
+		image->error_str[0] = '\0';
+		
+		return ERROR_OK;
+	}
+	else if (image->type == IMAGE_MEMORY)
+	{
+		/* TODO: handle target memory pseudo image */
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int image_write(image_t *image, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_written)
+{
+	int retval = ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_NOT_SUPPORTED;
+	
+	if (image->type == IMAGE_BINARY)
+	{
+		image_binary_t *image_binary = image->type_private;
+		
+		if ((retval = fileio_write(&image_binary->fileio, size, buffer, size_written)) != ERROR_OK)
+		{
+			strncpy(image->error_str, image_binary->fileio.error_str, IMAGE_MAX_ERROR_STRING);
+			return retval;
+		}
+	}
+	else if (image->type == IMAGE_IHEX)
+	{
+		return ERROR_FILEIO_OPERATION_NOT_SUPPORTED;
+	}
+	else if (image->type == IMAGE_MEMORY)
+	{
+		/* TODO: handle target memory pseudo image */
+	}
+	
+	if (retval != ERROR_OK)
+		return retval;
+		
+	image->size += size;
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int image_close(image_t *image)
+{
+	if (image->type == IMAGE_BINARY)
+	{
+		image_binary_t *image_binary = image->type_private;
+		
+		fileio_close(&image_binary->fileio);
+	}
+	else if (image->type == IMAGE_IHEX)
+	{
+		image_ihex_t *image_ihex = image->type_private;
+		
+		fileio_close(&image_ihex->fileio);
+		
+		if (image_ihex->buffer)
+			free(image_ihex->buffer);
+	}
+	else if (image->type == IMAGE_MEMORY)
+	{
+		/* do nothing for now */
+	}
+
+	free(image->type_private);
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
+
+int identify_image_type(image_type_t *type, char *type_string)
+{
+	if (type_string)
+	{
+		if (!strcmp(type_string, "bin"))
+		{
+			*type = IMAGE_BINARY;
+		}
+		else if (!strcmp(type_string, "ihex"))
+		{
+			*type = IMAGE_IHEX;
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			return ERROR_IMAGE_TYPE_UNKNOWN;
+		}
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		*type = IMAGE_BINARY;
+	}
+	
+	return ERROR_OK;
+}
diff --git a/src/target/image.h b/src/target/image.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3df175a8d6c3ccd07737bee065b15a5fb08ce0ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/target/image.h
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+/***************************************************************************
+ *   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 IMAGE_H
+#define IMAGE_H
+
+#include "fileio.h"
+#include "target.h"
+
+#define IMAGE_MAX_ERROR_STRING		(128)
+
+typedef enum image_type
+{
+    IMAGE_BINARY,	/* plain binary */
+    IMAGE_IHEX,	/* intel hex-record format */
+    IMAGE_MEMORY,	/* target-memory pseudo-image */
+/*
+ * Possible future enhancements:
+ * IMAGE_ELF,
+ * IMAGE_SRECORD,
+ */
+} image_type_t;
+
+typedef struct image_s
+{
+	image_type_t type;		/* image type (plain, ihex, ...) */
+	void *type_private;		/* type private data */
+	int base_address_set;	/* whether the image start address has been set */
+	u32 base_address;		/* base address of image in target memory */
+	int start_address_set;	/* whether the image has a start address (entry point) associated */
+	u32 start_address;		/* start address, if one is set */
+	u32 size;				/* image size in byte */
+	char error_str[IMAGE_MAX_ERROR_STRING];
+} image_t;
+
+typedef struct image_binary_s
+{
+	fileio_t fileio;
+} image_binary_t;
+
+typedef struct image_ihex_s
+{
+	fileio_t fileio;
+	u32 position;
+	u32 raw_size;
+	u8 *buffer;
+} image_ihex_t;
+
+typedef struct image_memory_s
+{
+	target_t *target;
+} image_memory_t;
+
+extern int image_open(image_t *image, void *source, enum fileio_access access);
+extern int image_read(image_t *image, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_written);
+extern int image_write(image_t *image, u32 size, u8 *buffer, u32 *size_written);
+extern int image_close(image_t *image);
+extern int identify_image_type(image_type_t *type, char *type_string);
+
+#define ERROR_IMAGE_FORMAT_ERROR	(-1400)
+#define ERROR_IMAGE_TYPE_UNKNOWN	(-1401)
+
+#endif /* IMAGE_H */