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------------------------------------------------------------------------ Accessing the SIMTEL20 archives from BITNET Updated 30 March 1989 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This document describes a method for users of systems connected to BITNET to obtain files from selected archives kept at the MILNET node WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL. The information applies specifically to the file servers installed at NDSUVM1 and RPIECS (formerly RPICICGE). (A similar service is provided to EARN by a set of servers collectively known as "TRICKLE"; those servers accept similar, but not identical, commands.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Background ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The US Army maintains a huge collection of public domain (and "shareware") software and information on WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL, a DECsystem-20 machine running the Tops-20 operating system at White Sands Missle Range, New Mexico. The collection covers a spectrum of interests, including files of interest to CP/M and MSDOS users. The collection is "open to the public"; anyone may obtain copies of the files using the Internet file transfer protocol, FTP. The bad news is that FTP is not a protocol available over BITNET. BITNET users can not directly obtain files from the SIMTEL20 collection. The good news is that there are several file servers located throughout BITNET that will accept requests for SIMTEL20 files and perform the appropriate file transfer on the requestor's behalf. However, please understand that... The BITNET servers that provide access to the SIMTEL20 archives have no affiliation with the US Army nor with White Sands Missle Range. Also, the BITNET servers are made available in the true spirit of volunteerism (both of the institutions where they are installed and of the individuals that support them) without any outside sponsorship for the service. Also... Due to the large number of files available, neither the archive archive maintainers at SIMTEL20 nor the server maintainers in BITNET can possibly attempt to validate the proper operation of the various programs. When a program bug is reported to an archive maintainer, immediate action is taken to either correct the error or remove the offending program from the archives. Still, users must understand that archive programs are offered AS-IS, and the archive maintainers and server maintainers specifically disclaim any liability should these programs malfunction or cause damage, incidental or otherwise. When testing ANY software, be certain that all information stored on disk is backed-up before you start so that you can recover if files are damaged or erased. This is particularly true if you have a hard disk, in which case malfunctions can be spectacularly disasterous. The BITNET servers provide access to the following subset of the software archives residing at SIMTEL20: CPM Software and information for CP/M system users. Contributions are gathered from a variety of sources, including the members of the Info-CPM electronic mail discussion group. This archive is updated very frequently. MSDOS Software and information for PC-DOS and MSDOS system users. Contributions are gathered from a variety of sources, including the members of the Info-IBMPC electronic mail discussion group. This archive is updated very frequently. PC-BLUE Software and information for PC-DOS and MSDOS system users. The archive contains the files distributed by the PC-Blue Users group. New files are added as they become available. SIGM Software and information for CP/M system users. The archive contains the files distributed by the SIG/M Users group. New files are added as they become available. MISC Software and information for miscellaneous systems (mostly large systems like IBM/370 and DEC VAX). Contributions are gathered from a variety of sources. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SIMTEL20 path names, file names and file types ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Tops-20 operating system supports a hierarchical file system structure not unlike that found on Unix, Vax/VMS, and even MSDOS systems. At SIMTEL20, the software collection is divided into individual archives by category, each with its own file system directory. The archives are subdivided by topic into sub-directories. The following example is a typical path name for a SIMTEL20 file: PD:<MSDOS.STARTER>UUDECODE.BAS Here, PD is the name of the disk where the archives reside. (Well, actually it is an alias for a group of disks PD1, PD2, and so on.) MSDOS is the name for the archive; STARTER is a sub-directory containing generally useful programs and information. UUDECODE.BAS is the name for one such file in the STARTER sub-directory. File names of files in the SIMTEL20 archives generally conform to the conventions of the target system (e.g. CP/M and MSDOS). From the example above, UUDECODE.BAS is a uudecode program written in BASIC. (MSDOS.STARTER also contains UUDECODE.PAS and UUDECODE.C, versions of the same program written in Pascal and C, respectively.) The model of "name.extension" should be familiar to most. Extensions of DOC, HEX, INF and ASM are associated with ASCII text files; COM and EXE, with binary executables. However, in an effort to reduce the online storage required by the files, and to organize software into packages, most of the files at SIMTEL20 have been through some flavor of data compaction and/or library utility. The file extensions used for such beasts may be less familiar to some: ARC a collection of related files compacted and collected together into a single package, and called an ARChive. An un-archive utility is needed to extract individual files from the package. ARK exactly the same as ARC. ARK is used in preference to ARC in the CP/M archives. LBR a collection of related files compacted and collected together into a single package, and called a LiBRary. An un-library utility is needed to extract individual files from the package. xQx a file that has been compacted using a Huffman encoding method known as sQueezing. The extension is derived from that of the original file with the letter Q substituted in the middle. (An ASM file that was squeezed would be stored as AQM.) An un-squeeze utility is needed to recover the original file data. xZx the same as xQx except that an LZW-variant method known as crunching has been used. An un-crunch utility is needed to recover the original file data. Most of the software for MSDOS systems are stored in the ARC format. All four formats are used in the software for CP/M systems. (ARK and ARC represent the same thing, but ARK is the more commonly used name.) Only a few "first-time-user" type files (like UUDECODE.BAS) are stored in their raw form. The section below titled "Getting Started" gives some guidance about handling them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Using the BITNET Servers ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the United States, there are two BITNET servers that provide access to the SIMTEL20 archives: LISTSERV@NDSUVM1 North Dakota State University. LISTSERV@RPIECS Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. --------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note----------- In Europe, there are many EARN servers. However, the information provided here is specifically for the BITNET servers. The EARN servers have a similar user interface and may accept the same set of commands, but information about using them is beyond the scope of this document. The locations of the EARN servers and the principle contact person for each are: TRICKLE@TREARN ("Turgut Kalfaoglu" <TURGUT@TREARN>) TRICKLE@IMIPOLI ("Marco Gandolfi" <MARCO@IMIPOLI>) TRICKLE@BANUFS11 ("Michel Daulie" <DAULIE@BANUFS11>) TRICKLE@AWIWUW11 ("Gustaf Neumann" <NEUMANN@AWIWUW11>) TRICKLE@DB0FUB11 ("Wolfram Fassbender" <EARNIE@DB0FUB11>) TRICKLE@EB0UB011 ("Oriol Robert" <ZCCBORR@EB0UB011>) --------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note----------- Requests may be sent to a server as RFC822-style mail. The commands to the server must appear in the body of the message, not the Subject: line. The server uses the From: header to determine how to address the files to be returned. The From: header must therefore specify a valid, reachable network address from the server's point of view. Mail received from outside BITNET, particularly from UUCP, often have unusable return addresses. Requests may also be sent as interactive BITNET messages if your system supports such a facility. On an IBM system, this service is provided by the TELL command, as in TELL LISTSERV AT nodename servercommand The server does enforce some limits on how much can be requested by whom and from where. Requests from EARN are not accepted; they must be delivered to the nearest TRICKLE server in EARN. For others, the server restricts how many files and how many bytes of data a user may request per day. It also restricts how many files and how many bytes a host system may request per day. The limits are changed on occasion, they are but they are in the neighborhood of 3 files/user/day 10 files/host/day 100 Kbytes/user/day 300 Kbytes/host/day There are some files that are larger than the per-day limit for a user (or host) would permit, so the server does allow the first request from a user (or host) on any given day to exceed the byte limit. Also, the "host" in this context means what appears after the at-sign (@) in the return address. Mailed requests that pass through a gateway usually appear to be from that gateway host, and so the server applies its host limits accordingly. --------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note----------- Although requests are sent to the LISTSERV address, the requests are actually processed by userid TRICKLE. Files sent back to you will be from TRICKLE. Do not let this mislead you, though: Your requests must go to LISTSERV, and not to TRICKLE at either NDSUVM1 or RPIECS. In EARN, LISTSERV is not used, and TRICKLE does accept requests from users. NOT IN BITNET. Your requests must go to LISTSERV. --------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note----------- THE /PDDIR COMMAND The /PDDIR command is used to list the names of files that match some pattern. The command has several forms. They are: /PDDIR /PDDIR PD:<directory> /PDDIR PD:<directory.subdirectory>filename.ext age The first form lists the names of all the archives known to the server. At present these are CPM, SIGM, PC-BLUE, MSDOS, and MISC. The second form lists the names of all the subdirectories in a particular archive. (The directory name must be one of the known archives: CPM, SIGM, etc.) The third form lists the names of files in the archive that match a particular pattern. The age parameter limits how old a file in the archive may be and still be considered. If omitted, the default is 30, meaning 30 days old. The directory name must be one of CPM, SIGM, PC-BLUE, MSDOS, or MISC. The subdirectory, filename, and ext may include asterisks ('*') a "wild-card" characters. The following are examples. /PDDIR PD:<MSDOS> --Lists subdirectories in the MSDOS archive. /PDDIR PD:<SIGM.*>*.* --Lists files added in the last 30 days /PDDIR PD:<MISC.VAXVMS>*.* 9999 --Lists VAX/VMS related files. /PDDIR PD:<CPM.*>UUDECODE*.* 9999 --Lists uudecoders for CP/M. THE /PDGET COMMAND The /PDGET command is used to request a specific file. No pattern- matching is allowed. The syntax for this command is as follows: /PDGET format simtel.filename encoding The format specifies how the file is to be transmitted. Allowed values are NETDATA, PUNCH, and MAIL. NETDATA -- suitable for transfer to BITNET hosts that can accept files in IBM Netdata format. PUNCH -- suitable for transfer to BITNET hosts that can accept files but cannot decode the Netdata format. Files are sent as 80-byte card-images. MAIL -- suitable for transfer to hosts that can accept only mail or are accessible to BITNET only through gateways. Large files sent via mail are split into several smaller files that the recipient must reassemble. If the format is omitted, NETDATA is assumed for BITNET hosts and MAIL for all others. The encoding specifies any special translation for the file data: ASIS -- suitable for hosts that can receive binary data. The file is sent exactly as it is stored on the server: binary images of the file data. ASIS may be used only with format NETDATA. UUENCODE -- suitable for hosts that cannot receive binary data. The file is sent uuencoded. TRANSLATE -- suitable for any host, but only when the file actually represents readable text. The file is translated to EBCDIC. (If you are on an ASCII machine, then your system should automatically translate to ASCII when the file arrives.) TRANSLATE applied to a binary file is treated as if UUENCODE were specified. If no encoding is specified, then ASIS is assumed for NETDATA, and UUENCODE for the others. --------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note----------- In the actual archives at SIMTEL20 there are a few files stored in the top-level directory. (For example, PD:<MSDOS>FILES.IDX is a file listing the names of all the files in the subdirecotries of the MSDOS archive.) The design of the BITNET server does not permit access to any of these files. However, since the files at the top-level directory generally contain directory information, the need for them is superceded by the /PDDIR command. --------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note--------Note----------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Getting Started ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Before all else, something you absolutely must have available is a method for getting files from your host system to you micro computer. It would be preferable if this method included support for transferring binary files as well as normal text files. If you do not already have a way to communicate with your host and transfer files, consider getting the appropriate Kermit implementations available from the KERMSRV file server at CUVMA. Once that minor detail has been addressed, then you should consider what additional utility programs you will need or that will be helpful. Most files are in an archive format, so you will need a de-archive utility or two. You may also need a uudecode program, depending on your ability to receive binary files on your host and your ability to download binary files to you micro computer. This last point requires some explanation. The server stores all files from SIMTEL20 as-is in 128 byte sector image blocks. They are bit-for-bit identical to how they should appear on your micro computer. The server makes no attempt to interpret the files; it simply sends them on demand out through BITNET. BITNET, though, is fundamentally an EBCDIC network, and your micro computer is fundamentally an ASCII machine. This gives rise to two places along the path from server to micro where the file data might be misinterpreted or corrupted. If your host system is ASCII-based (as are most non-IBM systems) it will translate incoming BITNET files from EBCDIC to ASCII. If your host is EBCDIC-based, your communications software will translate files you download from EBCDIC to ASCII. But the files from the server do not contain EBCDIC data. You must either find a way to disable the translations or encode the data in such a way that the original file can be recovered. There are suggestions given later for specific host machines to disable the translations. For now assume data encoding is required. You can ask the server to send files in encoded from. If you request encoding, the file is encoded using a technique know as uuencoding. Uuencoded data is preserved through most of the EBCDIC/ASCII translations the file might encounter. So, all you need is a program for you micro computer that decodes a uuencoded file. There are several decoders available from SIMTEL20. The only problem is how do you get the program to your micro computer. Catch-22. Well, you can ask the server to send ASCII text files in translated form. If you request translation, a file is first translated to EBCDIC before it is sent. This is not recommended as a standard option since there may be some loss of information, but for getting started it may be essential. If you need a program for CP/M to decode uuencoded files, send the following command to the server: /PDGET PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>UUDECODE.HEX TRANSLATE The file contains the CP/M hex data for the program. Download it. Use the CP/M commands LOAD and SAVE to create an executable program. You should end up with UUDECODE.COM, the desired program. If you need a program for MSDOS to decode uuencoded files, send the following commands to the server: /PDGET PD:<MSDOS.STARTER>UUDECODE.xxx TRANSLATE /PDGET PD:<MSDOS.STARTER>UUENCDEC.DOC TRANSLATE Replace "xxx" with either BAS, C, or PAS depending on which source language you would prefer (BASIC, C, or Pascal, respectively). Next, you should consider requesting which ever of the following files you feel appropriate for your micro computer system: For PC-DOS and MSDOS machines: PD:<MSDOS.STARTER>ARCE31C.COM Un-archive utility. PD:<MSDOS.STARTER>ARCE31C.DOC ..and the documentation. PD:<MSDOS.STARTER>UUDECODE.EXE Compiled uudecode utility For CP/M machines: PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>DELBR11.COM Un-library utility. PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>UNARC.COM-Z80 Un-archive utility, Z-80 only. PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>UNARCA.COM-8080 Un-archive utility. PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>UNARC.DOC ..and the documentation. PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>UNCR-Z80.COM Un-crunch utility, Z-80 only. PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>UNCR8080.COM Un-crunch utility. PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>UNCR8080.DOC ..and the documentation. PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>USQ120.COM Un-squeeze utility. PD:<CPM.STARTER-KIT>USQ120.DOC ..and the documentation. There are many other useful utilities in these and other archive directories. Remember, though, if you need the server to UUENCODE the files you request, you should explicitly ask for it. You may find two other files useful. PD:<MSDOS.FILEDOCS>SIMIBM.ARC and PD:<CPM.FILEDOCS>SIMCPM.ARC contain one-line descriptions for many of the other files in their respective archives. Not all files are described, but it does contain enough valuable information to help you find other software. IBM System Users. If your host is an IBM system running either VM or MVS, you can avoid the need for uuencoding. Files received from BITNET will not be translated, since the IBM is an EBCDIC machine. Most down-load methods support binary transfer, so you can defeat the translation that would otherwise take place there. For example, with CMS Kermit the command SET FILE BINARY is all the is required before initiating a download. If you are using a 3270 emulator and IND$FILE for file transfers, by default no translation takes place. VAX/VMS Users. If your host is a DEC VAX system running VMS, with Jnet as your network software, you can avoid the need for uuencoding. You can tell the Jnet software to bypass the usual EBCDIC/ASCII translation, but there are a few additional steps needed before downloading a file. * Receive the file with the Jnet command RECEIVE/BINARY. The BINARY modifier suppresses the normal EBCDIC/ASCII translation. For the sake of discussion, assume that the file is now named SOFTWARE.FIL. This file, as received, is almost correct; but there may be an error in how VMS interprets the records. * Generate an FDL file for SOFTWARE.FIL using the command ANALYZE/RMS/FDL SOFTWARE.FIL * Edit the FDL file with the command EDIT/FDL SOFTWARE Examine the CARRIAGE_CONTROL setting. Change it to NONE. Exit from the editor. * Use the edited FDL to correct carriage control interpretation errors in the original SOFTWARE.FIL. CONVERT/FDL=SOFTWARE.FDL SOFTWARE.FIL FIXED_SOFTWARE.FIL * Download the FIXED_SOFTWARE.FIL as a binary file using any reliable means. (For VAX Kermit, use the SET FILE TYPE BINARY command before starting the download.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Common Problems ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q. I downloaded this program to my micro, but when I run it, my machine hangs (or I get the message "Out of Memory" or ...). A. Either the file became corrupted in transit (perhaps one of those nasty EBCDIC/ASCII translations), or the file was uuencoded and you have not decoded it. Q. I downloaded an archive to my micro, but the de-archive utility would not process it. I get messages like "File not an archive" or "Cannot extract member". A. Same comments as above. Q. I really, really need to get these special files that I absolutely must have, but the server limits how much I can request per day. Is there any way I can get around these limits for this one special case A. No. Q. I am trying to get a file from the (top-level of the) MSDOS directory. /PDDIR won't list it, /PDGET claims it can't find it, but I know it is there. A. It may well be there at SIMTEL20. However, the BITNET server is not capable of handling any request for a file from the top-level of an archive. Generally, though, the files stored at the top level list the contents of the archive. The /PDDIR command can be used to get a directory listing. Q. I have been requesting this same file repeatedly. Each time the server tells me my request has been "queued for processing," then a few days later it sends me a message that it has "abandoned" my request. Other requests it has been handling just fine. A. The server does maintain a large "cache" of recently requested files. Many requests are satisfied from this cache. However, for all the rest the server must fetch it directly from SIMTEL20 using the Internet file transfer protocol, FTP. "Directly" really is not all that direct since the path between server and SIMTEL20 includes many network segments and gateways. To complete a transfer, an error-free connection must be maintained for the duration of the FTP transaction. This is not always possible, whether it be from some dysfunction along the path or heavy network load. The server will retry a failed FTP transaction, but if it continues to fail, the server eventually gives up. Q. I keep sending requests to the server. I never hear anything back. A. The server responses in some way to everything it receives. Your requests may not be arriving, possibly because you are miskeying the server's network address. Perhaps you are sending your requests to TRICKLE rather than LISTSERV. Your requests may be arriving, but with an unusable "From:" field in the mail header, so the response never gets back to you. Q. Gee, this public-domain/shareware stuff is the greatest. How do I go about adding my own contributions? A. Remember, the archives are actually kept at SIMTEL20. The servers only provide access to them. Contributions must be sent to the people there. Send an electronic mail message to: "Keith Petersen" <W8SDZ@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL> Be sure to tell him what it is you have and what it is for. After he verifies he does not already have it, you and he can negotiate methods for submitting the software. Q. Hey, I have FTP on my system. How do I go about connecting to either RPIECS or NDSUVM1 and fetching the SIMTEL20 files? A. Two points about the servers have been missed. (1) The servers are there to provide access to the SIMTEL20 archives for people WITHOUT FTP capability. Users on hosts that do support FTP have the privilege of connecting directly to WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL. (2) The servers do not actually have a complete collection of the archives; only a varying set of recently requested files are stored locally. If you have FTP access to the Internet, connect to WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL and use anonymous login. Q. Who do I contact with suggestions or unsolvable problems? A. Depending on which server you normally use: "John Fisher" <FISHER@RPIECS> "Marty Hoag" <INFO@NDSUVM1> DO NOT send your comment or question about the server to the people at WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL. However, if you wish to report program bug or something similar about a SIMTEL20 file, you may send it to "Keith Petersen" <W8SDZ@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>