Amiga Times/AmigaTimes.iso/programme/trionbbs110/Trion/docs/Updates/trion104.doc

Text File | 1998-10-06 | 14.9 KB | 399 lines

        _____     _                  _     _              _    ___
       |_   _|_ _(_) ___  _ __      | |__ | |__  ___     / |  / _ \
         | | | '_| |/ _ \| '_ \     | '_ \| '_ \/ __|    | | | | | |
         | | | | | | (_) | | | |    | |_) | |_) \__ \    | |_| |_| |
         |_| |_| |_|\___/|_| |_|    |____/|____/|___/    |_(_)\___/

                        © 1994/97 by Paul Spijkerman
                             All Rights Reserved


     Update from V1.00 -> V1.04

     Well here is the fourth Update since the Version V1.0 archive.

     It took a long time, because some things where going very
     slowly. And I was doing a lot of things at the same time.
     So this update is more or less the smaller things I
     did between the bigger things.

     I finally sold my Xenolink package I had laying on a shelf
     almost sold it a number of times. But the people didn't
     call back.

     I was developping extensions for the GUI-lib, like
     requesters to show wat went wrong, and a View window
     for the GUI of the mailer and a dynamic list where you
     can select more then one item for the file and mail
     editor. Not finished yet.

     Checked a number of manuals and started to write a manual
     for Trion (a disk based manual) but there are more holes
     than text a this moment so it isn't included yet.

     I have been working on RIPscrip graphics a bit, but still
     havn't found out how the BGI stroked Font files from
     Borland work.

     I have been working on Blue Wave but noting more then
     test code at this moment.

     I have been experimenting with a GUI for the mailer,
     but there where a number of problems I haven't worked
     out yet. Like a GUI element to show what is coming
     in on the serial port and what inlog text is printed.
     During a problem with an IEMSI inlog the users has
     to type his name but he is still in the mailer,
     the problem is when to go from the GUI window to
     the ANSI window. And there probably has to be a
     separate file transfer window for BBS and mailer.

     Stil studying on Internet books etc.



     Utils:   BBS, TrionRM, tick, areafix, ViewPacket, Tmp, BBStext, Menu
              FileEd, UserEd, Maintmod, Guimod, MailEd, KillOldUsers
              LastCallers, ScanUserStats, ShowStats, TopDL
     Docs:    Trion-Net.doc, rexxlist
     Doors:   ReadNla.rexx



   -Started with a GUI mail.cfg editor, but at this time it is
    only a mail.cfg viewer because GUI code to select a number
    of sections at a time wasn't ready yet.
    But you can use it to check if all echomail sections are
    in the mail.cfg.

   -Fixed a little bug in the bounce netmail function of areafix,
    it trashed a node number because a nodenumber copy command
    worked just the oposit as i thought .. so it didn't always
    send netmail.

   -There was a little problem in the lastcallers program, when
    there were more then 99 files transfered all text on the line
    was shifted one character to the rigth. This was already
    fixed in other programs like TrionRM.

   -Changed the mailer a little bit, until now the first nodenumber
    an incoming mailer presented was taken as his main node number.
    Now it will look at all the numbers presented and it will pick
    the first where the password is correct. If there isn't any
    then it will take the first node number.
    This is necessary for Zmodem transfers if there are no
    files to send. In that case it will make an empty poll packet,
    but if the password isn't correct for the first node that
    packet was never sent.

   -Fixed a little problem with the RIPscrip graphics function
    that copies a piece of the screen to the buffer to save
    it as an icon or to stamp it on an other place of the screen.
    What happens is that the first 16 or 32 pixels on the
    first line had the wrong color. This is Fixed by putting
    a command to wait until the blitter is finished after the
    blitter command that copies a piece of the screen to my
    buffer bitmap in memory.

    This code is like a "os-legal" chuncky to planer converter
    code .. but it doesn't write in the bitmap of a screen it
    writes in a custom bitmap and let's the blitter write it
    in the bitmap of the screen. Tested how fast it actual is.
    You can write 64x64 chuncky pixels more then 16 times a second
    to the screen with 4 bitplanes.

    So I probably will use this code to make the scheduler faster
    and maybe to plot text in the RIPscrip mode with the RIP fonts.

   -Fixed a little problem in the BBStext compiler, it didn't
    worked exactly as advertised.

    It should translate '_' (underscores) to spaces and '|'
    to returns. Unless there was a '%' before the '_' and '|'
    then it should print the character after the '%'.
    But the BBStext programm translated all '_' and '|'
    so the bbs program never found a '_' of '|' after
    a '%' .. this is now fixed .. the BBStext util
    doesn't translate characters after a '%'.

   -The BBS recognizes the "+FHS:nn" string as a Fax connect.  (nn = 01 ?)
    Later changed it to a "no carrier" string, it seems to mean
    something like not connected (Fax Hangup Status nn).

   -Added a 'ScanWaitingMail' menu command.
    There already was a 'ReadWaitingMail' command, but only
    the messages which arrive on the system after the user
    logs on for the first time are shown.

    The reason of this is that the mail processor adds messages
    to waiting mail files of users when new mail comes in.
    So there is no timely scan needed when some logs in.
    But new users don't get to see any waiting mail altough
    messages to them may be in the message base.

    With the new menu command you can make a messages file for
    new users (or for yourself when deleted all waiting messages).
    Just put the ScanWaitingMail for the line ReadWaitingMail in
    the start menu with levels 0-4 or something like that.
    The scan should be stopable with Ctrl-C

   -Added a 'Continue' menu command.
    With this command you can ask (confirm) the user if he really
    wants to do something. Works a bit like the password command,
    you put it before an other command, and if the users answers
    no the executing of the command sequence is exited.

    Confirm  "Do you really want to logoff (Y/n) ? "
    Confirm  "Do you really want to scan for waiting mail (Y/n) ? "


Cmd "?" , 0- 255
   Confirm  "Do you really want to scan for waiting mail (Y/n) ? "
   ScanWaitingMail
   More
EndCmd



   -Added a warning to TrionRM that complains when there is not a
    Trion key file to be found. There wasn't one before so there
    weren't any hints to the key code, but that is a bit silly.


   -Added an Info button to the UserEditor, when you press the
    button you get the last on date and the place name instead
    of the alias of the user. Note that loading in this mode
    is a lot slower. With an other click on the Info button you
    get the alias back.

    Made the UserEditor window 4 character wider and added levels.
    The Usereditor also uses wildcards on aliases now.
    Removed unused buttons with a few comment lines.

    When you have edited a user the user list was reloaded,
    this is now only done when fields of the user that are
    displayed in the user list are changed to make things
    speedier.


   -Removed some buttons from the file editor by putting a handfull
    comment lines in the source without challenging the functionality.
    The double buttons (Forward/Backward etc.) didn't work always
    as they should. One of them should be on and the other off.
    But Whatever I tried, it didn't worked like it should.
    The current version has full functionality and the window
    needs less space.

    Fixed a little problem in the File editor, when you click on
    a fill it got the file from the list in the screen. It did this
    by taking the text before the first space. This gave problems
    with file names with spaces in them. So now it walks through
    the file list it gets from TrionRM until it counted as much files
    as the line it was on. This is only a fraction slower.

    Added the upload date to the file list, so you can delete old
    files easier.


   -Written code to calculate the exact number of days between
    two days for use in some programs.

    Written a KillOldUsers program.
    When you run it with a number on the command line it will
    remove users that have not logged in for a number of days.
    When you use -T on the command line it does not delete users
    but just shows you what it would do if it was removing users.
    So you can see if you have any users left after execution.
    The program will only work with numbers greater then 30 to
    protect the sysop against himself .. he can't delete his
    own account that way :)
    Maybe this is a good moment to make a copy of your Userbase.

   -Added an option to the checkfilebase program to remove old
    files. If the files are older then the number on the
    command line it will tell you the file is old.


   -Added a Groups button to GuiMod (Config edit gui)

   -Had a real long think about how to do it RIGHT and implemented
    more or less optional Group support. Groups (of mail or
    file sections) could be easy if you have many sections.
    It would be easier if a (sub) list of sections would fit
    on one screen. Or why should an PC user see all the new
    Amiga files (and vice versa).

    From what I have seen from systems as RemoteAccess and FrontDoor
    (MS-DOS programmas I toyed with more then half a decade ago)
    every sections has a character (a-z) to indicate to which group
    they belong.
    Which has its drawbacks, I have to change all programms because
    the way sections are dealt with are changed, and what if you have
    a Fido-netmail section, do you add it to the net-mail group or
    to the Fido (echomail) group ?? Well .. wouldn't both be nice.
    Or what if you would make a group with all programming sections
    of all the mail nets you get.
    Or how about a group with ALL sections, which is also
    usefull for people (users or sysops) who don't want to use groups.

    So I added Group Support to TrionRM, programms that require
    this option can get the information they need from TrionRM.
    (Which is basically a couple of "Get Group Info" commands like:
     GetFirstGroup, GetNextGroup, GetGroupOnNumber)

    With this system, the support for groups is separated from the
    support for file and message sections. So nothing has to be
    changed to programms like the mail processor, Areafix (which
    has its own group system) and Allfiles.

    Also because of the way the BBS is written this system was
    very easy to implement. Altough the code in the BBS programm
    itself for messages and files is like 100KB+ C-code each.
    The BBS programm uses a few functions to get the first
    and next section to process. This is done because there
    has to be checked if a user has access to a section.
    For groups this access checking had to be extended with
    group checking.

    When you don't want to Use groups you don't have to change
    a thing. When there isn't a "trion:cfg/groups.cfg" (or
    when there isn't a file or msgs group in the cfg) the system
    makes an "All" group with all sections and the system should
    work as before.

    Also you could use the system as before and use groups in
    an other menu. If you have made ANSI screens to select
    sections you probably don't need groups.


    new MenuCommands

    ListFileGroups         (like: ListFileAreas)
    OtherFileGroup         (like: OtherFileArea)
    ChangeFileGroup "n"    (like: ChangeFileArea)

    ListMessageGroups      (like: ListMessageAreas)
    OtherMessageGroup      (like: OtherMessageArea)
    ChangeMessageGroup "n" (like: ChangeMessageArea)


    new TildeCodes

      ~350                  File Group number
      ~351                  File Group name
      ~352                  Messages Group number
      ~353                  Messages Group name


Cmd "G"
   ClrScr
   ListFileGroups
   OtherFileGroup

   ClrScr
   ListFileAreas            ;Or PrintFile "trion:text/FileAreas.ansi"
   OtherFileArea
   LogMessage "Changed to file area: ~301."
EndCmd

Cmd "A"
   ClrScr
   ListFileAreas
;   PrintFile "trion:text/FileAreas.ansi"
   OtherFileArea
   LogMessage "Changed to file area: ~301."
EndCmd

Cmd "O"
;   ClrScr
;   ListFileAreas
   PrintFile "trion:text/FileAreas.ansi"
   OtherFileArea
   LogMessage "Changed to file area: ~301."
EndCmd



    When you want to use Groups you could add the ListFileGroups
    and OtherFileGroup command to the "other area" command
    sequence in a menu. If you don't you get in the first group.

    It's important to have the Group "All" as first in the group
    list to have the system operating as before.

    When you want to make groups optional you could make a new command
    to change Groups and leave the Change area command as before.
    When the user logs in he is in the "All" groups and doesn't
    have to choose a group.

    Or when you really want to annoy users you put the ListGroups
    and OtherGroup command before the NewFileScan when a user logs
    in.

    Have an upload area in every file group (which can of cause
    be the same area in all groups).
    Note that if you are in a group all the global commands, like
    newfiles or readGlobalNew work only on the sections in the
    current group but you can go to all sections with change
    sections commands. So you can put the ListGroups and
    OtherGroup command before the newfiles command and the
    user only sees the files he is really interested in.


    You probably also want a menu command to change area without
    having to change the group. (which is basically a command
    like you have in use now).

    The "trion:cfg/groups.cfg" is very simple.

    Just have a FILEGROUP or MAILGROUP line folowed with one
    or more SECTIONS lines.
    After a group line you put a group number and a group name
    (separated with a comma !!!).
    Check the suplied config for reference.



FILEGROUP    1 , "All"
SECTIONS     1 - 65535

FILEGROUP    2,  "Amiga-files"
SECTIONS     1 - 15 , 20 - 59

FileGroup    3,  "PC-files"
Sections     1 - 15 , 60 - 99



MAILGROUP    2 , "Sections on programming"
SECTIONS     11, 111, 211, 311, 411, 511
SECTIONS     611, 711, 811


   -Made the global new message scan and global new file scan
    faster because now only the areas that a users has access to
    and are in the current group are opend.

   -When reading global new messages, it prints a line with
    the section name currently scanned for new messages.

   -Added some menu commands to make handling of messages from
    the current user easier.

    ScanToYou
    ScanFromYou
    ScanToOrFromYou
    ScanReverseToYou
    ScanReverseFromYou
    ScanReverseToOrFromYou

    ReadToYou
    ReadFromYou
    ReadToOrFromYou
    ReadReverseToYou
    ReadReverseFromYou
    ReadReverseToOrFromYou