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-------------------------------------------------------------------- Table Of Contents for OBUL 1 Introduction 1.1 Overview 1.2 Package Contents 1.2.1 Manifest 1.2.2 Validation Information 1.2.3 Direct From Author 1.3 OBUL Requirements 1.4 Formalities 1.4.1 Registering 1.4.2 Distributing OBUL 1.4.3 Fees 1.4.3.1 Copying And Distribution Fees 1.4.3.2 To The Author 1.4.4 Warranty, Liability, And Other Myths 2 Configuration 2.1 File Organization 2.2 OBUL.CTL Description 2.3 Preparing A Bulletin 2.4 Examples 3 Operation 3.1 Command Line Arguments 3.1.1 -?, display more help 3.1.2 -H, (same as -?) 3.1.3 -C, compile OBUL.CTL into OBUL.PRM 3.1.4 -G, generate bulletin menu 3.1.5 -D, decompile OBUL.PRM 3.1.6 -M, display OBUL menu interface 3.1.7 drive:\path\ 3.2 Using With Opus 4 Having Problems? 5 Revision History 6 Future Enhancements 7 Credits 7.1 Contacting The Author 7.2 Special Thanks -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction ------------ 1.1 Overview -------- OBUL is the Opus Bulletin Utilization Language. It gives Opus CBCS sysops the ability to generate a bulletin menu which is specific to the current user. Important or modified bulletins may be highlighted, manually or automatically, to direct the user's attention. A bulletin is an Opus .BBS file, which in turn can present text, execute a DOS program, or whatever. Technical Nutshell: When OBUL is called to generate a bulletin menu, the LASTUS##.DAT file is read to determine date of last visit and access level. This information is used to construct the bulletin menu which can be displayed to the user at any time. As OBUL is being released, Opus 1.20 is also near release. OBUL was designed for Opus 1.14. If the LASTUS##.DAT file does not change in Opus 1.20, then OBUL will work with it also. If there is a change, be watching for a new release of OBUL. 1.2 Package Contents ---------------- 1.2.1 Manifest -------- The official OBUL package consists of the following files. This product may only be distributed in its full, unadulterated form with all the files listed in the manifest. OBUL.EXE - main program OBUL.CTL - a sample control file OBUL.DOC - documentation OBUL.C - source code OBULOECC.BAT - example batch program to compile OEC files WELCOME.OEC - example file that calls OBUL CPU.OEC - bulletin of simple text NEWFILES.OEC - bulletin which calls a DOS program REGISTER.OEC - bulletin which asks and records answers 1.2.2 Validation Information ---------------------- VALIDATE 0.3 Copyright 1988-89 by McAfee Associates. (408) 988-3832 File Name: obul.exe Size: 57,872 Date: 4-18-1991 File Authentication: Check Method 1 - 9FAF Check Method 2 - 15C8 If you get different results, you may wish to obtain OBUL directly from the author. To do this, refer to the Direct From Author section for instructions. 1.2.3 Direct From Author ------------------ If you question the validity of these files, you may obtain them directly from the author. A file request magic word, OBUL, has been established. For address information, refer to the section of this manual about Contacting The Author. If you wish to try, OBUL may be available at HST speeds from 1:373/2, but no promises. 1.3 OBUL Requirements ----------------- OBUL is dependent upon an Opus embedded command compiler. Two that I am aware of: OECC and OACOMP. OBUL generates the ".OEC" bulletin file only at this time. This file must be compiled using an OEC compiler to generate a ".BBS" file. These OEC compilers are obtainable from most Opus systems, including my own. A note about OACOMP. When you use the '-g' option to generate a menu, OACOMP will generate warnings about labels. This is mentioned in the OACOMP documentation. The labels are fine, they just use the OECC format. You may use any OEC compiler you choose. OBUL will call a program by the name of "OBULOECC" and pass two arguments. The first is the full path to .OEC version of the bulletin menu created by OBUL. The second is the full path to the .BBS version of the bulletin menu. Here is what OBUL would do if the PATH in OBUL.CTL was defined as h:\opus\misc\bullets. OBULOECC h:\opus\misc\bullets.OEC h:\opus\misc\bullets.bbs OBULOECC can be a .EXE, .COM, or .BAT. If you need to reorganize the arguments or not use them both, the .BAT file will be the best option. A sample OBULOECC.BAT file is included that can use either of the OEC compilers that were mentionedé above. The source code was compiled with MIX Power C, but other compilers should handle it without much rework. To compile, you will need to acquire OTOOLKIT, a C library of routines and header files for the Opus 1.1x data structures. This is obtainable from most Opus systems. OBUL is for the Opus CBCS of course. 1.4 Formalities ----------- OBUL is free software. All commercial rights are reserved by the author. Modified versions must not be redistributed. 1.4.1 Registering ----------- No registration is required. However, if you send me information on how to contact you by email, I will notify you when a new release is available. 1.4.2 Distributing OBUL ----------------- This product may only be distributed in its full, unadulterated form with all the files listed in the manifest. The source code is provided for users to study or modify for personal use. If you make a change others might benefit from, please notify the author so it can be officailly incorporated. Do not redistribute modified versions of OBUL. 1.4.3 Fees ---- 1.4.3.1 Copying And Distribution Fees ----------------------------- OBUL is free software. However, you may be charged a fee when you obtain it from a pay bulletin board system or from one of those PD/Shareware catalogs. This is allowable, but please note that these fees are for copying and distribution only. OBUL may not be sold as a commercial product, unless permission is granted by the author. 1.4.3.2 To The Author ------------- I do not ask a fee for your using OBUL. However, if you have any educational software that is for IBM and compatible personal computers, please send it. I'm trying to form a large repository of educational software for the benefit of children, their parents and teachers, and my daughter. Your additions would be most appreciated. 1.4.4 Warranty, Liability, And Other Myths ------------------------------------ This is free software. As for warranties or liability, you get what you pay for. The software works on my system and I have confidence in its operation. I do welcome comments, bug reports, and suggestions for enhancements. If you have any problems, I will do my best to help. Refer to the section on Contacting The Author for further information. 2 Configuration ------------- 2.1 File Organization ----------------- Place OBUL.EXE where it can be executed by Opus. If it is not accessible in the PATH of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you will have to give a full pathname when executing OBUL. OBULOECC.BAT should be accessible from your DOS PATH. The OBUL.CTL and OBUL.PRM can be anywhere. A command line argument specifies where they are located. The default is the current working directory, most likely your Opus system directory. The bulletins can be anywhere since a full path is specified for each in the OBUL.CTL file. FYI: The author placed OBUL.EXE, OBUL.CTL, and OBUL.PRM in his main Opus directory, H:\OPUS, and the bulletin files were stored with the Opus .BBS file in the MISC directory, H:\OPUS\MISC. 2.2 OBUL.CTL Description -------------------- Here is a line by line description of the OBUL.CTL file. This file is compiled into OBUL.PRM to check for errors. This insures (to a degree) that OBUL -G (generate) will always use a valid data file, which is important since generate is done while the user is online. >> version The version number of OBUL that uses this particluar file format. Different versions of OBUL may use different file formats as items are added and removed. >> lastpath Full DOS path to the LASTUS##.DAT file. Replace ## with the tasknumber being used by Opus. >> path Full path for ouput of the bulletin menu file. This does not include the file suffix, it is automatically created. If you do add the suffix, it will be stripped off. >> bbs When generating the OBUL user menu, generate a .bbs file in the directory specified in the path statement. This is currently supported using an external compiler via the OBULOECC.BAT file. Options are YES and NO. >> oec When generating the OBUL user menu, generate a .OEC file in the directory specified in the path statement. Options are YES and NO. >> columns Number of columns to use for bulletin menu entries. Select a number between 1 and 4, inclusive, or choose automatic to have a best fit done at run-time. >> order This determines the order that bulletin entries are displayed on the menu. DOWN uses a top-to-bottom order per column, and ACROSS uses a left-to-right order. The straight order of the bulletins is based upon the order the entries are entered the control file. Example: If listed as A,B,C,Q with 2 columns: down across A C A B B Q C Q >> title_text String of text to display at the top of the OBUL menu that describes what this menu is to the user. >> title_color Color of title_text as available with ANSI, choices are: black darkgray blue lightblue green lightgreen cyan lightcyan red lightred magenta lightmagenta brown yellow gray white >> prompt_color Color of prompt that appears on menu requesting the user to make a selection from the menu. Same choices as title_color. >> display_privileged Choices are YES or NO. If YES, menu entries that user does not have access to will be displayed on the menu, but selecting them will cause a message to appear indicating lack of access privilege. If NO, menu entries that user does not have access to will not be displayed on the menu. >> format A string made up of L,C,T,H,E, or spaces that indicates the format of a menu entry. Any combination of these may be used. L-lead character C-choice character T-tail character H-highlight character E-menu entry text >> lead_character These are the choices for the lead character ".-_=([{<" >> lead_color Color of lead character, same choices as title color. >> choice_color Color of choice character, same choices as title color. >> tail_character These are the choices for the tail character ".-_=)]}>" >> tail_color Color of tail character, same choices as title color. >> entry_color Color of entry text, same choices as title color. >> highlight_character Character to use to highlight an entry, "!@#$%*-=+:<>" >> highlight_color Color of highlight character, same choices as title color. >> highlight_blink If yes, make highlight character blink when it is used. The following are repeated for each menu entry: choice_character, entry_text, access, file, highlight_mode >> choice_character This is the character that is used to select this entry from the menu. Valid choices are any alphabetic or numeric characters. >> entry_text Text that will appear for this menu entry as it's description or definition. Basically, what this bulletin is. >> access This access level or higher is required to view this bulletin. Choices are Hidden, Sysop, Asstsysop, Clerk, Extra, Favored, Privil, Worthy, Normal, Limited, Disgrace, Twit. Only the first letter is actually used by OBUL. >> file Three choices: full path to a .BBS file to display *quit, exit menu and proceed with bbs operation *hangup, disconnect user immediately >> highlight_mode Three choices: automatic - highlight entry with highlight character if file date is more recent than the date the user last logged on. always - always highlight entry. never - never highlight entry. >> # HELP TEXT Help may contains up to 20 lines at the end of the OBUL.CTL file. This text will be used when ? is selected in the menu. The line "# HELP TEXT" must appear in your CTL file. It is used by OBUL to determine the end of the bulletin specifications and the beginning of the help text. 2.3 Preparing A Bulletin -------------------- A bulletin is simply an Opus .BBS file which may contain Opus embedded commands. If after reading the bulletin, the user should be returned to the OBUL bulletin menu, you must add something to your bulletin file. In the .OEC bulletin file, add [display<path> at the end or [onexit]<path> to the very top. <path> should be the full path to the bulletin menu you generated with OBUL. (e.g. H:\OPUS\MISC\BULLETS.BBS) If you used [onexit], Opus 1.1x has a problem after about 10 of these. As I understand it, this problem has been eliminated in Opus 1.20. 2.4 Examples -------- Example files have been provided and are listed in the manifest. These example files, which the author has used, have been included for your benefit. They give an idea as to what can be done with OBUL. 3 Operation --------- When you execute OBUL with no options, the following text will appear on the screen. This text defines what options are valid. Also listed is the version number and release date. OBUL - Opus Bulletin Utilization Language Version 003 released 20-APR-91 Copyright 1991 Keith Ford. All Rights Reserved. Usage: OBUL [option] [drive:\\path\\] Options are: -?,-h = display more help -c = compile OBUL.CTL into OBUL.PRM -g = generate .BBS/.OEC from OBUL.PRM and LASTUS##.DAT -d = decompile OBUL.PRM to screen (stdout) -m = display OBUL menu interface drive:\\path\\ = drive and path where files are located. Default is current directory. 3.1 Command Line Arguments ---------------------- 3.1.1 -?, display more help --------------------- Use this to display more information about the OBUL product. This same information is automatically made available with the '=' option in the OBUL bulletin credits menu entry. 3.1.2 -H, (same as -?) ---------------- 3.1.3 -C, compile OBUL.CTL into OBUL.PRM ---------------------------------- Compile the OBUL.CTL file into OBUL.PRM, which is used by OBUL.EXE. Compiling checks to see that the OBUL.CTL file is correct and notifies if errors exist. 3.1.4 -G, generate bulletin menu -------------------------- Using information in LASTUS##.DAT and OBUL.PRM, generate the specified bulletin menu for the current user. 3.1.5 -D, decompile OBUL.PRM ---------------------- Create OBUL.CTL information from an OBUL.PRM file. Output will go to the screen. If you wish to capture this to a file, use the DOS command line: OBUL -D > OBUL_CTL.TXT. This file can be directly recompiled with OBUL -C. You may recognize that this is patterned after the Salt/Pepper programs. 3.1.6 -M, display OBUL menu interface ------------------------------- This feature has yet to be implemented. 3.1.7 drive:\path\ ------------ This specifies the path where OBUL.EXE can find the OBUL.PRM file if using '-G' or '-D', or the OBUL.CTL file if using '-C'. The default is the current directory. 3.2 Using With Opus --------------- The most obvious way is to make it available using the Bulletin option in the Opus Main Menu. OBUL can be used however you wish. A typical setup used is to have the WELCOME.BBS, which is shown to all users, generate the bulletin menu with OBUL and the '-G' option then display it. Included is an example on how this can be done. However, Opus 1.1x has a noted problem using [onexit] commands in OEC files before the user has reached the Main Menu. As I understand it, 1.20 has eliminated these problems. 4 Having Problems? ---------------- If you are having problems with OBUL, please provide the information requested on this form and send it to the author. The form contains sample information to act as a guide. Methods of contacting the author are listed with the example and in another section of this document. Email would be the best method to use, or you can upload this form to the author's bbs. Only provide information that you feel affects the way OBUL may run. (If you're not sure, list it.) ------------------------------------------------------------------- -- OBUL Problem Report -- YOUR NAME: Keith Ford DATE: d#-mmm-y# -- ADDRESS: 203 Creek Trail -- CITY,ST,ZIP: Madison, AL 35758 -- WAYS TO REACH YOU: Fido email: Keith Ford at 1:373/12, file attaches okay Usenet email: sysop@umagic.fidonet.org ...!uunet!ingr!infonode!umagic!sysop upload to Micro Magic at 205-830-2362 -- HARDWARE: 4M extended RAM on motherboard, 80386SX-16MHz -- SOFTWARE: MSDOS 3.3, Disk Manager 4.0 (TSR), 2Meg SMARTDRV.SYS cache (TSR), DESQview 2.31, QEMM 5.11, Opus 1.14, X00 1.24 FOSSIL (TSR) -- DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM: Please describe the problem you are having and the conditions under which they occur. Also list how you are running OBUL when this problem occurs. -- Please attach any files you think might be helpful to the author. -- Especially OBUL.CTL, possibly AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Revision History ---------------- 001 - released 01-APR-91 - this was the initial release - supports Opus 1.14 (maybe earlier releases) - supports Opus 1.20 if LASTUS##.DAT has not changed 002 - released 06-APR-91 - added problem report form - fixed nasty bug where OBUL.PRM was being improperly I/O'ed ("r", not "rb" etc.) and causing spontaneous failures of '-g' and '-d' options - mentioned that OACOMP generates warnings with OECC labels - thanks go to Furlan Primus 003 - release 20-APR-91 - "wb" fix for 002 killed my BULLETS.OEC file where both a cr & nl were not being written. Sigh! 6 Future Enhancements ------------------- menu system for editting, maintanence, compiling, viewing of bulletins pull task number from Opus generate .BBS file directly without using external compiler automatic columns will use the screen width in LASTUS##.DAT file. support OEC tokens in OBUL definitions: [user],[date],[time],etc. 7 Credits ------- 7.1 Contacting The Author --------------------- To contact the author of OBUL, try one of these: MODEM: Micro Magic CBCS @ 205/830-2362 3-12-2400/8N1 FIDONET: sysop of 1:373/12 USENET: sysop@umagic.fidonet.org ...!uunet!ingr!infonode!umagic!sysop US MAIL: 203 Creek Trail, Madison, AL 35758 7.2 Special Thanks -------------- Carol and Emily for making my life wonderful. Johm Emmert of Gateway CBCS for helping me get my Opus running. Scott Williams for helping me with the OBUL name. "I know what it takes to be a man, do right by the ones you love, always give a helping hand." -Tesla- "...and the Trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw." -Rush- 8 Index ----- Not yet available.