Copernicus 1996 #3

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Text File | 1995-08-01 | 19.4 KB | 524 lines

Batch UUDecoder Version 2.71 for DOS By Jeff Lee Released: 07/25/95 Introduction ------------ Welcome to the first ever (at least to my knowledge) batch UUEncoder! This program was primarily written for my own purposes because I got terribly tired of uudecoding each file in a directory manually. You probably know the feeling.. Type uudecode dog.. Wait for it to finish.. Type uudecode cat.. Wait for it to finish.. etc.. Even worse were the split files! Well, with this program, if you know how to use DOS 'dir' you know how to use UUD! The reason for this is that UUD can accept all standard DOS wildcards. To solve for the split files, UUD features a fairly advanced parsing system to correctly decode the files in whatever order they may be. In the next couple of sections, you'll learn how to use UUD and use it to its maximum potential. What is a wildcard? ------------------- For those of you who have no idea what a wildcard is, it is defined in THE COMPUTER GLOSSARY by Alan FREEDMAN as "symbols used to represent any value when naming files". Others of you may know it as the symbols '*' and '?' used in the DOS DIR command. Basically, it makes it easier to group items toghther. Although the '*' and the '?' are both wildcards, they have slightly different functions. Here, I'll show you what I mean with a couple of examples. Lets say you had the following directory: C:\>DIR Volume in drive D is STACVOL_000 Directory of D:\DOWNLOAD . <DIR> 03-07-93 9:20p .. <DIR> 03-07-93 9:20p ALLDOOM <DIR> 03-02-94 7:34p EMS <DIR> 02-12-94 8:38a FNTLIN10 <DIR> 03-28-93 2:37p GUI <DIR> 02-17-94 7:15a ISSUE15 <DIR> 05-26-94 1:11p WMP <DIR> 08-28-93 4:05a ARMADA ZIP 219340 06-01-94 3:13p BRISCOJR ZIP 87031 05-29-94 8:00a DMAREACD ZIP 3362 03-02-94 3:01p DOOMV55 FAQ 142039 02-24-94 6:20p DOOMV55 ZIP 49793 02-26-94 4:22p EMSCL13 ZIP 20593 02-12-94 8:20a EZDB ZIP 49271 02-26-94 6:52p FBTRNS ZIP 7880 05-27-94 4:27p GAMMA ZIP 91486 02-21-94 10:27p GIF_LIBL LIB 25600 02-20-94 5:39p GUI ZIP 199857 02-17-94 7:14a HOWTOVC TXT 28422 02-26-94 6:54p ISSUE15 ZIP 629578 05-26-94 1:02p NUSER EXE 36687 02-23-94 7:31p NUSER ZIP 19328 02-26-94 4:01p PROMODEM ZIP 65637 02-20-94 5:35p SYSSHOK ZIP 159176 06-01-94 3:16p UNPROT BAS 2 07-07-87 10:01a UNPROT DOC 1476 07-07-87 9:56a UNPROT ZIP 939 03-03-94 9:34p VOCFMAT TXT 6212 02-12-94 2:47p UUCODE ZIP 5289 06-09-94 7:09p DIRLIST 0 06-11-94 12:05p ASP <DIR> 06-10-94 2:34p 32 file(s) 1848998 bytes 9142272 bytes free You could use a command like "dir *.zip" to view all the .zip files as so: C:\>dir *.zip Volume in drive D is STACVOL_000 Directory of D:\DOWNLOAD ARMADA ZIP 219340 06-01-94 3:13p BRISCOJR ZIP 87031 05-29-94 8:00a DMAREACD ZIP 3362 03-02-94 3:01p DOOMV55 ZIP 49793 02-26-94 4:22p EMSCL13 ZIP 20593 02-12-94 8:20a EZDB ZIP 49271 02-26-94 6:52p FBTRNS ZIP 7880 05-27-94 4:27p GAMMA ZIP 91486 02-21-94 10:27p GUI ZIP 199857 02-17-94 7:14a ISSUE15 ZIP 629578 05-26-94 1:02p NUSER ZIP 19328 02-26-94 4:01p PROMODEM ZIP 65637 02-20-94 5:35p SYSSHOK ZIP 159176 06-01-94 3:16p UNPROT ZIP 939 03-03-94 9:34p UUCODE ZIP 5289 06-09-94 7:09p 15 file(s) 1608560 bytes 9142272 bytes free The reason for this is because the '*' symbol means basically 'all'. So, when you type in "DIR *.zip", you basically are telling the computer to display any and all files with any filename, with a .ZIP extention. You can reverse this as well. Doing a DIR NUSER.* would output: C:\>dir nuser.* Volume in drive D is STACVOL_000 Directory of D:\DOWNLOAD NUSER EXE 36687 02-23-94 7:31p NUSER ZIP 19328 02-26-94 4:01p 2 file(s) 56015 bytes 9166848 bytes free A final use of it would be to find files starting with a letter, or group of letters. Take a guess at what DIR G*.* would do: C:\>dir g*.* Volume in drive D is STACVOL_000 Directory of D:\DOWNLOAD GUI <DIR> 02-17-94 7:15a GAMMA ZIP 91486 02-21-94 10:27p GIF_LIBL LIB 25600 02-20-94 5:39p GUI ZIP 199857 02-17-94 7:14a 4 file(s) 316943 bytes 9166848 bytes free Get it? Not that hard right? The G*.* meant all files beginning with G with any extention. The '?' symbol is similiar to the '*' except that it replaces only 1 letter, instead of an entire filename or exention. This becomes useful when you don't want all the files matching a '*' specification. Lets say we only wanted the files that had 3 letters in their filename not including extention. We would do the following: C:\>dir ???.zip As expected, the following would occur: Volume in drive D is STACVOL_000 Directory of D:\DOWNLOAD GUI ZIP 199857 02-17-94 7:14a 1 file(s) 199857 bytes 9166848 bytes free Well, that about covers everything with wildcards. Just in case you didn't know, many DOS commands accept wildcards. As shown here, DIR allows it. Others include COPY, MOVE, XCOPY, ATTRIB, and many more. Now that you have a general idea of there usage, lets use this knowledge to use UUD. Usage ----- If you're here, I assume you either read the section on WILDCARDS, or you already know how to use them. Like I said before, UUD has much the same format as dir in the sense that UUD accepts wildcards. For instance, if you had a directory full of UUENCODED files, all you would have to do is: UUD *.* and voila! All the files will automatically be decoded. UUD also recognizes the '?' wildcard. So, lets say you had a directory of files names FILE.000-FILE.500. You could easily decode only FILE.000-FILE.009 by using: UUD FILE.00? See how easy it is? Of course, you can also decode one file at a time like so: UUD FILE.000 HOW UUD HANDLES SPLIT FILES --------------------------- When using WILDCARDS, and UUD encounters a file that appears to split into several parts, UUD will sort all directory entries that satisfy the WILDCARD. Then comes the complex part. UUD will search in either alphabetical or regular order (determined by switches) for files that have the following three things in their header: 1)The same output file name as the first file. 2)The same number of parts as the first file. 3)The expected part number derived from the last processed file. If UUD finds a "SECTION X", where X is a number, it will use that number instead of the part number. By applying these two methods, UUD is fairly hard to foul up. Most of the time, it will pick the correct entry. Actually, you really don't even need to know this since UUD does it automatically. All you have to do is sit back, and watch! Combining AOL Mail Gateway Split Files AND Other Strangely Split Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For those who are not using AOL, read this section anyway. Much of it can be applied to you. One of the strange things about AOL is its mail system. Each e-mail message can only be so long. If the message is longer than a specified amount, AOL will split that file into multiple parts. It can do it one of two ways: 1) It will specify the order in which the files were receieved. Usually in the format of #p(o) where p=part and o=of; UUD has built in support for this and you can decode without any special processes. To my knowledge AOL no longer supports this format. |------ NON-AOL USERS READ THIS TOO!! THE SAME PROCESS WORKS FOR FILES | SPLIT MORE THAN ONCE! V 2) AOL will not specify the order. The order in which you received the mail is the order in which the parts should be recombined. To fix this up, several steps, but easy steps, are required: a) save each message to a seperate file, following the scheme fname1, fname2, fname3, etc.. (fname could be anything). b) use the DOS COPY command to combine the parts into one file. In this case you would use: COPY COMFNAME FNAME*.*. You must make sure that all the files are copied into COMFNAME in the correct order. c) use the -C command to decode the file: UUD -C COMFNAME Here's an example of a non-aol split file. AOL files would be simliar: section 1 of uuencode 5.25 of file uud4win.zip by R.E.M. <-- Section 1 begin 644 uud4win.zip here M4$L#!!0``@`(``NS3!XV$4^?J24"`+43!@`+````555$-%=)3BY%6$7LO'U\ M5-6U-[[G?3(SF80`09%,0B`#9"`.!F,E`8*0B5PDC$$F1"6H5:M]T=YP)K$M . . . M3(8[5D@.4(I>7YI[6RG6UDAMI+$&:#$D,5%2+0D6`RBOOLQX$%/`F9`,<Y[O (continued next message....) This article split by uuPCB: Part # 2 of 39 <-- Part 2 M\?0O$/G#/Y>2<T2^%U^SQ/<,KZKI%)KXFK"U87'25&_3FJK5'<UD3Q*YV"0$ of 39 here MP;1&5P8!XDRM;]42I_^_\Q@L&!>>_6MXUZ"QSS/&_TG8ZITWRZU88NOUJ.I= . . . M%^@;9VQP?`FN'K?<NDGC\UP@<#I(`XIE%_PM83X$UN>K!K&UQ)#S-,0]MN'! section 2 of uuencode 5.25 of file uud4win.zip by R.E.M. <-- Section 2 M86_X47<RK5VG86=MPG7>\&.<QAM>Y1X#0A0O7>I[Y()RO88=5JC*+DB<:1*T here too?? (continued next message....) This article split by uuPCB: Part # 3 of 39 <-- Part 3 MS5G^'X1QUEH71%8QX8S-=O_=X0;'L-\5YET7`.8TVT';,6N#NF@6IR_*@B%B of 39 here?? . . . M#HLJB7%FVSEA#'\L:I*58WIJ$NVI93YSA%6;HL62?;+E7,P^4;LJWM"0S541 Do you see how this file is split? It is split once by the R.E.M Encoder, than once more by uuPCB. This will cause problems. You must use the -C option. So what exactly does the -C option do? Essentially what it does is instruct the decoder to simply skip over any material that is not Encoded stuff. The problem with this is that that information does not always come in the correct order. Normally UUD would check this, but due to the multiple splitting of files it gets confused. So, the -C option lets us humans use our own mind! <grin> Generally, its not recommended to disable it. I hope I haven't confused you too much! SWITCHES -------- UUD [options] filenames [output directory] Things in [] are optional. [Options]: -? or -h Brings up the help screen giving brief details on how to use them. Also displays any options that are default on. -v Verbose Mode. The program will display all files that have been processed instead of showing the most recent processed file. -m Enables/Disables MIME Decoding. It is at default OFF because it often falsely reports encoded files do to the relatively loose nature of MIME decoding. I personally advise you to only enable it when you are POSITIVE you are decoding MIME encoded files. It usually won't hurt, however, to turn it on all the time. -n Disables Alphabetical sorting. All files will be processed in the order they appear in the directory. -o Overwrite All Existing Files. When UUD decodes, it usually checks to make sure the new file being created will not overwrite an existing file. If -o is used, it will not ask for permission but just write over them. -d"directory" Where "directory" is, is a valid directory anywhere or anyplace on your computer. This argument specifies the directory in which the files will be decoded to. This has the same effect as using the "output directory" as the last argument. -c WARNING: This option DISABLES strict checking. It cannot cause any damage to your system but it can screw up UUD's ability to correctly decode. This feature allows files that have been split more than once to be combined succesfully. For instance, lets say a file originally was split into 4 parts. When transferred to another system, that system breaks it into even smaller parts. Under normal circumstances, UUD would be unable to decode such parts. However, with the -C option, it can. To ensure UUD handles the files correctly, you must combine the files into a single file IN CORRECT ORDER!! For more information, see the section entitled COMBINING AOL MAIL GATEWAY SPLIT FILES. This section applies to non-AOL users as well. -k This installs the "break out" key (Control-Break). Its very useful when you find that UUD hangs on certain files. Filenames: This can include as many files as you like, all which can take wildcards. You could do: UUD dog*.* cat*.* bird*.* cow*.* UUD will gather up all the files that match the file specifications, and then, according to switches, alphabatize or leave them alone. [output directory]: Internally, all UUD does with this is convert it into a -d argument. Refer to that argument for more info. The Configuration File ---------------------- The configuration file is a simple means of saving defaults that UUD can later recall. To create one, or edit the one provided with UUD, all you have to do is seperate each new command with a return. Once completed and to your satisfaction, you MUST PLACE "UUD.CFG" ALONG THE PATH, or UUD WILL NOT FIND IT. Here's an example UUD.CFG: -v -o -dd:\decodes By creating this file, UUD will automatically activate Verbose Mode, Overwrite Mode, and decode all files to the directory "D:\DECODES". If, at any time you want to disable some of these options, simply reuse that command on the command line when using UUD. Example using the UUD.CFG mentioned above: UUD -v -d *.* This command would disable verbose mode and disable the output directory while leaving Overwrite on. You can view what options are on at any time by just doing a "UUD /?". REGISTRATION of UUD ------------------- Think back.. Way back.. To the point in time where you were a 16 year old kid in High School. Remember how much money meant to you? Now think about me. I currently am 16 and, like you at that time, value money A LOT. That's why I'm placing this program in here as SHAREWARE. Unlike all those big guys who charge 30-40 buckaroos for a simple program, I'm asking for only a measly 18 that's EIGHTteen dollars. Actually, to play it fair for all those guys who are still using Version 1.2x, I'll charge ya only 8 dollars until August 15th. If you liked this program, I would really REALLY appreciate it if you payed the Registration fee. If you can't afford to pay the registration fee, let me know you exist, and I'll send it to you EMAIL ONLY free. I'm basing this policy on your HONESTY. WHAT DO I GET WHEN I REGISTER??!! --------------------------------- Well, first of all and most importantly, you get my never ending thanks :). I would be so grateful that if I were able to fly out to wherever you live, I'd give you a big smack on the cheek and ask you if you had a NICE, TEENage DAUGHTER that doesn't currently have a boyfriend.. Just kidding! (although that would be nice). Seriously, I'll send you the registered version either by EMAIL or SNAIL MAIL whichever you choose. You'd get FREE upgrades to the program (as well as UUE, a UUENCODER, when I finish it) for as long as I update this thing. You would also have the option to BETA test for me if you want. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on the upcoming versions! Upgrades to registered users will come through EMAIL only. HOW DO I REGISTER??!! --------------------- If you have a printer, print the file "ORDER.DOC" If you don't have a printer - First, you would make a check or money order out to "Jeff Lee". Then, you would send that to: Carrot Utilities 15284 Karl Ave Los Gatos, CA 95030 Lastly, Be sure to specify either EMAIL or SNAIL MAIL. Whatever it is, be sure to include your NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL ACCOUNT, and DISK SIZE. SHAREWARE CATALOGS ------------------ I'd be glad for any and all Shareware Catalogs to incorporate this program into their catalog or software library of some sort. I'm not asking any money from you, but I AM asking you to TELL ME if you do include this in a catalog. You need my written permission to encorporate UUD into your product line. After all, at 16 I'm looking for things to stick on my Resume, and having a piece of software published (kinda) would be a very unique thing! REPORTING BUGS -------------- This is a very important asset to me, especially if you find that UUD decoded a file incorrectly (I'm most worried about SPLIT files). I need people to tell me if they encounter any misspellings, bugs, etc. in the program. If possible, send me the files you were trying to DECODE. Send them to me at the EMAIL addresses that appear in the next section. Not only will I be deeply gratified (almost as much as you paying the registration fee), but I'll be extremely happy as well. WHERE CAN I UPLOAD PROBLEM FILES -------------------------------- 1) You can upload them to my FTP site at FTP.NETCOM.COM in the pub/ts/tsngonzo/incoming directory. 2) You can attach them to a EMAIL message and send it to me THROUGH MY NETCOM ACCOUNT. WHERE TO REACH THE AUTHOR ------------------------- Well, I'm basically everywhere: America On-line: TSNGonzo <----2nd preferred Compuserve: 70740,2337 <----Least preferred Internet: TSNGonzo@Netcom.com <----Preferred TROUBLESHOOTING AND EVERYDAY QUESTIONS -------------------------------------- When I try to run UUD from the program manager, all that happens is the screen flashes and then UUD returns me back to windows Well, first of all, UUD is not a Windows program. It requires the use of arguments passed on the command line. Read this manual or type in just 'UUD' while in DOS or a DOS box. UUD continues to tell me that I have a "short file". Most likely this means that you have not downloaded the complete UUEncoded file. All UUEncoded files should end with an 'end' line. How do I combine files split by the AOL Gateway? Read the section entitled "Combining AOL Gateway Mail Split Files". What if the file I download has been split more than once? There is more than one numbering scheme present in the file. Read the section entitled "Combing AOL Gateway Mail Split Files". Yes, this section applies to you as well. The Computer is talking to me now! How'd that happen.. I know i'm a good programmer.. I'm not THAT good. Check to make sure your keyboard is plugged in backward so that the oscillating chip within the computer can put the demons away. Why doesn't UUD fax anything? Try putting the sheet of paper you want to fax up to the monitor. Make sure the monitor has plenty of static so the paper will stick! What's wrong with the author? Right now, he's in deep mourning over the cancellation of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Since Voyager is on, he's a little better. Your registration would make him feel ALOT better though! DISCLAIMER ---------- Ok.. I don't want anyone sueing me because this program messed them bad or anything. Although this program has been tested thorougly by the author, I make no guarantee it will work correctly on all programs. If it messes you up, TOUGH - that's your problem. All in all, I hope this program isn't TOO hard to learn. I tried to make it as simple as possible. BYE!! REMEMBER TO REGISTER THIS PROGRAM!!