riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (05/22/84)
Some time back, someone suggested that a nice feature to add to vnews
would be the display of a short description of each newsgroup as it
comes up. I've made the necessary changes to visual.c to do this; in
addition, I've written a shell script to automatically grab the
newsgroup description list posted regularly to net.news.group by Adam
Buchsbaum (research!alb) and put it where vnews can get at it.
Here are the sources. Cut at the dotted line and enjoy!
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle
...........................< cut here >..............................
: This is a shar archive. Extract with sh, not csh.
echo x - README.ngd
cat > README.ngd << '!Funky!Stuff!'
This file describes how to install the "newsgroup description" addition
to vnews. You will need the following files:
README.ngd This file.
grabngd.sh The shell script used to "grab" the current newsgroup
descriptions as they are appear in net.news.group.
ngdesc A sample netwide newsgroup description file.
ngdesc.local A sample local newsgroup description file.
visual.c.diff Diffs to visual.c.
You should follow these steps:
-- If necessary, change the NGDESC and NGDLOCAL variables in grabngd.sh and
visual.c.diff to reflect the news library directory on your system.
(The default is /usr/local/lib/news.)
-- Make the changes to visual.c described in visual.c.diff.
-- Modify ngdesc.local to reflect the local newsgroups used at your site.
(This will probably vary radically from the version provided here.)
-- Prepend ngdesc.local to ngdesc and copy both files to the news library
directory; ngdesc should be installed with mode 0664 (or whatever will
make it writable by the grabngd shell script). Similarly, install
grabngd.sh as "grabngd" with mode 0775 in the news library directory.
(You may want to modify your makefile to do this for you.)
-- Make the one-line modification to your sys file as described in
grabngd.sh.
-- Recompile vnews using the modified visual.c, try it out, and install the
binary.
Please report problems, bugs, etc. to:
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle
!Funky!Stuff!
echo x - grabngd.sh
cat > grabngd.sh << '!Funky!Stuff!'
#! /bin/sh
#
# grabngd Prentiss Riddle (ut-sally!riddle) 840521
#
# Shell script to "grab" the newsgroup descriptions posted monthly
# to net.news.group by Adam Buchsbaum (research!alb) and install them
# where vnews can read them.
#
# This shell script should be activated by the following line in your
# sys file:
#
# dummy-ngd:net.news.group:A:/usr/local/lib/news/grabngd
#
# Note that the pathname in the sys file must agree with the directory
# where this file is installed. In addition, the definition of $NGDESC
# below must agree with that in visual.c.
#
# The optional file $NGDLOCAL may contain definitions of local newsgroups
# (as well as descriptions which override those in Buchsbaum's list).
# Mail is sent to users listed in $INFORM whenever installation is
# successful.
#
NGDESC= /usr/local/lib/news/ngdesc
NGDLOCAL= /usr/local/lib/news/ngdesc.local
INFORM= "usenet"
# This is ugly, but it works: decode the "A" news header.
read site
read groups
read path
read date
read title
if test "$title" != 'List of Active Newsgroups'; then
exit
fi
cat </dev/null > $NGDESC
if test -f $NGDLOCAL; then
echo "# Local newsgroup descriptions:" >>$NGDESC
cat $NGDLOCAL >> $NGDESC
echo '#' >>$NGDESC
fi
echo '# Newsgroup description list posted to net.news.group' >>$NGDESC
echo '# by Adam L. Buchsbaum (research!alb):' >>$NGDESC
sed -e '1,/^Newsgroup Description$/d
/^-----------------------------*$/d
/^--------------------$/,$d' >> $NGDESC
echo 'Subject: New newsgroup description file installed
A new newsgroup description list has been installed
in '"$NGDESC"' .
A-format file header:
'"$site"'
'"$groups"'
'"$path"'
'"$date"'
'"$title"'
' | /bin/mail $INFORM
!Funky!Stuff!
echo x - ngdesc
cat > ngdesc << '!Funky!Stuff!'
#
# Newsgroup description list posted to net.news.group
# by Adam L. Buchsbaum (research!alb):
#
# [This was current as of 21 May 1984 -- you may want to bring it
# up to date before you install it.]
#
net.abortion All sorts of discussions on abortion.
net.adm.site Automatic maintenance of the USENET directory.
Currently experimental.
net.ai Artificial intelligence.
net.analog Analog design developments, ideas, and components.
net.announce General announcements of interest to all.
Moderated (Mark Horton -- cbosgd!announce)
net.announce.newusers Subgroup for new users. Monthly postings, etc.
Moderated (Mark Horton -- cbosgd!announce)
net.arch Computer architecture.
net.astro Astronomy.
net.astro.expert Subgroup for experts in astronomy.
net.audio High fidelity audio.
net.auto Automobiles and automotive products and laws.
net.aviation Aviation rules, means, and methods.
net.bicycle Bicycles and related products and laws.
net.bio Biology and related sciences.
net.books Books of all genres, shapes, and sizes.
net.bugs General bug reports and fixes.
net.bugs.2bsd Subgroup for UNIX* version 2BSD related bugs.
net.bugs.4bsd Subgroup for UNIX version 4BSD related bugs.
net.bugs.usg Subgroup for USG (System III, V, etc.) bugs.
net.bugs.uucp Subgroup for UUCP related bugs.
net.bugs.v7 Subgroup for UNIX V7 related bugs.
net.chess Chess and computer chess.
net.cog-eng Cognitive engineering.
net.college College, college activities, campus life, etc.
net.columbia The space shuttle and the STS program.
net.comics The funnies, old and new.
net.consumers Consumer interests, product reviews, etc.
net.cooks Food, cooking, cookbooks, and recipes.
net.crypt Different methods of data en/decryption.
net.cse Computer science education.
net.cycle Motorcycles and related products and laws.
net.dcom Data communications hardware and software.
net.decus DEC* User's Society newsgroup.
net.emacs EMACS editors of different flavors.
net.eunice The SRI Eunice system.
net.flame For flaming on any topic.
net.followup Followups to articles in net.general.
net.games Games and computer games.
net.games.emp Subgroup for Empire.
net.games.frp Subgroup for Fantasy Role Playing games.
net.games.go Subgroup for Go.
net.games.pbm Subgroup for Play by Mail games.
net.games.rogue Subgroup for Rogue.
net.games.trivia Subgroup for trivia.
net.games.video Subgroup for video games.
net.garden Gardening, methods and results.
net.general Important and timely announcements of interest to all.
net.graphics Computer graphics, art, and animation.
net.ham-radio Amateur Radio practices, contests, events, rules, etc.
net.info-terms All sorts of terminals.
net.invest Investments and the handling of money.
net.jobs Job announcements, requests, etc.
net.jokes Jokes and the like. May be slightly offensive.
net.jokes.d Subgroup for discussions on the content
of submissions to net.jokes.
net.kids Children, their behavior and activities.
net.lan Local area network hardware and software.
net.lang Different computer languages.
net.lang.ada Subgroup for Ada*.
net.lang.apl Subgroup for APL.
net.lang.c Subgroup for C.
net.lang.f77 Subgroup for FORTRAN.
net.lang.forth Subgroup for Forth.
net.lang.lisp Subgroup for LISP.
net.lang.mod2 Subgroup for Modula-2.
net.lang.pascal Subgroup for Pascal.
net.lang.prolog Subgroup for PROLOG.
net.lang.st80 Subgroup for Smalltalk 80.
net.legal Legalities and the ethics of law.
net.lsi Large scale integrated circuits.
net.mag Magazine summaries, tables of contents, etc.
net.mail Proposed new mail/network standards.
net.mail.headers Subgroup for the ARPA header-people list.
net.mail.msggroup Subgroup for the ARPA MsgGroup list.
net.math Mathematical discussions and puzzles.
net.med Medicine and its related products and regulations.
net.micro Micro computers of all kinds.
net.micro.16k Subgroup for 16k's.
net.micro.432 Subgroup for 432's.
net.micro.6809 Subgroup for 6809's.
net.micro.68k Subgroup for 68k's.
net.micro.apple Subgroup for Apple's.
net.micro.atari Subgroup for Atari's.
net.micro.cbm Subgroup for Commodore's.
net.micro.cpm Subgroup for the CP/M operating system.
net.micro.hp Subgroup for Hewlett/Packard's.
net.micro.pc Subgroup for IBM personal computers.
net.micro.trs-80 Subgroup for TRS-80's.
net.micro.zx Subgroup for zx's.
net.misc Miscellaneous discussions too short lived for
their own groups.
net.motss Issues pertaining to homosexuality.
net.movies Reviews and discussions of movies.
net.movies.sw Subgroup for the Star Wars saga(s).
net.music Music lovers' group.
net.music.classical Subgroup for classical music.
net.net-people Announcements, requests, pointers, etc. concerning
people on the net.
net.news Discussions of USENET itself.
net.news.adm Subgroup for news administrators.
net.news.b Subgroup for B news software.
net.news.config Subgroup for posting of computer down times
and network interruptions.
net.news.group Subgroup for discussions and lists of
newsgroups.
net.news.map Subgroup for maps.
net.news.newsite Subgroup for new site announcements.
net.news.sa Subgroup for system administrators.
net.nlang Natural languages, cultures, heritages, etc.
net.nlang.celts Subgroup for Celtics.
net.nlang.greek Subgroup for Greeks.
net.notes Notesfile software from the University of Illinois.
net.origins Evolution versus creationism (hot).
net.periphs Peripheral devices.
net.pets Pets, pet care, and household animals in general.
net.philosophy Philosophical discussions.
net.physics Physical laws, properties, etc.
net.poems For the posting of poems.
net.politics Political discussions. Could get hot.
net.puzzle Puzzles, problems, and quizzes.
net.railroad Real and model train fans' newsgroup.
net.rec Recreational/participant sports.
net.rec.birds Subgroup for bird watching.
net.rec.boat Subgroup for boating.
net.rec.bridge Subgroup for bridge.
net.rec.caves Subgroup for caving.
net.rec.coins Subgroup for coin collecting.
net.rec.disc Subgroup for disc activities.
net.rec.nude Subgroup for naturalist/nudist activities.
net.rec.photo Subgroup for photography.
net.rec.scuba Subgroup for SCUBA diving.
net.rec.ski Subgroup for skiing.
net.rec.skydive Subgroup for skydiving.
net.rec.wood Subgroup for woodworking.
net.religion Religious, ethical, and moral implications of actions.
net.religion.jewish Subgroup for Judaism.
net.research Research and computer research.
net.roots Genealogical matters.
net.rumor For the posting of rumors.
net.sf-lovers Science fiction lovers' newsgroup.
net.singles Newsgroup for single people, their activities, etc.
net.social Like net.singles, but for everyone.
net.sources For the posting of software packages.
net.space Space, space programs, space related research, etc.
net.sport Spectator sports.
net.sport.baseball Subgroup for baseball.
net.sport.football Subgroup for football.
net.sport.hockey Subgroup for hockey.
net.sport.hoops Subgroup for basketball.
net.startrek Star Trek, the TV show and the movies.
net.std All sorts of standards.
net.suicide Suicide, its causes and effects (!).
net.taxes Tax laws and advice.
net.test For testing of network software. Very boring.
net.text Text processing.
net.travel Traveling all over the world.
net.tv The boob tube, its history, and past and current shows.
net.tv.drwho Subgroup for Dr. Who.
net.tv.soaps Subgroup for soap operas.
net.unix UNIX neophytes group.
net.unix-wizards Discussions, bug reports, and fixes on and
for UNIX. Not for the weak of heart.
net.usenix USENIX Association events and announcements.
net.usoft Universal software packages.
net.veg Vegetarians.
net.video Video and video components.
net.vvs The Vortex Video System for digitized video images.
net.wanted Requests for things that are needed, e.g. device
drivers, information, etc.
net.wines Wines and spirits.
net.wobegon "The Prairie Home Companion" radio show.
net.women Women's rights, discrimination, etc.
net.women.only Postings by women only (read by all).
net.works Assorted workstations.
net.works.apollo Subgroup for Apollo's.
fa.arms-d Arms discussion digest.
fa.arpa-bboard ARPANET bulletin board.
fa.bitgraph The BBN bitgraph terminal.
fa.digest-p Digest-people digest.
fa.editor-p Editor-people digest.
fa.energy Energy programs, conservation, etc.
fa.human-nets Computer aided communications digest.
fa.info-terms All sorts of terminals.
fa.info-vax DEC's VAX* line of computers.
fa.info-vlsi Very large scale integrated circuits.
fa.laser-lovers Laser printers, hardware and software.
fa.poli-sci Politics and/versus science.
fa.railroad Real and model train fans' newsgroup.
fa.sf-lovers Science fiction lovers' digest.
fa.tcp-ip TCP and IP network protocols.
fa.telecom Telecommunications digest.
fa.teletext Teletext digest.
mod.ber Summaries of discussions from other groups.
Brian Redman -- harpo!ber
!Funky!Stuff!
echo x - ngdesc.local
cat > ngdesc.local << '!Funky!Stuff!'
# Sample local newsgroup description file -- current on ut-sally as
# of 21 May 1984:
#
system Important messages about system configuration or policy.
general Messages of interest to all users on this system.
ut.general Messages of interest to all users at UT.
ut.r20bboard Messages forwarded from the R20 bulletin board.
(Note: the link does not work in the opposite direction!)
ut.followup Followups to ut.general
ut.flame Flames, gripes, complaints and arguments related to UT.
ut.mail Mail software at UT.
ut.stardate Scripts from the astronomy department's radio show "Stardate".
ut.text Text processing at UT.
ut.help.general A self-help forum for all Unix* users on campus.
ut.help.followup Followups to ut.help.general
austin.general Messages of interest to all in Austin.
austin.followup Followups to austin.general
houston.general Messages of interest to all in Houston.
tx.general Messages of interest to all in Texas.
tx.followup Followups to tx.general
newshelp How to use Usenet.
to.cyb-eng For testing the news link to cyb-eng.
to.dummy For testing the news link to ???
to.kpno For testing the news link to kpno.
to.seismo For testing the news link to seismo.
to.shell For testing the news link to shell.
to.ut-ngp For testing the news link to ut-ngp.
to.ut-ratliff For testing the news link to ut-ratliff.
to.ut-sally For testing the news link to ut-sally.
to.utmbvax For testing the news link to utmbvax.
test For testing the news software on this system.
ut.test For testing the news software at UT.
control Control messages used by the news software.
junk Articles posted to illegal newsgroups.
info.kermit Gatewayed one-way from the ARPA Internet INFO-KERMIT list.
The info distribution is similar to the ut distribution.
info.mac Gatewayed one-way from the ARPA Internet INFO-MAC list.
The info distribution is similar to the ut distribution.
info.nets Gatewayed one-way from the ARPA Internet INFO-NETS list.
The info distribution is similar to the ut distribution.
!Funky!Stuff!
echo x - visual.c.diff
cat > visual.c.diff << '!Funky!Stuff!'
*** visual.c.old Mon Apr 30 11:53:18 1984
--- visual.c Mon May 14 12:58:12 1984
***************
*** 56,61
* the "r" or "f" commands.
*/
#define STATTOP
#ifdef USG
#include <termio.h>
--- 56,69 -----
* the "r" or "f" commands.
*/
+ /*
+ * Changes made to visual.c by Prentiss Riddle (ut-sally!riddle) 840510:
+ *
+ * Addition of a newsgroup description to be printed along with the
+ * newsgroup name. This consisted of some small modifications to
+ * "fmthdr()" and the addition of "fmtdesc()" and the file "NGDESC".
+ */
+
#define STATTOP
#ifdef USG
#include <termio.h>
***************
*** 117,122
#ifndef VHELP
#define VHELP "/usr/local/lib/news/vnews.help"
#endif
--- 125,133 -----
#ifndef VHELP
#define VHELP "/usr/local/lib/news/vnews.help"
#endif
+ #ifndef NGDESC
+ #define NGDESC "/usr/local/lib/news/ngdesc" /*PASR 840418*/
+ #endif
***************
*** 1165,1170
if (!hflag) {
sprintf(linebuf, "Newsgroup %s", groupdir); tfappend(linebuf);
tfappend("");
}
}
hdrstart = lastlin;
--- 1176,1182 -----
if (!hflag) {
sprintf(linebuf, "Newsgroup %s", groupdir); tfappend(linebuf);
tfappend("");
+ fmtdesc(groupdir); /*PASR 840418*/
}
}
hdrstart = lastlin;
***************
*** 1178,1183
tfappend("");
hdrend = lastlin;
}
--- 1190,1308 -----
tfappend("");
hdrend = lastlin;
}
+
+
+
+
+ /*
+ * format description of next newsgroup
+ */
+ fmtdesc(groupdir) /* PASR 840510 */
+ char *groupdir;
+
+ #define NGDINDENT 10 /* number of characters to indent group descriptions */
+ {
+ FILE *groupf;
+ register
+ int i;
+ register
+ char *ngdp; /* pointer into ngdbuf */
+ char ngdbuf[BUFLEN]; /* group description file line buffer */
+ char block1[BUFLEN]; /* first block of text on line */
+ char block2[BUFLEN]; /* second block of text on line */
+ int match;
+
+ /*
+ * The format of the NGDESC file was chosen so that the list of active
+ * newsgroups posted regularly to net.news.group by Adam Buchsbaum
+ * (research!alb) could be used as a basis for it. Briefly, the format
+ * can be described as follows:
+ *
+ * -- Blank lines and lines beginning with '#' are ignored.
+ * -- An entry must begin with a line consisting of two blocks of text:
+ * [<tabs>] <newsgroup> <tabs> <description> <newline>
+ * -- An entry may include any number of continuation lines, each
+ * consisting of a single block of text:
+ * [<tabs>] <description> <newline>
+ */
+
+ if ((groupf = fopen(NGDESC, "r")) == NULL)
+ return;
+
+ /* main loop -- look through description file */
+ match = 0;
+ do {
+ if (fgets (ngdbuf, BUFLEN, groupf) == NULL) {
+ fclose (groupf);
+ return;
+ }
+ /* skip initial white space */
+ ngdp = (char *)ngdbuf;
+ while (*ngdp == '\t')
+ ++ngdp;
+ /* ignore blank lines and comments */
+ if (ngdbuf[0] != '#' && *ngdp != '\n') {
+ /* get the first block of text */
+ for (i = 0; *ngdp != '\t' && *ngdp != '\n'; ++ngdp)
+ block1[i++] = *ngdp;
+ block1[i] = '\0';
+ /* if we're not at the end of the line, we've */
+ /* found a newsgroup name. */
+ if (*ngdp == '\t')
+ /* check for match */
+ match = (strcmp(block1, groupdir) == 0);
+ }
+ } while (!match);
+
+ /* matching group found -- skip to the beginning of the description */
+ while (*ngdp == '\t')
+ ngdp++ ;
+ /* copy the description, indenting and eliminating newline */
+ for (i=0; i < NGDINDENT; ++i)
+ block2[i] = ' ';
+ while (*ngdp != '\n' && *ngdp != '\0') {
+ block2[i++] = *ngdp;
+ ngdp++;
+ }
+ block2[i] = '\0';
+ /* output the description line */
+ tfappend ( block2 );
+
+ /* look for continuation lines */
+ match = 1;
+ do {
+ if (fgets (ngdbuf, BUFLEN, groupf) == NULL)
+ match = 0;
+ else {
+ /* skip initial white space. */
+ ngdp = (char *)ngdbuf;
+ while (*ngdp == '\t')
+ ++ngdp;
+ if (ngdbuf[0] != '#' && *ngdp != '\n') {
+ /* indent and grab the first block of text */
+ for (i=0; i<NGDINDENT; ++i)
+ block1[i] = ' ';
+ while (*ngdp != '\t' && *ngdp != '\n') {
+ block1[i++] = *ngdp;
+ ngdp++;
+ }
+ block1[i] = '\0';
+ /* if there is no second block, we have */
+ /* found a description continuation line */
+ if (*ngdp == '\n')
+ /* output it */
+ tfappend ( block1 );
+ else
+ match = 0;
+ }
+ }
+ } while (match);
+
+ tfappend ("");
+
+ fclose (groupf);
+ } /* PASR 840510 */
+
!Funky!Stuff!riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (05/22/84)
Sigh. In the age-old Usenet tradition, within minutes of posting to net.sources I noticed a bug. The three lines in grabngd.sh which read: << NGDESC= /usr/local/lib/news/ngdesc << NGDLOCAL= /usr/local/lib/news/ngdesc.local << INFORM= "usenet" should be changed to read: >> NGDESC=/usr/local/lib/news/ngdesc >> NGDLOCAL=/usr/local/lib/news/ngdesc.local >> INFORM="usenet" In other words, I ran afoul of the Bourne shell's dislike of blanks in assignments. As you may have gathered, I goofed in the testing of the "grabngd" shell script -- since the script depends on an event which only occurs every two weeks, it's not the easiest thing to test. I thought that I had run the posted version of grabngd.sh through its paces as best I could, but obviously I hadn't. So please, watch for bugs in it and let me know if you find any. I'll post a corrected version if necessary as problems arise. In the meantime, the hack to vnews itself is quite usable without the automatic description grabber. It's been running here on ut-sally with no complaints for weeks. Shamefacedly yours, --- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.") --- {ihnp4,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle