[comp.sys.apple] Proline versus Fredmail

dave@oldcolo.UUCP (Dave Hughes) (02/05/90)

Could someone post some basic information comparing the value
of Proline with Fredmail for Apple IIe BBS systems capable
of 'talking to' Unix/uucp/netnews systems.

I am in contact with those who know and use Fredmail, but
learned today that a "Morgan Davis" and Proline as an Apple
BBS could exchange traffic with a unix system.

If this information is not of general interest please e-mail
me 'dave@oldcolo.uucp'.

rlw@ttardis.UUCP (Ron Wilson) (02/07/90)

In article <[1862]apple@oldcolo.UUCP>, dave@oldcolo.UUCP (Dave Hughes) writes:
>
>Could someone post some basic information comparing the value
>of Proline with Fredmail for Apple IIe BBS systems capable
>of 'talking to' Unix/uucp/netnews systems.
>
>I am in contact with those who know and use Fredmail, but
>learned today that a "Morgan Davis" and Proline as an Apple
>BBS could exchange traffic with a unix system.

While I don't really know much about Proline, I HAVE written the
software necessary for a UNIX system to exchange mail and news
with a Proline system.

There isn't that much to my software - most of it involves running
a handshaking protocol around a basic Xmodem file transfer (Proline
doesn't know uucp) and converting between using LF and CR for line
termination in text files.

The remainder of my UNIX <-> Proline software involved modifying a
clone of /bin/mail (which I got from a comp.sources archive) to
be able to invoke my Proline conterpart to uux.

Also, I modified the mailer to be able to pipe a message into rnews
(to handle processing of bulletin board messages from a Proline system).

- Ron Wilson
rlw@ttardis
sharkey!cfctech!ttardis!rlw
uunet!edsews.eds.com!rel!ttardis!rlw

mrapple@quack.UUCP (Nick Sayer) (02/08/90)

dave@oldcolo.UUCP (Dave Hughes) writes:

>Could someone post some basic information comparing the value
>of Proline with Fredmail for Apple IIe BBS systems capable
>of 'talking to' Unix/uucp/netnews systems.

I wrote CMS, which is the original program Fredmail came
from. It is not impossible to get Fredmail to talk to
unix, but it is for the current version. When you first
call a CMS (or Fredmail), it will wait for a character.
One character in particular will tell CMS to go into the
mail transfer mode. Unless you can make a unix system react
and login on a single character (not likely), it won't go.
Similarly, you'd have to teach a unix box to dial out, send
this single character, then get into a file transfer mode.
That's not too tough, but the unix system has to do the
calling. In a new version of CMS, it may be possible
to add "chat scripts" like UUCP, but there has been insufficient
interest. Another problem is that the source for CMS.OBJ was on
my hard drive when it crashed. I have backups, but Apple's
"BACKUP ][" program won't restore what it backed up (GRRRRRRRR!!!!).

Fredmail/CMS's mail transfer is based on xmodem files back and
forth. If anyone wants the details, just ask and I'll mail it
out. There is password security to keep people from sending garbage
into a CMS's mail end and make a mess.

If I am not mistaken, Morgan managed to make a mini uucp/uux
implementation for ProLine, which of course makes it very
easy for ProLine to talk to unix systems. ProLine people would
know more about this than I would.
-- 
Nick Sayer  -  The Goose Egg public unix  -  209-952-5347 (Telebit)
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