raymond@math.berkeley.edu (Raymond Chen) (03/07/90)
For those of you who missed the FAQ file and for those of you who don't have perl (and can't use my "lookup" program to hunt down programs in the SIMTEL20 index), I've written a mail server just for you. (Yes, I wrote it all by my lonesome.) To access the FAQ server, send a piece of email with the subject "Command" to raymond@math.berkeley.edu. The body of the message may contain any of the following commands: path your-return-address [optional] The server can usually figure out the correct return address so you don't need this line unless your first try didn't work. send filename Sends the latest version of the specified file. Currently, the only file available is faq.csip, namely the Frequently Asked Questions for comp.sys.ibm.pc. lookup regexp Looks in the SIMTEL20 directory index for any file whose filename or description matches the regular expression. The output is mailed to you. end Marks the end of your mail. If you leave this off, the server will get confused. So don't leave it off. Keep the command left-justified and don't put control characters (e.g., tabs) in the message. Note that the account is my regular account, so please, be gentle. It's the only account I've got. Sample usage from a UNIX machine: Suppose I want the latest copy of the FAQ file and want to see if SIMTEL20 has any programs that let me redirect printer output to a file. % mail raymond@math.berkeley.edu Subject: Command send faq.csip lookup printer.*file end ^D After a few hours, I receive two pieces of mail. One contains the FAQ file, the other contains the output of my lookup request. Isn't that simple? Now you have no excuse for not looking in either the FAQ file or the SIMTEL20 index. Warning: I keep the index as up-to-date as I can, but I make no guarantees. -- raymond@math.berkeley.edu Maintainer of the csip Frequently Asked Questions
raymond@math.berkeley.edu (Raymond Chen) (03/10/90)
[I've decided to make this a weekly posting. Comments welcome. This one is coming out sooner than usual because my first message apparently didn't emphasize key points enough.] [@(#)help 1.2, last update: 3/8/90] To access the FAQ server, send a piece of email with the subject "Command" to raymond@math.berkeley.edu. The body of the message may contain any of the following commands: path your-return-address [optional] Bang-style addresses (based at uunet) and Internet-style addresses are acceptable. The server can usually figure out the correct return address, provided your "From:" line conforms to RFC 1036 (Standard for Interchange of USENET Messages). send filename Sends the latest version of the specified file. Files available include: help This file faq.csip Frequently Asked Questions for comp.sys.ibm.pc. gateway John Chew's Inter-Network Mail Guide (Describes how to send mail to different networks) email Negotiating paths to get email through. old.questions Questions previously asked on comp.sys.ibm.pc and related newsgroups. (Still embryonic) I do *not* have any of SIMTEL's files. To get them, send mail to one of the list servers listed in faq.csip. lookup regexp Looks in the SIMTEL20 directory index for any file whose filename or description matches the grep-style regular expression (**not** DOS wildcards!) If you don't know what regular expressions are, just type in a fixed string (e.g., "lookup modem"). The search is not case-sensitive. If the lookup generates more than 100 matches, the output will be truncated. If you want the whole list, ftp it from SIMTEL20. Lookup regexp Same as above, except the search is case-sensitive. end Marks the end of your mail. If you leave this off, the server might get confused. So don't leave it off. Note that the account is my regular account, so please, be gentle. It's the only account I've got. Sample usage from a UNIX machine: Suppose I want the latest copy of the FAQ file and want to see if SIMTEL20 has any programs that let me redirect printer output to a file. % mail raymond@math.berkeley.edu Subject: Command send faq.csip lookup printer.*file end ^D After a few hours, I receive two pieces of mail. One contains the FAQ file, the other contains the output of my lookup request. -- raymond@math.berkeley.edu Maintainer of the csip Frequently Asked Questions
raymond@hilbert.berkeley.edu (Raymond Chen) (03/17/90)
[@(#)help 1.9, last update: 3/11/90] To access the FAQ server, send a piece of email with the subject "Command" to raymond@math.berkeley.edu. The body of the message may contain any of the following commands: path your-return-address [optional] Bang-style addresses (based at any major node) and domain-style addresses are acceptable. If you don't get a response, it might be because the reply bounced. Give a better path here. send filename Sends the latest version of the specified file. Files available include: help This file faq.csip Frequently Asked Questions for comp.sys.ibm.pc. faq.more More questions (and answers) books A bibliography, with commentary cache All about disk caches comm Modems, serial ports, and how to get UUCP for the PC contact Mostly BSS phone numbers for company-run BBS's copyright Jordan Breslow's classic article on copyrights email Negotiating paths to get email through. ftp.list A partial list of ftp sites. gateway John Chew's Inter-Network Mail Guide (Describes how to send mail to different networks) gif.sites A list of sites which have GIF files for ftp. memory A description of extended/expanded memory. msdos.tech Some details of the MS-DOS file system. nobreak Disabling Ctrl-Break in your AUTOEXEC.BAT old.questions Questions previously asked on comp.sys.ibm.pc and related newsgroups. stupidq Stupid questions (with snappy answers) x.windows Sources for X windows for the IBM PC I do *not* have any of SIMTEL's files. To get them, send mail to one of the list servers listed in faq.csip. lookup word Looks in SIMTEL20's MS-DOS directory index for any file whose filename or description contains the word you supply. The search is not case-sensitive. Note to UN*X hackers: It's actually interpreted as a regular expression, so you can use egrep-style regexps to perform really sophisticated searches. If the lookup generates more than 100 matches, the output will be truncated. If you want the whole list, ftp it from SIMTEL20. Lookup word Same as above, but the search is case-sensitive. end Marks the end of your mail. If you leave this off, the server might get confused. So don't leave it off. Note that the account is my regular account, so please, be gentle. It's the only account I've got. Try to limit yourself to at most one request per day. That way there will be some CPU cycles left over for me to get my own work done. Sample usage from a UNIX machine: Suppose I want the latest copy of the FAQ file and want to see if SIMTEL20 has any programs that let me redirect printer output to a file, and programs related to Kermit. % mail raymond@math.berkeley.edu Subject: Command send faq.csip lookup printer.*file lookup kermit end ^D Note that the first "lookup" involved a regular expression. Regular expressions are for experts only. If you're not an expert, restrict your "lookup" to a word consisting solely of letters and digits. -- raymond@math.berkeley.edu Maintainer of the csip Frequently Asked Questions
raymond@math.berkeley.edu (Raymond Chen) (03/24/90)
[Note to those following along at home: The syntax of the "lookup" command has changed radically. I have added comp.sys.ibm.pc.programmer because it seems that lots of "Where can I get a program to..." requests are getting posted there instead of to comp.sys.ibm.pc.] [@(#)help 1.16, last update: 3/23/90] To access the FAQ server, send a piece of email with the subject "Command" to raymond@math.berkeley.edu. That's a capital "C" and a lowercase "ommand". (If you mess it up, you will not receive a reply.) The body of the message may contain any of the following commands: path your-return-address [optional] Bang-style addresses (based at any major node) and domain-style addresses are acceptable. If you don't get a response, it might be because the reply bounced. Give a better path here. send filename Sends the latest version of the specified file. For a directory listing, do a `send directory'. lookup search-list Looks in SIMTEL20's MS-DOS directory index for any file whose filename or description matches the search-list you supply. A search-list consists of one or more search strings enclosed by slashes, separated by && or || (meaning "and" and "or", of course) with parentheses to specify grouping. ! negates a search string. The search is case-sensitive, unless the letter "i" immediately follows the closing slash. "i" stands for "ignore case". Example Searches for lookup /modem/i The word "modem" in upper or lowercase. lookup /VGA/ The word "VGA" in uppercase. lookup /printer/i&&/file/i The word "printer" and "file" simultaneously, regardless of case. lookup /modem/i||/kermit/i Either the word "modem" or "kermit" in upper or lowercase. lookup /modem/i && !/Telix/ Modem things, but not Telix lookup (/screen/i || /monitor/i) && (/save/i || /blank/i) Explained below. The third example shows how you can combine searches to narrow down the scope of your search. It would show you only programs whose descriptions contain both the words "printer" and "file". The fourth example shows how you can use a single "lookup" to search for several different things at once. It is equivalent to two separate lookups lookup /modem/i lookup /kermit/i but it'll use less CPU time. The last example is how I would search for a screen blanker. It looks for any program whose description contains either the word "screen" or "monitor", and which also contains either the word "save" or "blank". So descriptions like "blanks the screen" or "saves your monitor" will be found. Note to UN*X hackers: The things inside slashes are actually interpreted as regular expressions, so you can use egrep-style regexps to perform really sophisticated searches. If the lookup generates more than 100 matches, the output will be truncated. If you want the whole list, ftp it from SIMTEL20. end Marks the end of your mail. Stick this on the end to prevent the server from choking on your signature. Better yet, don't send a signature. Note that the account is my regular account, so please, be gentle. It's the only account I've got. Due to the large number of CPU cycles eaten up by the mail server, I will soon be limiting people to one request per day. Sample usage from a UNIX machine: Suppose I want the latest copy of the FAQ file and want to see if SIMTEL20 has any programs that let me redirect printer output to a file. % mail -s Command raymond@math.berkeley.edu send faq.csip lookup /printer/i&&/file/i end ^D I repeat: The subject of your mail must be the word "Command", capital C, lowercase "ommand", no quotation marks, no "Re:" in front, just a pure naked "Command". If you fail to follow these instructions, the server will ignore your mail. -- raymond@math.berkeley.edu Maintainer of the csip Frequently Asked Questions