koreth@ssyx.ucsc.edu (Steven Grimm) (03/21/88)
Submitted-by: koreth@ssyx.ucsc.edu (Steven Grimm)
Posting-number: Volume 1, Info 1
Archive-name: intro
This is the first of two introductory articles about comp.sources.atari.st.
This one describes how to submit source to the newsgroup, where the
archive sites are, and how to contact them. The companion articles lists
all previously-published sources.
I am always looking for suggestions on how to improve the usefulness
of the newsgroup, and can be contacted as listed below.
-- Steven Grimm
--------------------
Subject: Submitting source for publication
Items intended for posting or queries and problem notes should be sent to
atari-sources@ssyx.ucsc.edu. If you are on a UUCP-only site, you can send
them to ucbvax!ssyx!atari-sources.
If you want verification of arrival, so say in a cover note, or at the
beginning of your submission, if it is small. I try to verify that a
program works, and if I can't get it to work, I may hold up posting it
for a couple of days. Please note that, except in rare cases, source
without documentation will not be published. The backlog from receipt
to posting varies from one to four weeks depending mostly on the set
of submissions currently in my queue.
Please inform me of any special system requirements, and what development
environment was used, so that I can properly test your submission.
--------------------
Subject: The structure of comp.sources.atari.st articles
Each posting in comp.sources.atari.st is called an "issue"; there are
roughly 100 issues to a volume. The division is arbitrary and may vary.
There are two types of articles in comp.sources.atari.st: sources and
"information postings." They can be distinguished by the subject line:
Subject: v01INF3: Index for Volume 1 and other info
This first word in the title identifies this as the third info posting of
volume one. Similarly, the subject line shown below:
Subject: v01i081: Public Domain Resource Construction Set
identifies this as the 81st source article in Volume 1. Large sources are
broken up into smaller pieces, and have subject lines that look like
this:
Subject: v01i082: VMS clone in ST-BASIC, Part03/08
Certain information about the system configuration required to use the
program is given on the keywords line.
Keywords: MWC, Megamax, 1meg, high
This means that the program compiles with Mark Williams or Megamax C,
requires at least one meg of RAM and only runs in high resolution. Following
is a list of keywords; new ones may be added as needed. They are mostly self-
explanatory.
Alcyon - Alcyon C (included with Atari developer's kit)
MWC - Mark Williams C
Megamax - Megamax C
Laser - Laser C
Lattice - Lattice C
OSI - OSI Personal Pascal
BASIC - ST BASIC (this is not a joke!)
uuencode - program is uuencoded (uudecode required to unpack)
arc - program is archived (arc required to unpack)
high - high resolution
medium - medium resolution
low - low resolution
1meg - needs 1 meg of RAM
The first few lines of an article are auxiliary headers that look like this:
Submitted-by: david@bdt.UUCP (David Beckmeyer)
Posting-number: Volume 1, Issue 80
Archive-name: micro-rtx
The "Submitted by" is the author of the program. If you have comments about
the sources published in comp.sources.atari.st this is the person to contact.
When possible, this address is in domain form, otherwise it is a UUCP bang
path relative to some major (backbone) site.
The second line repeats the volume/issue information for the aide of notes
sites and automatic archiving programs.
The Archive-name is the "official" name of this source in the archive. Large
postings will have names that look like this:
Archive-name: desktop/part01
Please try to use this name when requesting that sources be mailed to you.
Also, note that the "part number" given in the title, and the archive name
given in the auxiliary header need not be identical.
Since most archive sites run UNIX, articles are given UNIX-style filenames
rather than ST-style filenames.
--------------------
Subject: Reporting and tracking bugs and patches to postings
Most of the time, bugs and updates will be posted to comp.sys.atari.st.
Sometimes, "official" updates from the author will be posted submitted to
comp.sources.atari.st so that they are archived with the sources.
Since there is no easy way to apply source code patches on the ST, changes
to a program often result in a whole new version being posted.
To report bugs, contact the person listed in the Submitted-to header.
Often there is a contact address in a README file, too. I do not maintain
the sources I moderate, so don't send your bug reports to me.
--------------------
Subject: Accessing the archives
At this time, there is only one site known to be keeping an archive
of comp.sources.atari.st. If you are making an archive available to
the public, or would like to, please contact me.
--------------------
Subject: Listing of archive sites in no particular order
1. Site killer has a full archive available for anonymous UUCP. For
information on accessing it, send mail to Bill Wisner:
{ames,codas,ihnp4,mit-eddie}!killer!wisner.
+New! Improved! Now 200% Artificial-+-+-----------Steven Grimm------------+
|# # @@@ **** &&&&& $$$$$ % %| | ARPA: koreth@ssyx.ucsc.edu |
|# # @ @ * * & $ % %+-+ UUCP: ...!ucbvax!ucscc!ssyx!koreth|
|### @ @ **** &&&& $ %%%%%| |___________________________________|
|# # @ @ * * & $ % %+-+"Things are only impossible until |
|# # @@@ * ** &&&&& $ % %| | they're not." - Jean-Luc Picard |
+-----with NutraSour(TM)! No natural colors or preservatives!------------+