sneakers@heimat.UUCP (Dan "Sneakers" Schein) (09/06/88)
Here is a description file (actually the ReadMe file) for UUCP/UseNet for the
AMIGA! So if you have noticed me running news & mail on my Amiga and wished that
you could do the same, well now you can. Please read the following information
and if you are interested in obtaining a *BETA* copy of UUCP/UseNet then send 2
blank 3.5" disks along with a prepaid, and self addressed return disk mailer
to:
Sneakers Computing
2455 McKinley Ave.
West Lawn, Pa 19609
OR if you prefer send $10 and your name/address to the above address to cover
disks, & shipping costs.
----<Cut Here - ReadMe>----
-Amiga UUCP/UseNet-
by William Loftus
and Dan "Sneakers" Schein
Copyright 1988 by William Loftus. All rights reserved.
Copyright 1988 by Sneakers Computing. All rights reserved.
-=-
First -- We HOPE YOU'RE A UUCP EXPERT, because the documentation to learn UUCP
is *not* contained here. There are alot of good books available that describe
UUCP and Usenet, the two that we recommend are:
"Managing UUCP and Usenet," Tim O'Reilly and Grace Todino.
It is published by O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. -- 1-800-338-NUTS
(cost is about $17.00).
"UNIX Communications" The Waite Group.
It is published by Howard W. Sams & Company
(cost is about $26.95)
-=-
This disk contains the binaries for AmigaUUCP & UseNet. The second disk contains
the 'C' source code. All code was compiled (and written) for Lattice V4.01.
AmigaUUCP is a port of GNUUCP to the Amiga. GNUUCP was based on uuslave. In
addition, many small support programs have been added. This is version
"BETA 0.40". UseNet is a group of 'scratch' programs that give the Amiga access
to UseNet via AmigaUUCP. With the UseNet programs you can receive and post
messages to the net. UseNet is version "BETA 0.10".
-=-
Several text files can be found in the ReadMe directory of this disk. They
include:
heimat_uucp_entry -- an example of a uucp map entry for a uucp site
how2usenet -- an introduction to UseNet. Strongly recommended reading
NewsGroups -- a listing of the UseNet groups available as of 8/23/88
UseNet.maps.readme -- information on adding your site to the UUCP maps
UseNet.standards -- detailed and technical information on how UseNet works
ReadMe -- this file
-=-
There are several files that are critical to the operation of AmigaUUCP and
UseNet. These files are located in the "lib" directory on this disk. Below is
a short description of each file:
L.sys -- This file that contains the remote systems names, phone numbers,
login scripts, password, etc. In short, this is the file that
has all the information needed to connect to remote sites.
Remote sites are the sites with which you will be exchanging mail
and news directly.
config -- This file contains the name of your machine (node name), the
name of the user (it is assumed that only one person
will be using an Amiga for mail and news), the users real name,
a debugging level, etc..
seq -- This file contains a number that is used (and incremented)
for the creation of unique outgoing and incoming UUCP data files.
news.distribution -- This file contains the distribution options for posting
articles to UseNet. The included file is only an example!
-=-
The first thing you must do is get a remote site that is willing to let you
have UUCP access to their machine. This can be your work machine, or a
local university.
Next, you must add the appropriate data to the files "L.sys", ".signature",
and "config" (found in the lib directory on this disk). There are example
files to follow in the LIB directory included on this disk.
Next, you must look at the modem.c file in the src/uucico directory. This file
contains C code that controls the modem (just high level stuff). If your modem
is not a HAYES compatible then you will have to modify the code, recompile
modem.c (lc #?.c) and relink (blink with uucico.lnk). Sorry, but until Bill can
abstract what is really needed for alot of modems this part will have to be
manually done. Bill hopes to write a small version of modemcap later.
Last, you have to make sure that the structure of this disk is intact. That
means there needs to be a c directory, spool directory, mail directory, news
directory inside the mail directory, manuals directory, and lib directory.
These directories must have the ability to be referenced by UUCP:c, UUCP:spool,
UUCP:mail, and UUCP:lib. Next you need to assign "Man:" to "UUCP:Manuals"
(these are the on-line help files). Finally assign "News:" to the directory
"UUCP:mail/news". This disk is already setup in the correct fashion, so if you
wish to run from this floppy simply rename the disk to "UUCP", assign "News:"
and "Man:", but if you prefer to copy it to a hard disk (highly recommended for
running UseNet) you must assign UUCP: to the directory on the hard disk.
That's it. Again the things you need to do before you can use
AmigaUUCP & UseNet:
1) configure the uucp:lib/L.sys file to contain the machines YOU want to call
2) change the uucp:lib/config file to suite your machine
3) edit the uucp:lib/.signature file to suite
3) recompile modem.c with the correct modem command (if needed)
4) make sure UUCP:, NEWS: and MAN: exist and are assigned correctly
-=-
Programs included.
uucico -- This program transmits files from your machine to
your host and back. If no arguments are given, then
uucico will act as the slave (waiting for a call).
The stack must be set to 25000 to run this program.
Usage: UUCICO [-x{0-9}] [-ssystemname]
x - set debugging level.
s - call system.
* Before Bill goes to work he types "brun uucp:c/uucico"
and then when he is at work and something interesting comes
along he can just "uucp" it to his Amiga.
* Sneakers runs his from AmigaCron. He has a line in his Amiga's
startup-sequence that says: "c:run newcli con:0/0/350/150/UUCP
uucp:s/startcron". This opens a new window and starts AmigaCron.
The file startcron and an example crontab file can be found on
this disk.
uucp -- This program queues files to be transferred to or
from a remote host.
Usage: UUCP from_file to_file
Example:
UUCP burdvax!/usr/spool/uucppublic/wpl/FILE df0:FILE
This example will queue a request for a file on the machine
burdvax called /usr/spool/uucppublic/wpl/FILE to be
transferred to your Amiga and to be called df0:FILE.
Example:
UUCP uucico.c burdvax!/usr/spool/uucppublic/wpl/uucico.c
This example will put the file uucico.c (in the current working
directory) on machine burdvax in the directory
/usr/spool/uucppublic/wpl in a file named uucico.c.
NOTE: transfers are done by uucico; uucp only queues
requests.
uuxqt -- You should never have to execute this, since uucico will
do it for you, but if "X.#?" files exist in the
UUCP:spool directory, uuxqt should be run. uuxqt figures
out what to do with the mail messages uucico transferred.
uux -- This program runs programs on other systems with a command
entered on your system. The main purpose of uux is to enable
mail to forward messages to another system after yous.
uupoll -- This program will poll a system for mail and news (i.e
files to be transferred). It starts up UUCICO with the
correct arguments in the background.
Usage: UUPOLL <system-name>
uuname -- This program will list the names of the systems that are
connect to your node (i.e. the systems listed in the L.sys
file).
uulog -- This program will display the LOGFILE of your UUCP site.
Options for a specific sitename or username are supported.
rmail -- Mail coming into your system goes through rmail. Again
the system should handle running rmail.
Currently, all mail coming into your Amiga will be
placed in the directory UUCP:mail in a file using the same
name as found on the To: field of the message.
rnews -- UseNet files (news) coming into your system goes through rnews.
Again the system should handle running rnews.
unbatcher -- UseNet files (news) will be run through unbatcher and split
into articles for each newsgroup. This program should be run
by rnews automatically.
Currently, all news coming into your Amiga will be placed
in the directory UUCP:mail/news in a file using the same
name as found on the NewsGroup(s): field of the article.
mail -- Your link to the outside world. Type mail<cr> to be prompted
for a out going mail message. It uses old style UUCP
addressing (e.g., mach!mach!mach!mach!user). When finished you
are prompted to append your .signature file. No is the default.
from -- List the username and subject of all the mail messages for
the configured user in the UUCP:mail directory.
readmsg -- This program will list a particular mail message.
For example:
READMSG 3
will print out mail message number 3.
pnews-e -- This is one of your UseNet links to the outside world. Type
pnews-e<cr> to be prompted for a out going news article.
Multiple newsgroups can be specified by using a comma (,)
between the newsgroup names (e.g., misc.wanted,pa.wanted).
When finished you are prompted to append your .signature
file. Yes is the default.
pnews-m -- This is the other of your UseNet links to the outside. Type
pnews-m<cr> to be prompted for a out going news article.
Pnews-M works like pnews-e, see pnews-e for details.
* The difference between pnews-e and pnews-m is the way in which the message(s)
are stored for transfer. Pnews-e stores messages in an encrypted form where
pnews-m stores messages as a mail message. Pnews-m results in a smaller file
size (important if your calling long distance) and pnews-e has the advantage
of ensuring that your message will not become damaged or altered in any way.
Try both and use the one you feel most comfortable with. Most users will
rename the one they use to "Pnews".
Other goodies included:
vi -- The latest version of DME (its called vi). You should
replace vi with your favorite editor. The mail program
uses "vi" for editing your mail messages.
avi -- This is a Unix VI workalike. Documentation can be found
in the ReadMe directory of this disk.
blitz -- This is a file viewer/reader program. It is most useful
for viewing and reading received UseNet articles and has
been edited for the NEWS: directory.
compress, uuencode, uudecode, unshar, tar, and tarsplit
-- These programs are used to handle data transmitted
via UUCP connections.
man -- This program is a Unix like command look up utility. It displays
a text file with the same name as the command.
Example:
man uulog<cr>
Will display the file "uulog" found in UUCP:man directory. This
program uses the CBM "more" program found on AmigaDos 1.2 & 1.3.
If you do not have more, then any text file viewer can be used
provided it is named "more" and in the UUCP:c directory.
more -- Actually 'less', you should replace this with CBM's more command.
brun -- Runbackground, lets you start a program (task) and still close
the CLI it was started from.
AmigaCron -- A Unix styled clock daemon. Starts tasks at the times & dates
specified in the UUCP:lib/crontab file.
NOTE: all the programs in the C directory *MUST* remain there.
Various programs on this disk will reference these programs directly
(e.g., brun and vi). The compress program on this disk uses 16 bit
compression as a default (not 14 that is usual on the Amiga). If you have
problems you should use 14compress (this version uses the Amiga standard
14 bits for compression). There are man entries for most of these commands,
so if you need additional help try the man command.
-=-
Changes over AmigaUUCP BETA 0.20
Uupoll, readmsg, from, and uuhosts programs added.
Locking is now done (i.e. you can't run two uucicos at once).
Bugs caused by short and long system names was squashed.
Bugs in the use of the timer device were squashed.
Reorganization of the system files (L.sys, config, seq now in the lib
directory, not spool).
The code for modem support was pulled into one file, so that
it can later be generalized.
Numerous little bugs squashed.
More documentation added (ha!).
Fixed bug with 3b2 UUCP connections (thanks erd!).
Added UUX command.
-=-
Changes over AmigaUUCP BETA 0.30
Added UULog command.
Added Man command (and manual entries).
Added Tar command.
Added Blitz, AVI, and More.
More documentation added to this file.
Documentation added in the ReadMe directory.
UseNet Beta 0.10 files have been included.
-=-
Programs still needed:
uusnap, uucpanz, uuclean, and a news reader (rn or vn maybe ?).
* If you want to discuss the changes needed to UnBatcher for use with a News
reader, or the codeing of a News reader please contact Sneakers.
-=-
Known bugs:
Pnews E & M will save a copy of any outgoing message in the UUCP:mail/news
directory under the file name listed on the "NewsGroup(s):" line. The bug is
that Pnews does not break up messages that are cross posted. So if you were
to enter a line like this "NewsGroup(s): pa.test,news.test", it would be saved
as UUCP:mail/news/pa.test,news.test and not where it belongs. This will be
fixed in the next release. (Sneakers ran out of time for this release.)
-=-
I (William Loftus) would really like to know the following information if you
use AmigaUUCP:
1) What modem are you using, and what changes (if any) to the modem.c
file did you make.
2) What version of UUCP has AmigaUUCP talked to correctly? (i.e.,
what are you using AmigaUUCP with?)
3) What Amiga configuration are you using?
4) Any bugs.
And I (Dan "Sneakers" Schein) would like to know the following information
if you use UseNet:
1) Any bugs.
2) Any changes/improvements you make so they can be considered for the next
release of AmigaUUCP & UseNet
3) What Amiga configuration are you using?
----<Cut Here - ReadMe>----
Dan "Sneakers" Schein {alegra|amiga|rutgers|uunet}!cbmvax!heimat!sneakers
Sneakers Computing
2455 McKinley Ave
West Lawn PA 19609 Call: BERKS AMIGA BBS
24 Hrs - 3/12/2400 Baud
Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed are 40 Meg -=- 215/678-7691
those of Sneakers Computing
Of course heimat is an Amiga, doesn't everyone run UUCP & UseNet on an Amiga?